NGC to Certify San Francisco Mint American Silver Eagles

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The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) on Tuesday announced that it will certify San Francisco minted Silver Eagles. The San Francisco struck bullion coin was introduced just one week ago by the United States Mint.

San Francisco Mint Silver Eagle NGC Labels
NGC labels for early release and standard 2011 San Francisco Mint American Silver Eagle bullion coins

NGC will designate such coins with a label reading "Struck at San Francisco Mint." Additionally, the label will have the "S" mintmark in parentheses next to the coin’s date.

San Francisco is no stranger to the American Silver Eagle bullion coin, but the U.S. Mint’s facility in California had not produced them in more than a decade. In an attempt to help meet the unprecedented demand for the one ounce, .999 fine silver bullion coins, the United States Mint on May 31 began fulfilling orders for the coins from its San Francisco Mint, in addition to those from its West Point Mint. Until then, they had been produced solely at West Point in New York since 2001.

The change, however, added complexities for collectors as the two bullion American Silver Eagles are identical in appearance. NGC will make the distinction based on how they are shipped, and require an entire "monster box" package of the coins to grade them.

"Because the S-Mint Silver American Eagles will be distinguishable only by the fact that they are shipped by the Treasury in large ‘monster boxes’ labeled San Francisco Mint, NGC’s labeling of these coins as San Francisco products will be limited to bulk submissions in such original shipping containers still sealed," NGC said in a statement.

"Dealers may contact NGC for further instructions about this service. Coins submitted during the first 30 days of issue are eligible for labels additionally reading EARLY RELEASES," the company added.

San Francisco certified Silver Eagles are likely to carry a higher premium in the secondary market, since their mintage levels will be significantly lower than those from West Point. The latest bullion coin sales as of May indicated 18,901,500 Silver Eagles sold this year. May sales stood at 3,654,500, making the monthly level the fourth best in history. The sales pace remains on track to surpass last year’s all-time annual record of 34,662,500.

Distinguishing Bullion, Proof and Uncirculated American Silvers Eagle Coins

There are three types of American Silver Eagles produced by the United States Mint. The bullion and proof versions are the oldest, having been minted since the introduction of the series in 1986. The uncirculated version was added in 2006. All three are collected by coin collectors, although the bullion coins are produced with investors in mind while the uncirculated and proof coins are intended for coin collectors.

All American Silver Eagles share the same design. The distinct mirror-like finish makes an easy identification for the the proof. However, the finish of the uncirculated coin closely resembles the bullion piece. And while there are varying production, handling and packaging processes for each, the easiest method to distinguish between an uncirculated and bullion American Silver Eagle is by searching for a mintmark. The reverse or tails side of the uncirculated (and proof) will include a "W" mintmark, denoting production at the United States Mint facility in West Point. The bullion version has no mintmark.

The  2011 bullion Silver Eagle was released by the United States Mint on January 3. The 2011 proof version is scheduled to launch on June 30. The Mint has not yet announced when it will make the uncirculated version available.

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Brian O'Flanagan

San Francisco eagles graded and selling at a premium? There’s a sucker born every minute, I suppose.

Bosworth Johnson

Mine were the first ones shipped to Illinois. I suppose some moron will take my money to certify them as ER-FD-IL (early release, first day, Illinois)?

Gair

That totally defeats the purpose of NOT having a mint mark. These things are bullion, not currency.

Steve

This whole thing affects bullion coins, not collectibles. Don’t blame the mint. They produce the proofs and maybe a San Francisico “satin finish” uncirculated for collectors. No, the fault lies with the third party graders and buyers of their so important slabs. NGC basically started this with the 2006 anniversary coins by denoting which Eagles came from the 2 set versus 3 set collectors edition. Who really cares. Those coins were stamped out side by side, along with the ones that never made it into a collectors box. PCGS saw that there was no difference in coin but lost millions… Read more »

Brian V.

This isn’t my Father’s coin hobby anymore!! I agree with all four previous comments. I like the term “Slab Collectors” the best. But, as a dealer, doesn’t it make sense to have ’em in stock for the P.T. Barnum crowd? I won’t be buying any, and I’m not a coin or bullion dealer. My question is should true Numismatic dealers shy away and leave the selling to the T.V. hawkers telling the slab collectors their collections won’t be complete without them? Just as Steve pointed out PCGS lost tons of money in the past before their relenting to First Strike… Read more »

Mercury

It never ceases to amaze me the depth the world of coin collecting continues to go. LOL. I can’t wait for the graded coins they say were minted at Disney Land.

bubbah

All collecting is folly, so be careful who you criticize. There are lots of collecting fields with aging collectors that need new collectors to keep growing. If you aren’t going to be tolerant of new collectors, they will
either quit collecting or move into something else. Coin collecting has
changed over time and it will change in the future as well. It is supposed to be fun. It is a hobby. Educate collectors, but don’t make fun of them.

Mercury

I personally do not have a problem with efforts being made to expand the collecting fields or with the types of items that young and old collectors may decide to collect. My beef in this case is with The Grading Services itself (NGC). It’s true that a grading service may have the right to put a grade on whatever it sees fit; but the question is should it. I just feel that when it comes to a professional coin grading service, grading coins with an agenda, or for fun and games, should not be an accepted alternative. I personally have… Read more »

Charles K Miller

Seems to me this is slightly opportunisitic of NGC. If we (collectors) could agree to utilized the S.F. mint only for proofs, maybe in 100+ years there will not be the difficulty determining an old proof copn from an old (toned) uncirculated coin.

steve1942

I would blame NGC for this confusion as well as developing the “slab collector”. Their multitude of labels, which has made them lots of money, is really confusing coin collecting. I’d hate to be a new collector and try to understand just want type of coin is hidden beneath their new labels. Now, they have the new “star” label. Looks pretty impressive, you’d think the coin in that slab would be very special. Instead, it’s probably the most worthless of the 2011 Eagles. They’ve managed to take a bullion eagle with no mint mark and copy their San Francisco trick.… Read more »