1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

I picked up a slightly tarnished 1996 Silver Eagle round (1 oz).

I've noticed that the 1996 Silver Eagles on ebay are going for much more over spot.

Why?

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Because it was a low mintage.

96 SAEs usually go for anywhere in the 60-70 +/- dollar range

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

1996 is the rarest year of all the, Silver American Eagles. Followed by the 1994s, then the 97s, then the 95s and finally the 98s. The rest are only worth their weight IMO.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

This one is a tad tarnished and has a few scratches.

Should I get it professionally cleaned + graded?

I don't know if I have any interest in selling it (I do enjoy having a coin that is worth more than silver value, and its the first American Eagle I've picked up), but perhaps having it cleaned, graded and packaged would help it maintain its future value.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Not a silver specialist - but I wouldn't spend the money to have it cleaned and graded.

I would use that money to buy more silver - the scratches probably hurt the value somewhat anyhow, depending on how bad they are.

Even if no scratches - buy silver - you can have it cleaned and graded years later if you want.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Mintages:

"S" (San Francisco) is a proof eagle, "W" (West Point) is the rarest of all, and "P" or no mint mark is a regular bullion coin.

YEAR QUANTITY ISSUED
1986.........5,393,005
1986S........1,446,778
1987........11,442,335
1987S....... 904,732
1988.........5,004,500
1988S........ 557.370
1989.........5,203,327
1989S........ 617,694
1990.........5,840,210
1990S........ 695,510
1991.........7,191,066
1991S........ 511,925
1992.........5,540,068
1992S........ 498,654
1993.........6,763,762
1993P........ 403,025
1994.........4,227,319
1994P........ 372,168
1995.........4,672,051
1995P........ 395,400
1995W........ 30,125
1996.........3,603,386
1996P........ 473,021
1997.........4,295,004
1997P........ 429,682
1998.........4,847,549
1998P........ 422,319
1999.........9,133,000
1999P........ 549,769


:yippee:

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

You purchased it scratched and tarnished, probably a jewelry/pocket piece. In that condition, it will NEVER be a real rarity.

Do not spend money to have it graded, you can buy Jewel-Luster to clean it at a coin store and an airtite holder.

Glta

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Runcible:

I am a numismatist, and I do grade coins, not professionally. I use the standards set by PCGS. If you want to post a pic of your eagle, I would be happy to give you my opinion. Most eagles are graded MS67-69 and a few perfect at MS70. Those command big bucks.

Honestly, unless you are attached to the eagle, go ahead and sell it on eBay and use the money to buy more PMs. The scratches will lower the grade, maybe even lower than MS67, wasting your money by grading. There is always a sucker on eBay. Sometimes it's me, although rarely.

I do not collect silver eagles for their numismatic value. I do have many in my hoard, but I pay bullion price only, so no scarce years in my collection, because if tshtf, then I suspect very few will care whether you eagle is 1996, 2006 or anyother year. Rare gold and silver numismatic coins are different.

The Great Ag

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Yes sir - and I happen to own a 1996 PROOF.....simply because last year it only cost me $10 more over Uncirculated.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Give me a day, and I'll get some pictures posted.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

I agree with most here. Not worthy if scratched and tarnished. Now if it were a close call? That would be another story. Maybe these will help?

Scratches/Marks in the red areas are the worst. Orange second worse and so on. Oppps to large to post, lemme try and make the pics smaller.

Won't work, too small to discern anything. Try to follow this link if you want? It has pics and some info on what areas are important(Click on the pics, for the colors to show). http://tradingslabs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1348

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

If he can report an obvious scratch, it is a mute point....eagles did not get terrible handling, almost has to be perfect for ms 69.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

As promised, here are the pictures.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Hey, Runcible:

I'm at work and don't have the best monitor, so I will take a closer look tonight.

When you tilt the coin do you see a lot of scratches? Is that tarnish or toning? From the picture it looks like it could be peripherial toning; common if the coin was held in a container surrounded by paper. Later I'll show you what I mean with a pic.

I do not see any obvious scratches, the coin shows well. I won't give a grade until I look at with a better monitor. Also, since I cannot see the coin with a loupe, my grading will not be totally accurate.

With what I see, maybe MS68. It won't get any better than that. I would not spend the money to get it graded, unless you want to do SGS. They are cheap $10-$15 a coin, but they grade high and everyone knows it. However, I bought some ms-70 dimes graded by SGS knowing they were not, and paid MS63 prices. They may be ms65. You could graded them and make a little more on eBay

The gReat Ag

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

Silver eagles are purty. I think I'll keep it for awhile.

If I ever do sell it, it can be graded at that time, can it not? I'll store it in some cloth or a paper sleeve so it won't be damaged, and wait.

Did I mention silver eagles are purty?

Thanks for the analysis.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?
 

What's the best type of container to store silver in? I got a new 2006 Silver Maple Leaf I left sitting on the desl that is a little toned on the underside now because it was sitting on top of a post card.

Re: 1996 Silver Eagle -- Rare?