Even with the sharply increased US Mint production of the American Eagle Silver Coins in 2008, the supply was unable to cope with demand and so there was an unexpected sellout in August that year.  There was a brief suspension of sales to stabilize the market, and when selling resumed, these were subjected to allocation. Still, the end result was a quick escalation of the coins’ prices in the secondary market.

Proofs of the 2008 Silver Eagle Coin were minted at the US Mint facility in West Point, New York, and thus, feature a “W” on the coin proof’s reverse. These 2008-W Silver Eagle Coin proofs stand in the third year in which uncirculated coins were offered for sale to collectors.

The 2008 proof mintage sports some other features distinctive in the Silver Eagle Coin series.  For instance, the reverse dies of the 2007 coins were used to strike a small quantity of the 2008-W Silver Eagle Coins.  This variety is known in the market as the 2008-W Silver Eagle Reverse of 2007.  As soon as collectors caught wind of such a distinction, there were strong demands and prices of these coin proofs rose quickly.

Even prior to the prize bonanza in 2008 Silver Eagles, these coins are already highly valued in the market, especially among collectors.  After all, no less than the government of the United States guarantees the weight, purity and content of the series, the only silver bullion with this type of government assurance.

Every American Silver Eagle Coin is composed of .999 fine silver, with a weight of 1.000 troy ounce for a silver content of 0.999 troy ounces.  Copper accounts for the rest of the coin’s component and is added for coin durability and better resistance to design tarnishing.  The diameter of the coin is 1.598 inches while thickness is 0.117 inches.  The Silver Eagle has a reed edge, with its obverse side featuring the “Walking Liberty” designed by Adolph A. Weinman and the reverse showing a heraldic eagle rendered by John Mercanti.

The value of your coins remains the same without reference to color. Many collect coins to commemorate great events in their lives, a kid’s graduation, a new baby or to mark historic events like the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

One thing is for certain, there is not a coin collector out there who will stop picking up because the costs have risen a little and possibly an identical quantity will consider selling their prize collection to the bidder prepared to go highest.

Memorial coins are a popular form of collection, as are not common minted coins like those which had a blunder in their stamping. If a certain set of coins does not interest you, it will not be any fun at all to become a collector.

Coin dealers will be much more likely to recognize a counterfeit coin, have a higher chance of hearing about the sale of the explicit rare coins that interest you, and will recognize an asking price that is over- or undervalued. A grade is called a shorthand designed by coin gurus ( numismatists ) to show a coin’s appearance.

Simply put, if a certain coin collector tells another collector that he owns an uncirculated Charlotte fifty half eagle, both should already have an idea of the coins appearance without even seeing it, due to the claim of its grade.

Grading can be learned, studied and applied with a predicted and known result that ultimately relies on judgment, not feelings. Like any language, science, sport, or research, it’s best to learn and understand coin grading one part at a time, thru significant study and experience.

While there are those that whinge of too many grades, most experienced coin graders recognize and appreciate the incontrovertible fact that there’s a big selection in features between ranges. This is the technique of stamping or imprinting a drawing or a symbol onto a blank. Depending on the coins design, it can either have feeble or robust strike. An example of this would be the Type II gold buck on which both sides ( front and back ) have the highest strike that is perfectly aligned, meaning, these designs need feeble strikes. Sometimes the strike isn’t a key factor in building the coins grade except when it is included in a chain where the price is attached to strike. The amount of coin marks as well as where they are placed is a major component in creating the grade.

While there’s no fixed formula on the quantity of coin marks that sets its grade, there are many controlled standards regarding the importance of the location or positioning of a scratch.

All coin dealers are not born equal, and it is almost impossible to specialise in each area when it comes to picking up rare coins. It is important to grasp what to search for before you select a pro for your coin collecting wishes. But as time rolls by, the quantity of these coins go down. Three essential guidelines here : buy what you like, buy what you are able to afford, and buy at a fair cost.

Follow this recommendation and you can enjoy your coins more, you will not pay too much for them and you will not go broke. Another common oversight is when the mint mark, the miniscule letter on most Yankee coins that indicates which mint made the coin, is missing or incorrect.

Though there are exceptions, most old coins are not especially valuable unless they are very well saved. The best place for an idea of their worth is to go to the reference section of your local library. Coin collecting for investment purposes could be a troublesome endeavor.

For example, a coin having a deep scratch that it isn’t simply plain on its reverse ( back ) side won’t be precisely penalised. However, if the same scratch was positioned on a noticeable or apparent central point on the front, for example the cheek on the Statue of Freedom , it’d be punished much more.

A coin can have a variation of textures on the surface, influenced by design, the metal that was employed and the mint of origin. Luster is significant particularly when resolving whether a coin is either circulated or uncirculated. A coin in Mint State technically ; is freed from erosion and wear and must not have heavy breaks in its luster.

This is a particularly subjective element in figuring out coin grade. As an example, a gold coin showing dark green-gold pigmentation could be repulsive to one collector and interesting to another. As gold is tolerably an inert metal, it isn’t susceptible to much color variance as copper or silver. Virtually each one of us gold coins had been dipped or cleaned, thus no longer showing their original color. As coin collectors become well informed, many of them are attracted and fascinated to coins having their natural color.

In most coin series, it is almost impossible to find out original coin pieces. Note a coin having superior eye appeal can be robust in one aspect, for example possessing exceptional luster but not quite as powerful in another aspect, for example not so good color.

A coin that is unattractive in one aspect yet ok in all of the other aspects can still be distinguished as below average in eye appeal. Understanding how to grade a coin is crucial so that one can have an idea of the price or cost of the coin that he is purchasing or selling. When new to coin picking up, be certain to ask the assistance of a seasoned collector or dealer when purchasing or exchanging your coins. When deciding which coins to gather, you must think about your interests, your position, and your ROI.

High quality coins acquired at reasonable prices will appreciate, but potentially no good or bad than other investments. This sounds right because they are the easiest to collect. These hobbyists then expand their collection to coins from increasingly further and earlier origins.

Deficiency shouldn’t be confused with overall mintage. In the silver booms, many silver coins were melted for there bullion content. As an example, during World War Two, pennies were made out of steel, because copper was required for the war effort. While there are some real gold coin fans in the Net, there are those people that are posing as gold coin collectors and are just looking to rip you off.

Always be looking out for rare gold coins, and have coins valued by a gold coin expert to avoid big variations in cost. You can get a silver locating device or a magnetic pole for finding loose coins in ditches, under automobiles, or in other hard-to-reach places. Or depend on your eyes to spot those gleaming metal circlets of potential wealth.

In the case of the American Eagle Silver Coins proofs, these were struck as part of the US Bullion Program implemented in 1986 under the authority of the United States Congress.  Also included in this program is the minting of American Gold Eagle Coins.  An American Eagle Platinum proof was added to the mintage starting 1997.

Each Silver Eagle Coin proof and the other coins minted under the bullion program are struck in a special minting process.  The method calls for having burnished coin blanks manually fed into presses with special dies fitted.  The coin blanks are struck several times, resulting in softly frosted but very detailed images.  An elegant accent is provided by encasing the coin in a velvet-lined presentation box, and topped off with a Certificate of Authenticity from the US Mint.

The American Silver Eagle Coin is also available as bullion for investors. The US Mint channels these bullion coins through its network of authorized purchasers, who create a secondary market for the public by both selling and buying the Silver Eagles.

There are several options in purchasing Silver Eagle Coins.  One is called bulk purchase, which involves buying green boxes which investors know as “Monster Boxes” containing 25 tubes or rolls of 20-coin Silver Eagle.  A green top with the US Treasury seal makes the 20-coin rolls distinctive. The bulk method usually provides the lowest premium, as opposed to an individual Silver Eagle Coin purchase which can generate the highest premium.

To be successful in investing in a coin collection, be it in bullion or proofs, you must have a familiarity of the varying mintages of the Silver Eagle Coin.   The year-to-year fluctuation in mintages since 1986 greatly influences the price levels of the bullion and coin proofs.  Collectors often make use of a standard reference book to determine the mintages. Generally, these are in the millions of coins for the businesses or bullion strikes and hundreds of thousands for the coin proofs.

It will also help to have an understanding of the mintmarks in a Silver Eagle Coin which indicate where the coin was struck.  There are three mints where Silver Eagles have been struck.  If a coin bears an “S” mintmark, it is from the San Francisco mint which produced coins early in the series.  Those coins with the “P” mark were struck in the Philadelphia mint.  Coins or proofs of more recent mintage carry the “W” on the reverse side to indicate that these were from the US Mint in West Point, New York.

These special coins will not make a little money bag feel like it weighs a ton. Instead these coins can add more worth to a coin collector’s portfolio.

The Eagle Coin can is produced in gold, silver and platinum metals. This implies that the quality on these coins is extremely high. Since the US Eagle Coin is not sold immediately to the public but in proof sets, these must be acquired at the current cost of gold and the other metals. To make the buying weight worth the same for each coin these US eagle coins have a particular weight that is standard. With these set weights you’ll be in a position to have the American Eagle Coins that you are able to add to your portfolio with no problems about its market valuation. There’s another name that is given to the American Eagle Coin. It’s also called American Eagle Bullion Coin.

The program to bring these coins out for financiers to add physical amounts of gold and silver into their investments came into being in 1986. At this time, the sole American Eagle Coins were the gold and silver eagle coins that had at one previous point been in circulation. The platinum uncirculated American Eagle Coins were brought out in1997. American Eagle Coins are easily recognizable thanks to the design on the face of the coins.

Each coin will feature the Augustus Saint-Gaudens design of  the Woman Liberty. And the costliest of these American Eagle coins are those of the gold Saint-Gaudens 1934 20 dollar pieces. The reason behind the high cost of these American Eagle coins lies in the presidential decree of 1934 that banned the use of all forms of gold bullion.

And since the 20 US Dollar American Eagle coins were made of gold they were right away recalled and melted down. Some however, escaped this destiny and survived in the world hunt by each ardent coin collector. The long and short of it though, is that it is irrelevant if you never get the opportunity to see the 1934 gold Saint-Gaudens coin. What does matter is that you learn how to correctly recognize and price the American Eagle coins that you do have in your possession and to keep them safe.

More than its design, however, the American Silver Eagle Coin is prized by many because it is the United States’ official silver bullion.  The US Mint first issued the Silver Eagle in November 1986.  Each coin has a nominal value of one US dollar and is struck exclusively in the 1 troy ounce denomination and contains one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver.

The minting of the Silver Eagle Coins is part of the American Eagle Bullion program authorized by the United States Congress in 1985.  This program granted the US Mint the authority to produce not only silver bullion but also gold bullion.  In 1997, minting of platinum silver eagle was added to the program.  The US government guarantees the precious metal content, weight and purity of these coins.

Proof versions of the American Eagle medallion is struck at the US Mint for collectors.  The proofs undergo a special minting process that entails feeding burnished blanks manually into presses with special dies fitted. Detailed images seemingly afloat a mirror-like surface characterizes each proof, the result of the multiple times that each coin is struck.  Meticulous manual inspection follows after they are struck otherwise they are uncirculated. After passing this quality control process, they are packed in satin-lined velvet boxes with clear plastic covers to complete an elegant presentation.   Each one carries an official certificate of authenticity from the US Mint which helps prevents production of fake coins.

The Silver Eagle medallions come out of three mints.  Those that carry the “P” mintmark are struck at the Philadelphia mint.  Those that were considered mintages of the series’ early years have the “S” mark, indicating that they were minted in San Francisco. Coins of more recent mintage were struck at the West Point, New York, and these bear the “W” mintmark on its reverse side.

It is important for collectors to understand what these mintmarks signify.  The price of the American Eagle Silver Coins may be readily determined through these marks.  This is because year-to-year mintages of the coins vary widely, and collectors usually check a standard reference book to determine the years wherein the minted coins or proofs command higher prices in dollars making them highly collectible.  In general, proofs were issued only in sets of hundred thousands, while business strikes would amount to millions of coins.

Regardless of whether you’re getting your coins in an offline or an online store you should always check the merchant or establishments reliability first. Check if they have a good and clean record when it comes to dealing with clients as well as if they are properly licensed. The thing is, you would want to be sure that you aren’t getting into shady business and that everything is legit. So don’t hesitate to ask around or call the Better Business Bureau for more information. Remember, its better safe than sorry.

One of the most common problems that gold coin buyers experience would be grading. This is because different people have different ideas and ways of seeing things. For example, your idea of what an MS65 is might be different from the idea of the dealer’s. There are also gold coins that have rather big gaps when it comes to value in between grades. So to avoid this issue, its better to get the coins that have been graded by a third party as this would avoid further conflict. Remember also that grading standards change with time and as such, you would want to keep yourself up to speed.

It’s also wise to buy the rarest coin in the best possible condition in a price that you can afford. There are plenty of collector’s gold coins that can retail for the price near that of melt gold because there are plenty of them to go around. Take for example the gold with lower grades. When gold and gold coins increase in terms of value, it means that they are rare and that there aren’t many of them left. Keep in mind that when gold decrease or increase in value, the gold coins follow suit by percentage.

Lastly, it’s also important to do research and I cannot emphasize this enough. Doing so would provide you with the information and the knowledge about certain types and grades of gold. It would allow you to make better decisions and steer clear of bad ones. After all, knowledge is power and that applies perfectly in this situation.

Make sure that you are buying gold bullion from a reputable dealer. Regardless of whether you’re buying from an online auction shop like eBay, a private merchant or a brick and mortar shop you should never forget to take a look at their background and to check for anything that might be suspicious. How long have they been in business? Do they accept returns? Do they get good reviews from clients? This isn’t being paranoid; you are simply making sure that the person you are dealing with is trustworthy. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask any questions.

If you are purchasing your gold coins from an auction then you also need to make sure that they are a legitimate company. If you purchase through eBay, you would be able to do this by simply checking the seller’s feedback. If they are a power seller or have a track record of excellent sales then they are a good choice. It would be wise not to do any business with anyone who has a bad record or someone who isn’t established yet. Also, be wary of people who promise things that are too good to be true. Is the coin to cheap for its value? It might not be a bargain so think twice before getting it.

If you know other fellow gold coin enthusiasts, it would be good to get a recommendation from them. The thing with recommendations is the fact that someone has already tried the service before and was obviously satisfied with it, thus, the recommendation. Ask your friends any good private dealers, auction houses or establishments where you might be able to find good gold coins for reasonable prices. This way, you can shop without worry.

On a daily basis, the prices of gold coins as well as other precious metals change. So there really isn’t a permanent price on them. These changes depend on the daily marker spot price which is basically the buy and sell spread that is based upon the demand or the supply for a specific precious metal for that day. Other factors that may affect the price of gold coins also include the rarity, the condition of the coin and its total weight. These are the primary factors that affect the pricing, other factors include:

Gold bid and ask price – this is basically the price in which an exchange that handles precious metals would be willing to buy or sell gold at any given period of time.

Integrity – there are precious metal exchanges and all of these exchanges have different rules. There are also some that offer better prices than others and as such, it would be wise to check the background of an exchange before you enter any form of transaction with them. Remember, its better to be safe than sorry.

Supply and Demand – the price of raw gold which is typically set per ounce is based on the current supply and demand for it.

Media- There are some exchanges that actually hire spokespeople such as celebrities to help sell their products. When this happens, their pricing are most likely to be higher than other exchanges because they would have to cover the advertising/marketing costs.

Premium- depending on the gold, this could vary from a rare coin certification premium or government issued bullion premium.

So, don’t forget to make the necessary research before you get into a transaction with you buy gold coins. Doing so could help you get the best possible price for gold coins.

This excludes coins secretly minted coins. Alloys, for example copper and nickel, are also used to supply coins,eg the US twenty-five cent piece, that are more cost-effective to supply than single metal coins. There are several differing kinds of coins for picking up. Once the collector has selected which area to gather, it’s time to start. One area that’s common today is the US state quarter. They are found often in pocket change.

Commercial pamphlets are available to store the quarters. If a collector just wants all fifty state quarters, they are comparatively straightforward to find. Because so many have been issued, the value of circulated coins is low. Coins in circulation get nicked, scratched and otherwise worn. To have a collection that may increase in worth over time, a collector should think about uncirculated mint coins. These are generally available when a coin is first released and are not worn in any way. When copper was required in America’s war industries and couldn’t be spared for coinage, the govt allowed the use of steel to produce nickels. After the war, copper was again used to provide nickels, augmenting the value of the steel cents. Congress is exploring the use of other metals to make cents. Should this occur, the last copper dimes would increase in price, as would the new dimes. Design changes can also have an effect on the value of a penny. The design was modified, therefore inflating the value of the old design.

Coins that are freely available or worn may increase in price over time, but not quite as much as mint, uncirculated varieties. Select your area of specialty and then jump in.

Another reason for the American Eagles popularity is its beautiful design. The front face bears a striking image of the Striding Liberty, based on the original design by Augustus Saint-Gaudens seen on the US Dollar $20 gold coins of the early 1900s. The back face or flip side, on the other hand, bears an image of an American eagle’s nest. The coins themselves are 22-Karat or 91.67 percent gold. The rest of its contents is soft metal to make the coin malleable. The coins are minted according to the strictest and finest standards, and guaranteed and circulated by the US Government. They come in four unit sizes—1/10, 1/4, ½ (half) and 1 ounce—and are often collected as miniatures of American Eagle Gold Bullions.

The American Gold Coin is widely available. They can be bought from major coin dealers, brokerage houses, and banks across the states, and are recognized by dealers all over the world, making it an item that you can easily buy, sell and trade. Here are some of the places where you can start looking for buy them and include in your assets portfolio. You can check out the value and get prices in dollars and always ask for proof of ownership.

The first place you might want to look is the U.S. Mint’s website, which has an online tool that you can use to search and locate establishments that retail American Gold Coins, both on national and local scales. The tool allows you to enter your state to generate a list of dealers. eBay is an interesting resource for dealers which also makes sense, considering the wide variety of items that are sold or auctioned there. Try searching entering the search term “American gold coin,” and see what kind of results you get.

The more conventional dealers of coins and bullions also use the directory to advertise. For more options on where to buy them, you can try checking out your local directory. Finally, the Internet is also a great resource of online information. You can start with your search engine of choice, then type in a broad keyword. You can also narrow down your choice by typing in “Gold Eagle Coin” along with your state or locality. You will definitely get relevant results with contact details to help you get started doing serious business.