Does absence make the heart grow fonder? The 2010 Proof Silver Eagle represented the resumption of the popular collector series. The pace of sales would be fast and the offering period was brief, but collectors were happy to welcome back an old favorite.
Following the widespread disappointment resulting from the cancellation of the 2009 Proof Silver Eagle, the status of the next issue of the series remained in doubt. The US Mint faced the same issues of being unable to fulfill public demand for bullion coins despite their legal obligation to do so. Collectible silver coins not specifically required to be produced remained suspended.
On October 4, 2010, the US Mint finally announced that the 2010 Proof Silver Eagles would be offered. A slow down in demand for bullion coins during August and September of that year had allowed the US Mint to move some capacity towards the production of collector coins. Sales would begin on November 19, with order fulfillment starting December 1.
Pricing for the offering was $45.95 per coin, which reflected an increase of $14 from the last price in effect during 2008. This was attributed to the higher market price of silver. No maximum mintage was indicated, but a household ordering limit of 100 coins was imposed for the start of sales.
The coins remained available until December 28, 2010, when a sell out was announced. Total sales had reached 860,000 coins.
The price of silver rose by approximately 80% during the year, with much of the gains coming during the final quarter of the year. After starting the year at $17.17 per ounce, the price of silver had risen to $30.63.
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US $66.00
