2009 American Silver Eagles

August 10, 2009 by silvereagleamerican
Filed under: Silver Bullion News

The American Silver Eagle is the United States' official silver bullion coin. It has been issued ever since 1986 and withholds a single ounce of silver. Coins are minted to exacting requirements and are verified by the United States government for content, purity and weight. This series has become a favorite of both coin collectors and bullion patrons.

The design of the obverse was derived from the classic "Walking Liberty" project from Adolph A. Weinman, which originally had been utilized for the United States half-dollar coin from the years 1916 to 1947. While this iconic creation has remained a public favorite - and certainly one of the most cherished designs of the contemporary US coinage (silver or otherwise) - it was restored for the Silver Eagle many years later. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle fashioned by John Mercanti.

The United States Mint has offered Silver Eagles in three major versions. The first is the regular remaining bullion derision of the coin, which is found at coin dealers and authorized bullion dealers. The second version being sold straight from the United States Mint is the collectible proof version. The lataest and most recent version is a collectible, uncirculated edition of the coin, additionally recognized as being the Burnished Silver Eagle. These coins are struck on burnished blanks and carry the famous "W" mint mark.

Silver Eagles are shipped by the Mint in packages of up to five hundred. Every box holds twenty-five tubes with twenty Silver Eagles to each tube. A sealed package weight forty-two pounds and is calculated to be around 15"X9"X5".

From the beginning of the series, Silver Eagles got the attention of not just bullion investors but coin collectors, as well. Silver Eagles are often seen as the modern parallel of Silver Dollars since they are struck in silver and hold a $1.00 face value. Coin collectors are able to assemble the Silver Eagle series by acquiring one coin for every date. There are some collectors who amass sets of high-end coins, which are encapsulated and assigned a grade by services like NGC or PCGS.

The design on the obverse was inspired by the classic "Walking Liberty" design from Adolph A. Weinman, which had initially been used for the United States half-dollar coin from the years 1916 to 1947. As this legendary design had endured as a public favorite - and definitely one of the most loved designs of the contemporary US coinage (be it silver or otherwise) - it was restored for the Silver Eagle many years down the road. The reverse displays a symbolic eagle created by John Mercanti.

The most recent US Mint sale figures show that the 2009 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin sales for this week blazed past 12 million and got to 1 million sold throughout the first eleven days during June.

The Mint's authorized dealers bought 377,000 Silver Eagles throughout the first eight days of June, which ended on Monday. By Wednesday, the tally for sales amplified up to more than double the amount of 777,000. Then, the count skyrocketed to 930,000 on Thursday, which brought the year-to-date total to a record-breaking rate of 12,509,500.

The current selling pace will take June above the 1.9 million eagles bought throughout May - a month with elevated numbers but astonishingly ranking second from the lowest for silver bullion coin sales this year. That is how great the year 2009 has proven to be for silver coins.

2008 was a giant year for the series with well over 19 million eagles being bought. Unless a turnaround occurs, 2009 might make last year's record performance pale in comparison to this year's record numbers.