The Uncirculated 2018-W American Eagle 1-ounce silver dollar will be issued for sale by the U.S. Mint beginning at noon Eastern Time May 24.

The price of each coin is $46.95, $2 more than the $44.95 the Mint charged for the 2017-W coin. The coin has an unlimited mintage and will be offered with no household ordering limits.

Not all inscription ‘misspellings’ are true misspellings: Mike Diamond reports on coins that, at first glance, appear to have misspelled legends or dates but, with closer study, are found to have die defects that are misleading.

This Uncirculated version of the American Eagle silver dollar is a numismatic issue and should not be confused with the bullion version of the coin, even though the bullion coin also has what is generally considered to be an Uncirculated finish, though the two finishes do differ slightly. The numismatic version has the W Mint mark of the West Point Mint, while the bullion version lacks a Mint mark; the numismatic version is sold directly to the public at a price that is well above its silver value, while the bullion coin is sold to the Mint’s authorized purchasers at a price based on its metal value plus a premium to cover production costs.

The first numismatic Uncirculated American Eagle silver dollars were sold in 2006 as part of the Mint’s 20th anniversary celebration of the bullion coin. Until 2006, Mint officials referred to the finish on the bullion version as “Uncirculated,” but with the introduction of the numismatic version, the traditional term for the finish on the bullion version was dropped and the Mint began referring to a “bullion finish.” 

The collector community sometimes refers to the finish on the numismatic version as “Burnished Uncirculated,” though that is not a term that the Mint uses. The “burnished” is derived from the special burnishing process the planchets for the numismatic version undergo before they are struck into coins.

Although sales of the 2018-W coin are to begin soon, sales of last year’s coin continue. As of the May 6, 2018, Mint sales report, total sales for the Uncirculated 2017-W American Eagle silver dollar reached 146,015 coins.

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