Following months of uncertainty and the cancellation of last year’s version, the US Mint has announced the availability of the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle! The coins will be available for sale starting on November 19, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET, with fulfillment of orders beginning on December 1, 2010.
The US Mint has been struggling with the consequences of an increased demand for precious metals bullion coins for a number of years. By law, they are required to produce American Eagle gold and silver bullion coins in quantities sufficient to meet public demand. There is no requirement to issue collector versions of the coins. In times when bullion demand has outweighed silver planchet supplies, the US Mint has sourced all incoming planchets to bullion coins. This led to the cancellation of the 2009 Proof Silver Eagle.
Signs of hope for this year’s offering appeared last month, when the long running rationing program was ended. This implied that the US Mint was meeting full demand for bullion coins. Further the general decline in Silver Eagle bullion coin demand must have freed up some planchet supplies.
The 2010 Proof Silver Eagle will be priced at $45.95 per coin. The US Mint will impose a household ordering limit of 100 coins. A maximum mintage has not been established, but presumably would be determined based on collector demand and the potential impact of bullion demand.
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