History Of The 2008 / 2007 Reverse ASE Variant

"Not long after the first 2008 silver eagles came out, it was reported that the coins had been "re-hubbed." A hub is used to make dies, which in turn strike coins. Re-hubbing, therefore, meant that a new design template was being used to create all the dies that struck these coins. While the major design elements of the coin had not changed, subtle alterations had been made to the lettering and elsewhere. This change was consistent across the entire silver eagle production of 2008, including bullion, Proof, and Uncirculated versions of the coin. In the course of producing modern coinage, these types of subtle changes occur over time. Technical aspects of minting, including attempts to prolong die-life and improve the clarity with which the design renders on the coin, find their way into the design process. According to the U.S. Mint, the changes seen on the 2008 silver eagles were made because of the adoption of digital engraving in the production of silver eagle dies. This was a more efficient and cost-effective method of production. To accommodate this new process, a handful of modest changes were made to the coin. The most noticeable change occurred on the style of a single letter. In 2008, the U had a spur or foot on its right side, while on all previous issues the spur was absent—the old U was a simple bowl shape. Even though it affected just a single, small letter, this change was the tell-tale diagnostic that allowed the reverse hub of 2008 to be distinguished instantaneously from that used in previous years. In mid-April 2008, only a couple of weeks after the first 2008-W silver eagles were sold, collector John Nanney of Georgia noticed that a small number of coins had the old reverse style of 2007. This immediately ignited a search among collectors, and interest in this curious variety began to grow. When the variety was confirmed by the grading services, the search became a frenzy, and a number of collectors placed additional orders for coins from the Mint. Numerous inquiries were directed to the U.S. Mint. The Mint responded quickly, acknowledging that during three production shifts for the 2008 coins, dies originally crafted for 2007-W silver eagle production were used inadvertently. Approximately 47,000 silver eagles had been struck with the reverse style of 2007. This type of variety is called transitional because it is a hybrid that combines the styles of coins used in two consecutive years. The 2008-W Reverse of 2007 silver eagle is the only significant die-variety in the entire silver eagle series, and it is collected by enthusiasts as a required coin in the complete set. The coins were crafted from designs by A.A. Weinman and John Mercanti. Weinman, who is responsible for the obverse design, originally created this composition for the Liberty Walking half dollar first released in 1916. It shows Liberty striding amidst the rising sun, and the design was long considered to be the most attractive ever used on a U.S. silver coin. The reverse heraldic eagle composition was designed and engraved by Mercanti."

Thanks Marve...for making many of us feel old.....

From what I have read it was 15 dies

I don't know how that works but I assume there is more then one machine striking coins at any given time

This topic wasn't really about the facts of the issue, it was more about the historical conversations about the emergence of this issue.

After a lot of googling I found 3 topics, 2 from this forum and one from Coin Talk



CCF 04/26/2008
2008 ASE With 2007 Reverse
https://goccf.com/t/29283


CCF 06/01/2008

2008 ASE With 2007 Reverse
https://goccf.com/t/31059



Coin Talk 08/10/2009
2008 silver eagle w/ 2007 reverse
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/20...verse.64926/


These occured after the discovery, but I couldn't find any about when it was first discovered

I thought it would be interesting to read these with the knowledge of what eventually happened

PCGS Web Site

https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin...-2007/396411

Once the 2008-W Reverse of 2007 Uncirculated Silver Eagle errors surfaced, the U.S. Mint evaluated their coin inventory and discovered that at least 15 reverse dies from 2007 were employed to strike the reverse design of 2008-W Silver Eagles. Since the Mint strikes approximately 3,000 coins per each set of dies for the Burnished Silver Eagles, there are approximately 45,000 - 2008 Silver Eagles with a Reverse design of 2007 in existence.



MyCoinGuides

https://silvereagleguide.com/2008-w...rse-of-2007/

The Reverse of 2007 Variety is the scarcer version of the coin and carries a big premium. Shortly after the discovery of the coin, the U.S. Mint estimated that approximately 47,000 of the variety may have been released. This estimate was based on the fact that West Point Mint employees found 15 dies with the reverse type of 2007.
The mintage estimate was later revised to 46,318 within a response to a Freedom of Information Act request.