Mint News Blog: 2008-W Silver Eagle Reverse of 2007 Mintage Estimate

Since the 2008-W Burnished Silver Eagle Reverse of 2007 Variety was confirmed a little over a week ago, collectors have been scrambling to check their existing coins for the variety or buy an example online. Prices on eBay quickly escalated even while the actual rarity of the variety was still unknown.

My previous post which includes basic diagnostics and details of the discovery can be found here.

Coin World has just posted a follow up to their initial story, which includes an estimate of the total population of the new variety. According to the article, there are approximately 47,000 coins bearing the 2007 reverse type. The number was provided by US Mint spokesman Michael White. The estimate is based on the fact that employees at the West Point Mint located 15 dies with the reverse type of 2007.

In the past week, prices on eBay have cooled somewhat from earlier levels as more of the coins have been put up for auction. It will be interesting to see if the mintage estimate will have any impact on prices. Based on a sampling of eBay auctions ended yesterday, current prices seem to be around the following levels:

Raw: approximately $300
NGC MS69: approximately $225
NGC MS70: approximately $400

Note that prices are still extremely volatile, with coins often going for much more or less. There are also current listings with Buy It Now prices below or above these levels. The following link will take you to the current eBay listings.

The question on everyone's mind- are today's prices a bargain for a rare variety or a peak as interest in the variety dissipates and supply continues to grow?

Many will point to the key date of the series, the 1995-W Proof Silver Eagle, which had a mintage of only 30,125. Today, this coin sells for $4,000 or more depending on the grade.

On the other hand, the total number of 2008-W Burnished Silver Eagles sold by the Mint as of April 24, 2008 is 208,410. (figure from Numismatic News) That means that over 20% of the coins sold by the Mint have the 2007 Reverse Type.

In either case, the story and the market for this new variety is still developing. I'll continue to post updates as events unfold.