Gilly's ASE Collection

Took another night off but looking forward to sharing more. As usual, I will just write a little new stuff and then post the article I had written earlier.
The Legacies of Freedom set from the US Mint with the Britannia in it was again actually released in 2004, but I did that already since it has a 2003 ASE in it. But the following is 2004-2006.
2006 is when I'll mostly have to post year by year. They really started pushing the sets, so hardly a year without a special set of some kind going forward.
In 2006 there were actually 3 20th Anniversary sets issued. Most everyone knows about the 3 coin silver set with the first reverse proof. It was also the first year for the (YES I insist on calling it) the Uncirculated finish coin, acknowledging it is commonly referred to as the burnished finish. It was also the first year they did this for the American Gold Eagle.
So they also made a 2 coin set with the Uncirculated ASE and also the $50 AGE in Uncirculated finish.
The real prize, one of my prized possessions among many, is the 20th Anniversary 3 coin American Gold Eagle set. This has 3 $50 AGEs in it, in Proof, Uncirculated, and Reverse Proof, like the silver set. One major thing though, is that the US Mint has not made another Reverse Proof AGE since this set. So it never will happen with the original design AGE, who knows on the current design.
I know, not a Silver Eagle. Cost more than the 10th Anniversary set, but it's 3 oz of gold, not 1.85 oz, of course you always end up paying a lot for a big gold set like this. Lots of sacrifices to be able to buy this set. The 2 coin was no cheapie either.
Anyways, the existing article is long enough and a I have a lot of pics to transfer as well so I will end here. Old article:

Well it finally had to happen. My little pictorial history of the American Silver Eagle finally had to reach 2006, when everything exploded. So I added 2004 and 2005, because those were just regular kind of years, just the bullion and proof were made. Again I'll mention the codes on the boxes. The first year for this was 2002 which was Z26, 2003 was Z36, as mentioned last week. 2004 was G46, 2005 was Z56. Yes 2004 was not a typo, the system didn't really make sense. So that's those two years.
2006. Big huge year. It was the 20th anniversary of the Eagle program and they decided to make several sets and produce special finishes for the first time. Side note, again they called 1995 the 10th anniversary, even though 1986 was the first year. Ever since that little mathematical fiasco they've seemed to have gotten anniversary years correct, so yes 2006 was indeed the 20th.
So to start, they introduced the "Uncirculated" Eagles that year. Not just silver, also gold eagles, first year for both. Many people refer to the finish as burnished. I don't really think with this group I have to go into a ton of detail on what they are. Look like a bullion, but handled nicely and are available for sale to the general public direct from the mint, have a COA, and a mint mark. The first year for the uncirculated finish ASE, they put it in a capsule and then in a small velvet bag with a drawstring, and also a box a little slimmer than a proof box. They have never sold these in a clamshell box individually that I am aware of. The code on the box for the uncirculated was Z6F.
Before I get ahead of myself the code for the 2006 proof was Z66.
OK, so that's the individual coins for 2004-2006. I am also showing my bullion strikes in the first few pictures.
So to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Eagle program, the mint had 3 special sets. I am very lucky to be able to own all of these sets.
The one ASE collectors are must familiar with is the 3 coin silver set. It contains one proof, one of the new uncirculated finish, and for the first time also a reverse proof ASE. The box has a sort of leatherette pad on top which I've found can be hard to find in good shape or attached to the lid of the box very well. It has an outer box and sleeve with a silver color. One bane of my existence is the thin white sheet that surrounded the inner box. Very hard to work with, always has wrinkles in it. I would describe it as feeling like Tyvek wrap, clings to any little dry skin you may have on your hands. I haven't mastered dealing with it but have at least developed a few tactics in getting a inner box back in to the outer box. Very attractive and significant set due to the first reverse proof released. Sales code A10. One source I read says the set production was 248,875, I can't verify that tho. The reverse proof was minted in Philadelphia, the rest were West Point.
The next set was a 2 coin silver and gold set. The gold eagle is a 1oz and both coins are the new uncirculated finish. Both are West Point and the mintage was 20,000 sets. The outer sleeve and top of the outer box are gold colored, the bottom part of the outer box is silver. It did come with a small booklet celebrating the anniversary, only this set came with the booklet. Sales code A11.
Lastly they also made a 3 coin gold set. This is much like the 3 coin silver set, just gold eagles instead of silver. Has a proof, uncirculated, and reverse proof. The uncirculated again was a first for the AGE as well and continues to this day. But interestingly, this is the ONLY time the mint has issued a reverse proof AGE. I read production was 9,996 sets, compare that to ~30,000 1995W ASEs or 2019S ERP. All are West Point.
The outer sleeve and box were all in gold. The entire box is a little taller than the other 2 sets. The inner box is a smooth black box, unsure if the material, best guess is black plastic. Very classy set, really happy to have it.
I've included a picture of the COAs for this period for the individual ASEs. I'm showing the 2003 for comparison. They changed to that swept S design. In 2004 the paper was still a glossy thin paper, in 05 it changed to more of a card stock and the S was more like a chrome ink, shinier. Also note the COA for the uncirculated looks a lot different, kind of a plain oversized S, no swoop.
That's about all the writing I want to do in one sitting, I can add notes to the photos as time allows.

Happy Easter everyone, I'll continue on with another few years. Same as before, I'll write a little and then copy/paste the old article, well "old" being a year ago. Nothing to add to this post either as far as anything I've discovered since then.
2009 was of course unique in that due to the Great Recession/Housing Market Bubble, the mint only produced Bullion that year. They resumed Proof production in 2010, but not the Uncirculated finish, that came back in 2011. I believe this was the same scenario for the American Gold Eagle.
One thing I never took note of last year is actually that Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set was pretty significant in that it was the first annual set the Mint introduced with an ASE in it. It only lasted these 2 years and returned 3 years later, in redesigned packaging, but it was still a sign of things to come with the Congratulations Set and Limited Edition Silver Proof Set.
You'll start to see, if you haven't noticed already, how in to the OGP facts and figures I start to get with noting changes of the boxes and COAs. I have written a few articles already just discussing this topic. Well on to last years article and pics:

Covering 4 years this time around.
Following the 20th anniversary, for the next 2 years, 07 and 08, there was a proof and uncirculated version as well as the bullion.
The mint introduced the Presidential dollars in 2007 and decided to put together a set of all the dollars made those 2 years as well, including an uncirculated version of the ASE and the Sacagawea dollar. I do have to apologize the only 2008 Uncirculated Dollar Set I have is sealed. I have included pictures of the 2007 set. There were proof sets of the Presidential dollars available as well, minted in San Francisco, the uncirculated Presidential dollars are Philadelphia, the Sac dollar is Denver mint. The ASE, like all ASEs these years, are West Point. I think it was also a neat way to showcase the uncirculated ASE.
The economy took a dump in 2009 and people wanted to stack silver, so there was a huge demand for ASEs. The upshot was the mint felt compelled to only produce bullion ASEs in 2009. You can find better explanations for what all happened in 2009. The law saying that the mint had to meet public demand was modified somewhat, enabling the mint to once again produce a proof ASE in 2010, the uncirculated version did not return until 2011. But yes collectors were very upset about the 2009 gap in their collections. Daniel Carr/Moonlight Mint did produce 2009 restrikes if someone is desperate enough to fill the gap. But man.
But again in 2010 there was again a proof and bullion ASE.
Being an OGP-centric collector, there were a lot of things worth discussing.
First the orientation of the design on the box. I had to look through my collection to get things right in my mind.
Let's just call the design similar to a printer, where you set the orientation to portrait or landscape. Portrait means the longer edge is on the side, landscape means the longer edge is on the top and bottom.
So staying in 2007, the proof coins box design (as well as the eagle design on the clamshell) shifted from portrait (how it has been since 1986) to landscape. I added a picture to show this as well. The clamshell itself did not change as far as the hinge location. Only the eagle device was rotated.
This orientation to the landscape orientation remains to this day.
However.
The uncirculated ASE remained in the original portrait orientation. The box was a non-issue as the uncirculated has never used a traditional clamshell inner box. Starting in 2007, the capsule was inserted into a plastic tray inside the box, again which remains true today, and the proof has even adopted the tray. The uncirculated ASE box just recently changed to having the landscape orientation, in 2021 with the change to the black sleeves.
For codes, I'll just state them first:
07 proof Z76 Uncirculated Z7F
08 Proof Z86 Uncirculated Z8F
No 09
Then just to note, they did seem to start, at least on the coins in my collection, started shifting for a time to narrower code strips. My 2007 proof has the strip they had been using, the wider one, but my uncirculated has a narrow strip, which they put on the side of the lid, not under the box.
Then on my 2008s, they both have the narrow strip. On the proof, it's on the side of the lid, on the uncirculated, it's on the bottom. Not sure if there is any uniformity here or not.
The COAs these years were a continuation of 2006. Really nice proof COA with the heavier textured paper and shiny, swoopy "S" design. The uncirculated, again like 2006, thinner slick paper and the plain typeset "S" design. Myself I don't think the uncirculated gets the respect it deserves. So that's about it for 07 & 08.
No 2009, except the bullion.
In 2010, there were a few things going on here. Winds of change.
The box and clamshell carried over from 2008.
They seemed to be playing with the codes a little, not that they ever made too much sense anyways, but it's PS1, and to aid things a little, is also stamped "2010" under the bar code. Yay!
The COA is quite different, a one year-only design. At first looks smaller than the 2008 COA but I checked and it's the same. There is a border around the edge which looks a lot like it's from a paper bill. Bureau of Engraving help? That's what it looks like, like it's from a dollar bill. To me it was a downgrade from the nice looking swoopy "S". But it's different. Same paper as before as well. I guess I liked the chrome lettering.
Well, that's a wrap for this week. It's in the can! I'll add notes to the photos as time allows.
EDIT, I did overlook the one and only variety of the ASE mintage to date.
In April 2008 an ASE collector, John Nanney of Leesburg, GA, discovered his 2008 uncirculated had the reverse design of a 2007. There were some minor changes to the reverse in 2008, which actually should be noteworthy all by itself. It would be interesting to know how he knew if the design change, possibly this was known already, and he noticed it was the same as prior years.
The mint found 15 dies used to make 2008 uncirculated coins and calculated 47,000 coins were minted with the 2007 reverse. (Freedom of Information Act request released the real amount as 46,318).
And now you know... the REST of the story. Good day.

Just adding a couple interior shots of the Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set as I think it's important to see the inside design as it did change 3 years later. My files were too large to upload, a first on my PC.

I've got a lot on the honeydew list today, trying to get this cranked out so I can get on it. Just doing the one year this year, which I think is the rule from 2011 up to the present. Will get back into several annual sets starting in 2012. This year of course the 2011 25th Anniversary set. Well here is what I had written about 2011:

So here I am tackling one more year in the thrilling history of the American Silver Eagle, 2011.
The big news was it was the 25th anniversary of the silver eagle and they decided to observe it in style with one of the coolest sets they ever made and the only set with more than 3 ASEs, a 5 ASE set with arguably the best looking OGP as well. They really knew how to do it back then.
I'm showing the normal single proof, which was a West Point, and finally they brought back the burnished after a 2 year absence, which was also a West Point, as far as an individually available burnished.
On the outer box again they kept the burnished in what I call a portrait orientation and the proof is the landscape orientation.
Something I noticed is that both the proof and uncirculated boxes are the same height starting in 2011. Prior years the burnished box was a shorter box (not as tall), I am assuming to make the boxes themselves a uniform size, probably to save money by having them the same. Even though the design on the lid is different.
One oddity for the OGP observers is for one year, the proof had the Department of the Treasury seal on it. You will see it changed again in 2012. So 2010 was the last year the Great Seal was the featured device on the outer box for the proof ASE. The Great Seal is still found on the 2011 burnished and will also be found on the 2012 burnished, then that was it, The Great Seal got the ax. 2010 proof had a one year only COA design. The 2011 COA both closely matches between the proof and burnished. I believe this was the first use of what I call the coin device, the coin at an angle with E Pluribus Unum on the edge. This would be used for several years.
For sales codes in 2011, the proof was PS4, and the burnished was 1P6. They both also have the year listed on the sales code decal.
So again the big event was the 25th Anniversary Set. 5 coins and really a huge set.
3 of the eagles are already discussed here, the Proof West Point, The burnished West Point, and they included a bullion coin. The bullion coins that year were either West Point or San Francisco. The mint did release info that the bullion eagles in this set were all S mints.
The 2 eagles ONLY found in this set were a reverse proof Philadelphia ASE (they had also made the reverse proof for the 20th anniversary set, so this wasn't even a first), and also a burnished San Francisco ASE, this was the first AND only time they made a burnished ASE that wasn't a West Point. So it's a pretty special coin in my book.
Sales code on this was A25.
Cost was $300 originally and household limit was 5, which in retrospect people say was too high. 100,000 limit so these 2 available in the set are pretty low production as well.
Well I hope I didn't miss anything this time. The rest of the years I think I'll end up having to do one at a time, because it seems like they really started branching out after the 25th, something extra going on every year since then.

Thank you for continuing to share your collection along with the additional information.

Comparing the 2007/08 sets to the 2012.
On the outer sleeve and folder, I'm neutral, both look nice, but I do like the star design of the coin board better on the first design.

Very impressive!

Really happy these photos weren't too big. Just a couple pics I took trying to display the differences between a Proof (on the left) and the Enhanced Uncirculated. Mainly just looking at what the colored stripes to on the reflections in the coins. Couldn't think of any other way other than a picture of the coins, and I knew that left a lot to the imagination as far as how they look in-hand. Videos are maybe a bit better. Possibly another approach would be to take some pictures like this with a normal Uncirculated ASE.