Owner Comments:
Mintage 47,000 (estimated)
Minted at West Point with "W" mintmark
As the only significant die variety in the American Silver Eagle series to date, the two notable characteristics of this variety are discussed below.
That being said, what else can be written about this perfect MS-70 graded American Silver Eagle with such sharp detail and superb eye appeal that hasn't already been said about the other MS-70 Eagles in this registry set? As is typical of the Burnished Eagles I've seen, besides the fact that it has a "W" mintmark, the burnished coins lack the deep mirrored fields and cameo appearance of the devices of "unburnished" examples -- instead having a uniform satiny or matte finish. This coin has more of a matte finish. In hand, typical of a Burnished coin, the surface does not reflect light as regular bullion strikes do. With it's smooth texture to the devices and fields, very attractive eye appeal as well as no hairlines, hits, scuff marks, abrasions or defects, I cannot find anything negative about this coin.
Numismatic News: This Burnished Silver Eagle is the only significant die variety in the series, discovered in mid-April, 2008.
This variety is the result of rehubbing during the Mint's transition to digital engraving methods. Minor changes for the new 2008 coin were made to the design of the reverse, most notably in the font used. The font difference is most noticeable in the "U" of "UNITED". In the font style of the "U" of 1986-2007 coins, the "U" had a smooth curve at the bottom right. In the font style adopted in 2008, the "U" had a spur or "foot" at the bottom right. Not mentioned in the reference material I read is that the reverse of this coin does not have a "tilde" (a "squiggly" line/dash) between the words "SILVER" and "ONE" found in 2008 (to date) versions of the reverse, whereas the older (2007 and earlier) reverses of the coin had a dash/line, with sharp corners, between the words "SILVER" and "ONE".
In the book "100 Greatest US Modern Coins", the reverse of 2007 variety is ranked #17. This type of variety is referred to as "transitional" because it is a hybrid that combines the styles of coins used in two consecutive years.