ASE Silver Eagles: Numismatic Or Just Bullion?

As ddannemiller said, collect what you want.

I for one collect the following:

- 5oz ATB bullion - low mintage (as low as 20k), five new designs every year (unlike ASE which has been the same since 1986) and lowest premium in comparison to all other bullion coins
- Kookaburra - 'limited' mintage and new design every year, older years sell for a significant premium which offsets the slightly higher premium to begin with

I used to also collect Britannia bullion, but since these are now minted to demand and have the same design every now, there is little point in continuing to collect these (well, one maybe).

If you invest in bullion, then this add a level of complexity and, personally, I would not recommend it for various reasons (no return such as a dividend, high volatility etc.).
I "collvest"; i.e. I see it as a hobby with an investment side to it. Hence, I collect those that are essentially bullion, can be bought at a low premium above spot but have potential to be numismatic.

Most of all, HAVE FUN!

- whatever blows your hair back.

Additionally, when you keep a coin in a wooden base glass top case lined with velvet for 20 years, well the air, the gasses released from the wood/velvet and of course our friend Mr. Sun causing all of that great chemistry, it can create this and I dare anyone to chalk this piece up to just "bullion"

Going back to a core comment the OP made in regards to one ounce silver rounds or bars being more economical way of stacking silver...it is a yes and a no in the same sentence. Do you initially pay a lower premium up front to purchase silver rounds...YES...BUT as many people can speak from experience, many people are far more cautious and hesitant to buy rounds and bars on the secondary market (primarily from individuals) because it is very hard to detect fakes. Government issued coins like Silver Eagles, Silver Maples, and the like do sell at a higher premium, but also come with higher customer confidence...hence the added premium. These coins are just harder to fake. Note I didn't say COULDNT be faked...just harder.

ASEs are BOTH numismatic and bullion.
I have a set of ASEs in a Dansco, and it was a fun set to put together.
Think about it, with so many people treating the ASE like a puck of silver,
really nice ones are harder to find than you would think. Most are scratched,
fingerprinted, milk spotted, and generally abused.

One good thing about them selling as bullion is that when you do finally find that beauty,
it will cost you the same as the battered ones around it. Dealers don't put a premium on
the pretty ones, and dayum sure don't give you a break on the beaten and bruised ones either.

Anyway, that was my experience putting together a Dansco set of business strike ASEs.
(I also did the proofs and burnished, but couldn't bring myself to put those in an album.)
They make a 2 album set (#8181/8182) that includes proof and burnished, along with business
strikes, but IMO that's not the way to go. I won't consider my set done until I have the 95w,
and when I get that one, it's NEVER going in an album, so it would be weird to put the rest
of the proofs in an album, and not that one. Soooooooo, only business strikes in an album for me.

The bullion dealer down the street from my house puts a premium on BU bullion, particularly the current year's ASE's that he pulls from monster boxes. Even though I'm mainly stacking bullion ASEs when I buy them, I'll buy one or two of the current year but then for the rest of the year, I buy the older ASEs he has in stock for a dollar less of a markup.

Regardless of ASE/Maple/Phil/whatever, if it's BU my guy charges a small premium.

Have you ever spent a Morgan sSuperDdave?

"ASE's will never be anything but bullion to me. Ever spent one?"
LoL... Two Cent pcs are bullion? Trimes? Double Eagles?

Hollywood:
I'm talking about business strikes. That should have been clear
when I was talking about coins with fingerprints and such. Never
suggested that the "collector" editions would sell at spot. Heck,
NO ASE sells at spot (from a dealer anyway). I was just saying,
that in my personal experience, dealers make no distinction between
a "nice" ASE vs an abused ASE. Whenever I have bought them, the
coins get dumped out, if they are lucky, on a soft surface, and
the price is the same per coin, no matter condition. I have yet
to find a dealer that charges more for one ASE in said pile of
ASEs, because the one you picked out was pretty. Just like I have
never seen a dealer charge less for an ASE because it was beat.
Maybe I'm just lucky?

Regardless, it's a fun set to put together, and truthfully, my
set is nice, but I can think of at least 2 years that could be
further upgraded. This is an ungraded, business strike, album
set... So don't try and make it sound like I am talking about
MS70 coins here either. Just really nice eye appeal, and lack
of naked eye problems. After all, no one is ever going into my
Dansco with a loupe.