American Eagle Coins?

Question

What is the difference between a American Eagle Silver Dollar Coin PROOF and a American Eagle Silver Dollar Coin Regular issue Uncirculated

2004

Answer 1

Yes the proofs are made with a special blank and the dies are special also. The coin is also struck more than once. Proof coins are made for collectors, so the mint sells them for more money and in the case of the American Eagle coin, mint far fewer than the uncirculated type, which are made just like regular coins are. For an example the 1994 proof 69 silver eagle trends for $250, while the uncirculated one trends for $50 is MS-69 or only $20 if in grade Mint State 64. I have been lucky over the years and have seen some proof coins from the 1800's that were just out of this world.

Answer 2

the method of manufactor. Proof coins have the blanks and the dies highly polished before striking. When struck, this creates a highly reflective piece. The coin is then sandblasted on the high points creating a contrast with a frosted finish. The uncirculated is simply struck without polishing, and the burnished has some kind of matte-like finish. Proofs are generally more expensive

Answer 3

The above answerers have covered the characteristics, the method of manufacture and even the values of the Silver Eagles. So I'll just complement the answers by providing additional info, some images and their mintage figures.

The Proof Silver Eagle comes in an original US Mint dark blue velvet presentation box with the original Certificate of Authenticity => http://www.belairestamp.com/eagleproof04.jpg while the Brilliant Unicirculated version comes in the original government tube of 20 coins.=> http://lynncoins.com/01SEROLL.JPG

The 2004-W American Eagle Silver Proof Coins have deep mirrorred fields with frosted devices=> http://catalog.usmint.gov/wcsstore/ConsumerDirect/images/catalog/en_US/Z76_popup.jpg and have a limited mintage of 850,000. The Brilliant Uncirculated version has a mintage of 8,882,754 and has a matte surface.=> http://catalog.usmint.gov/wcsstore/ConsumerDirect/images/catalog/en_US/Z7F_popup.jpg

Answer 4

Hells no. Metals are a horrible investment. If you want some silver eagles because they're cool to look at then fine. Get 'em. Metals are highly speculative. Prices are high right now too. Just about any other investment outperforms metals over time. I heard one guy on the radio say that an ounce of gold purchased in 1920 for 20 dollars would be worth over 600 today while the 20 dollar bill would still only be worth 20. True, assuming you kept it in your wallet for 87 years. The same 20 invested in stocks would be worth 80 grand. Like I said, buy 'em if you like 'em. Invest in something else.

Answer 5

The only thing to add to bbooptoon 1959 is that proofs are usually struck by the press multiple times to bring up the details of the design whereas the uncirculated issues are only struck once.