Question About 2007 ASE

The ASE's are all bullion coins even the proofs ,,

You did not mention if your coin is a proof version or Unc version ,,But it appears that the coins bearing the W mint mark have a slightly higher value at the point of striking although the numbers are not available for detailed mintages.

The W mint mark was put on the coins beginning in 2000 , according to the RedBook .

also many of these coins which do not bear a mint mark are also struck at west point ,, there is no division or seperation of the coins total population except for those that bear the W mint mark are counted seperate from the bulk of the mintage .

Long term value is in direct relation to the silver market ,, with some years growing beyond that due to low mintages .

Metalman

In general, Silver American Eagles (usually called SAEs) are worth a buck or two more than the spot silver price (currently around $13). They've been minted since 1986, are 40 mm in diameter, and have 1 troy ounce of .999 fine silver. As you know, they use the "Walking Liberty" design from the half dollars on the obverse. A few years sell for small premiums, like 1986, and I think 1995, 1997, and 1998, and sometimes the current year. The 1996 had the lowest mintage (though still in the millions) and sells for about $50 or more (rip-off, IMHO).

Proofs normally sell in the $25-$30 range and up.

There is a new type of SAE called a "burnished" SAE or something like that, that I think was sold directly through the mint for about $22 or $25. I believe it's supposed to be somewhere between a regular strike and a proof, if that makes any sense (it really doesn't to me). I believe these carry the "W" mint mark. Most are struck at West Point, but don't carry the mint mark. I believe the proofs do.

There is also the 20th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set (2006), which includes a regular strike, a proof, and a reverse proof. The set now sells for $500 to $600 (!!!), and the reverse proof alone is also expensive. Not really sure why the premiums are so high - if I had one, I would sell in a second and buy a nice tall stack of bullion SAEs.

Hope that helps! They're nice coins, and a pretty nice way to buy bullion, although they are a bit more pricey than silver rounds or some other 1 oz coins (Canadian Maples or old Mexican Onzas come to mind).

Thanks for the information.

I was curious as to whether or not I had the "burnished" version.

I was fortunate enough to buy two of the three-coin sets -- one for me and one for my wife.

They are beautiful coins!

One last question. When did the mint begin selling the Unc. ASE's? I thought they were only sold to big dealers.

I thought the mint just started selling the UNC versions this year or last year, and previously they only sold them to dealers. There are quite a few posts on this with good info. Let me dig a little.

This may help

https://goccf.com/t/15085

I'll look for more.

Answers

1. Is the only difference in the finish?

Yes and no. Yes, the finish is a different but the main difference is how they are sold. ASE w/o W mintmark is sold in rolls of 20 in Green Monster Boxes of 500 coins. ASE with W mint mark is sold individually by the mint. If you place both of them side by side it often hard to tell them apart by finish alone. They look very similar.

2. How long has this type of ASE been produced?

2006 was the first year of the unc w mint mark ASE.

3. Although I don't buy coins as investment items, I would be interested to know if this type of ASE will be more, or less, valuable than others?

While nobody can predict the future, the unc W mintmark issues should grow in value more rapidly than the normal bullion issue. The reason for this is mintage. The bullion issue is stuck by the millions. The lowest mintage is 1996 at a little over 3 million. The unc W issues are sold packaged one by one and that slows down the process. The 2006 issue was 479,000. The 2007 issue, while minted to demand, I'm guessing will end up being 900,000 more or less.

Given the low mintages and the fact that most ASE collectors think that the unc W issues are part of the same bullion series (which they are not) they want them to complete their ASE sets. Actually the unc W issues are a seperate new series to run along side of the normal bullion issue.

4. Does the West Point mintmark make this coin special, or do all the 2007 versions have the "W" mintmark.

Yes, the W mintmark makes the coin very special and gives it all of it's perceived value as noted before the normal 2007 bullion do not have a mint mark.

Also..it's American Silver eagle ( ASE)

Cheers.

Sorry again.

Must be having computer problems.

I was sure I had logged out.

I got my ASE as well with the big W on it I heard that they are going to go into the big money soon but not positive just what I heard. but I got mine just to complete the set.
Gary

"It's funny - on the other forum I frequent, they're almost always called "SAEs" (and Gold Eagles are called GAEs). I guess they are known as both."

I guess if you go by what the mint calls them then they are AES American Eagle Silver (proof, unc) and AEG American Eagle Gold (proof, unc.)
I guess it's the case of to-May-to; to-mah-to lol.
What other forums do you frequent? I haven't found that many out there.