2011-S American Silver Eagle Burnished : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

The 2011-S American Silver Eagle is a limited-edition Burnished Uncirculated American Silver Eagle that was only available as part of the five-coin American Eagle 25th Anniversary Silver Coin Set. The American Eagle 25th Anniversary Coin Set upped the ante on the 20th Anniversary Set, with three exclusive coins in addition to the standard bullion and Proof strikings.

Released on October 27, 2011, at an issue price of $299.95 each, a product limit of 100,000 sets, and a household ordering limit of five, the 25th Anniversary Set sold out within minutes. And within minutes of that, speculators began to post listings on eBay using stock photos of the set and screen grabs of their successful purchase. Within minutes, collectors who were shut out by the United States Mint were eagerly paying $500 or more dollars for the Mint’s hottest numismatic product of the year. When the first wave of certified coins was returned from the grading services, certified sets in 69 were selling for over $900, while 70 sets were commanding $1,500 or more!

Along with the 2011-S American Silver Eagle, the 25th Anniversary Set included the 2011 American Silver Eagle bullion coin, the 2011-W American Silver Eagle Burnished coin, the 2011-W American Silver Eagle Proof, and the 2011-P American Silver Eagle Reverse Proof.

The 2011-S American Silver Eagle Burnished coin was the first and so far only Burnished Silver Eagle struck at the San Francisco Mint.

Things to Know Before You Buy or Sell a 2011-S American Silver Eagle

Since the 2011-S American Silver Eagle was sold exclusively in the American Silver Eagle 25th Anniversary Set, which had a mintage of just shy of 100,000 pieces, we can put forward a few concrete observations that may aid in your decision to either buy or sell an example of the limited-mintage issue.

First, the 2011-S American Silver Eagle Burnished coin is not to be confused with the 2011 American Silver Eagle bullion coin, some of which are marked as being “Struck at San Francisco” even though the coins bear no mintmarks. These coins were attributed to San Francisco by the labels affixed to the green monster box and are not meaningfully different than the bullion issues struck at the West Point facility.

Let’s start with the certified population. At CoinWeek, when we talk about certified coins, we refer to coins graded by CAC, NGC, and PCGS. Other grading services exist, and we are sure they provide their customers with a good service, but collectors and market makers more widely accept these “big three”.

Most of the NGC- and PCGS-certified coins were submitted within the first year of the product’s release. CAC, a relatively new full-service grading company, did not certify modern coins when it exclusively operated as a stickering service. Because of this, its certified population will not yield meaningful data. We say this because someone might want to market the first CACG MS70 coin as being “rare” when the truth is that CAC was just late to the game, and more MS70 coins are forthcoming.

In 2014, when we last tracked the certified population of 2011-S American Silver Eagles, PCGS reported 9,114 70s, while NGC graded 20,890. Ten years later, the PCGS population has only increased by 800 coins, while the NGC pop is up 1,000. For a classic coin like a Barber Half Dollar or Standing Liberty Quarter, these increases at the top end of the population (even at the top three or four grades) would be wildly disruptive to the market. For American Silver Eagles, however, an increase of fewer than 200 coins per year is very low, and we would call this a stable population. Even at MS69, the population increase is at inconsequential levels.

Considering just CAC, NGC, and PCGS certification numbers, we estimate that 52-55% of the total mintage has been certified. Beyond these coins, an unknown total of the five-coin sets has been broken up and sold individually. We cannot scientifically measure the attrition rate, but we would not be surprised to learn that no more than 30% of the original sets sold remain intact. And a significantly low number of those remain in unopened packaging. Could the smart long-term play be on fresh sets in Original Government Packaging? We think so.

Back to certified coins. In MS69, the 2011-S American Silver Eagle Burnished coin sells for about $130-$150. Ten years ago, these coins sold for $180 each for PCGS and $220 for NGC. Adjusted for inflation, those totals equal $240-$290 in today’s money. In MS70, today’s collectors should expect to pay between $200 and $220 a coin, with some examples being “bargain priced” at $180 or less. 2014 buyers were paying $400 or more for the coins in inflation-adjusted dollars.

The decline in market value for MS69s and MS70s points to the risks of post-release “FOMO” (fear of missing out) and these stabilized prices indicate that the coin sells for a significant premium over the non-set 2011 Silver Eagles, but that today’s demand is softer in what appears to be a buyer’s market.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS70 (9,915, 12/2024), NGC MS70 (21,896, 12/2024), and CAC MS69 (23, 12/2024).

• NGC MS70 #3560040-026: eBay, December 26, 2024 – $177.50. Early Releases. 22 Bids.
• NGC MS70 #3560312-013: eBay, December 25, 2024 – $299. Early Releases. Buy it Now.
• PCGS MS70 #46112079: eBay, December 24, 2024 – $259.95. Buy it Now.
• NGC MS70 #4108727-012: eBay, December 23, 2024 – $275. Early Releases. Buy it Now.
• PCGS MS70 #24098115: eBay, December 23, 2024 – $199.99. First Strike. Buy it Now.
• PCGS MS70 #83413192: eBay, December 20, 2024 – $199.95. Buy it Now.
• NGC MS70 #3686073-018: eBay, December 11, 2024 – $195. 1 Bid.
• PCGS MS70 #2413958: eBay, December 10, 2024 – $395. John Mercanti signature label. Buy it Now.
• PCGS MS70 #28820050: eBay, December 4, 2024 – $222.50. First Strike. 16 Bids.

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Design

Obverse:

Artist Adolph A. Weinman’s figure of Lady Liberty is depicted mid-stride. She is dressed in a flowing gown and draped with a large billowing American flag. She holds laurel and oak branches in her left hand that symbolize the civil and military glories of America, respectively. As Liberty strides confidently towards the rising sun, she reaches out and presents a welcoming and open hand. She is superimposed over the obverse legend LIBERTY ringing the obverse, obscuring half of the “BE” and almost the entire “R”. Above Liberty’s outstretched rear foot is the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, and below her is the date 2011.

The design bears a notable resemblance to sculptor Oscar Roty’s The Sower, a common image on French coins. Numismatist Roger Burdette posited in his book Renaissance of American Coinage (2007) that this was not a coincidence and while Adolph Weinman did not directly copy, he did derive significant inspiration from Roty’s work.

Reverse:

United States Mint Chief Engraver John Mercanti’s Heraldic Eagle is positioned at the center of the reverse. Clutched in its beak is a ribbon bearing the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Above its head is a constellation of 13 stars configured in an upside-down pyramid formation. The legend (top) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is wrapped around the design and the fineness and denomination (bottom) 1 OZ. FINE SILVER. ONE DOLLAR. The “S” mintmark of the San Francisco Mint is located below the branch.

Edge:

The edge of the 2011-S American Silver Eagle Burnished Uncirculated coin is reeded.

Coin Specifications

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