2008 Silver Eagle Proof Coins
Want to buy the 2008 Silver Eagle proof coins? Read on for facts and info on this popular product from the US mint and discover the value of the 2008 silver eagle proof coin…
The US mint released the 2008 proof silver eagle coins on 3 January 2008. The market price for these coins was set at $31.95. Initially the US mint did not place any restriction on the ordering limit as well as the quantity of the coins that could be produced. The proof Silver Eagles are amongst the most popular coins produced by the US mint and they are easily available for sale the whole year round. They can also be minted on-demand.
However a unique situation occurred with the 2008 Silver Eagle proof coins and that was the fact that the US mint actually put a stop to the selling of this variety a few months after it was released. It was quite a shock for coin collecting enthusiasts to logon to the US Mint website and find out that the 2008 Silver Eagle proof coin was not available for sale.
The common notion was that the coins had been sold-out however this was not actually the case. Rather they were just not being offered for sale. The cause of an availability was put forward as a shortage of silver blanks that serve as the platform on which the 2008 silver eagle coins are stamped. In order to address the public regarding this situation the US mint released a memo that informed them of the situation. The memo clearly stated that the US mint was not going to be using the incoming silver blanks for the purpose of producing the numistic versions of the American Eagle silver proof and uncirculated versions. The entire supply of silver blanks was going to be used for the purpose of producing silver bullion coins only which is going to cause a reduced supply period.
Based on the above-mentioned statements and other instances where the US mint has addressed the public on the issue it is clear that the production of 2008 proof Silver Eagles will only resume when the demand for the bullion Silver Eagles has subsided. Or on the other hand if the US mint is able to acquire silver blanks in larger quantities that will enable them to fulfill the demand for all their silver products.
The spokesman from the US Mint did not give any specific date at which they would resume the production of proof Silver Eagles. Until the time the production of proof silver eagles resumes the prices in the secondary market are likely to remain sky high. The prices shot to the sky as soon as the US mint halted the production of these coins. From $31 the prices have gone up all the way to $50 for each coin.
Till date the US mint has sold up to 712,000 proof Silver Eagles of 2008. When compared to the sales of the 2002 silver eagle there seems to be a significant drop in demand causing a decline in the sales of these proof coins. Even with this reduced demand the US mint has been unable to satisfy the market because of which a shortage of coins has occurred.