Burnished West Point Silver Eagles

Mint state Silver Eagles are the most collected precious metal coins in the United States and rightfully so! Since their release in 1986, they have been praised for their beauty and design. Mostly due to tradition, the mintmark on modern Silver Eagles was only placed on the proof examples struck by the Mint. The Silver Eagles would reach a milestone in 2006 (their 20th Anniversary) and the Mint wanted to showcase the Mint State coin by adding the W mintmark to the coin. It became the first uncirculated Silver Eagle to bear the famous W.

How are they different?

Other than adding the mintmark, the design remains the same, the difference is in how the coins are produced. The Mint truly wanted to make this "collector version" of the bullion coins special and it started with how the planchets were prepared. The planchets are the round silver blanks that when struck become coins. The Mint started burnishing the blanks prior to being struck. To burnish the blanks, they are placed in a tumbler with small ball bearings (about the size of a BB) to smooth the surface before striking them. This ultimately accomplishes three things. First, it gives the burnished coins a slightly matte finish. Secondly, it prepares the planchet to take a great strike resulting in incredible detail in the design. Thirdly, because of the lengthy process, the Mint simply makes much fewer of the burnished coins resulting in a mintage far more rare than its bullion counterparts.

Still Popular

The popularity of the burnished Silver Eagles is without question. Starting in 2006, W-Mint burnished coins have been produced every year (except 2009 and 2010) until present. In fact, the 2017-W Silver Eagles go sale on June 29th. Their unique design, striking beauty, and rare mintage keep collectors coming back for more every year!