2019 saw perhaps one of the biggest United States Mint releases to date: the 2019 S Enhanced Reverse Proof Silver American Eagle. It was a first of its kind and even more noteworthy is its mintage as a maximum of just 30,000 was produced for the world. However, without prior releases from the United States Mint, the buildup of that coin would have not been possible. How so? Let us explain.
Next in our series focusing on Whitman Publishing’s fourth edition publication of the top 100 Greatest United States Coins, we take a look at another first of its kind in the American Silver Eagle wheelhouse. Dated 2012 and accompanied by a companion piece, this particular coin celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the San Francisco Mint in addition to being the first to come out of the city by the bay. With authors Scott Schechter and Jeff Garrett at the helm with influence from some of the top coin dealers throughout the country, we explore where this first-ever coin lands on the list and why.
#87 - 2012-S $1 American Silver Eagle, Reverse Proof
Reverse Proof American Silver Eagles. Simply put, collectors and dealers alike love them. The very first to be released was a part of a three-coin American Silver Eagle set from 2006 that celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the American Silver Eagle coin itself (first produced in 1986). The second one to be released found its way into a five-coin American Eagle Set that celebrated the coin’s 25th Anniversary in 2011. While both of the sets were sellouts, the way the United States Mint handled the ordering of them was more than underwhelming and quite frankly, collectors were not impressed. Online ordering was nearly impossible and getting through by phone was even more so.
Wiping the slate clean and focusing on a different approach in 2012 was exactly what was needed and that is exactly what the Mint did. In order to make products more available to their customers (which is something they vastly missed the mark on with the 2019 S Enhanced Reverse Proof SAE), they decided to release a set that would go on sale at 12 pm on June 7, 2012, and make it available until 5 pm on July 5, 2012. This meant that there would be no household limit and sales would be updated daily on their website. This set was the 2012 American Eagle San Francisco Two-Coin Silver Proof Set and was used to mark the 75th Anniversary of the San Francisco Mint.
Encompassed in the Silver Proof Set was a 2012-S Proof American Silver Eagle which was the first one to come out of San Francisco since 1992. The Mint also announced that there would be potentially up to 100,000 more of the Proofs issued outside of the set after the sales of the two-coin set were closed. While the Proof did not end up being unique, the Reverse Proof that accompanied it certainly was.
Being the third-ever Reverse Proof American Silver Eagle, it was the first to ever come out of San Francisco. The only way to obtain the coin was to purchase the set. Sales for the first day were announced at 85,000 and continued to slowly decrease as the month went on. The final number after sales were closed ended up being 251,302. Although the mintage ended up being higher than previous Reverse Proof Eagles, it was the fourth-lowest mintage of any Proof Eagle and one of just three Reverse Proof Eagles ever minted.
Although a final total was announced shortly after sales of the two-coin set, a new final total was released in December of that same year that tallied a final mintage of 222,998. This total came after returns and cancellations.
This coin was not mentioned in the first edition of the publication and first showed up on the list at #90 in the second edition. It moved down three spots in the following edition and has been #87 ever since.