US Coins

San Francisco Mint strikes Proof Eagles for sets

By Paul Gilkes

Published: Mar 31, 2017, 7 AM

2017-congratulations-set-coins-cover-lead

A 2017-S silver Proof American Eagle, struck at the San Francisco Mint, will be part of the 2017 Congratulations set and, later in the year, the 2017 Limited-Edition Silver Proof set.

Original image courtesy of U.S. Mint.

Images of Proof 2017-S Proof silver American Eagle are cropped by Coin World from images the Mint provided of the coins in the Congratulations set packaging. The U.S. Mint did not provide obverse and reverse photographs separate from the packaging.

Images courtesy of U.S. Mint.

This article comes from our April 17, 2017, weekly issue of Coin World. Want to get all of our content, including special magazine exclusives? Subscribe today!

The Proof American Eagle silver dollar that will be included in two limited-edition 2017 sets will be a 2017-S coin, struck at the San Francisco Mint, and not a West Point Mint strike.

The 2017-S coin will be part of the 2017 Congratulations set, which will be released April 4, and in the 2017 Limited-Edition Silver Proof set, which is to be issued later in the calendar year.

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With the inclusion of a special Proof coin rather than the standard Proof coin, the Congratulations set for the first time since its introduction in 2012 will be a limited edition option in 2017, restricted to a product maximum of 75,000. (Although "restricted" this amount is considerably higher than the usual numbers recorded in Mint sales reports for the annual set.)

U.S. Mint officials have not disclosed a product maximum for the 2017 Limited Edition Silver Proof sets, nor whether a Proof 2017-W American Eagle silver dollar will be included in the set as well.

The 2017 Congratulations set is being offered at $54.95, with no household ordering limits. The specially packaged set is touted for gift-giving.

All previous Congratulation sets were struck to order and contained West Point Mint Proof American Eagle silver dollars.

The U.S. Mint offered for sale beginning March 23 the single Proof 2017-W American Eagle silver dollar at $53.95 per coin, with no product or household ordering restrictions.

Second since 1992

The Proof 2017-S American Eagle silver dollar in the 2017 Congratulations set is the second such piece to be struck at the San Francisco Mint since 1992. The most recent one was struck in 2012 for a set marking the 75th anniversary of the current San Francisco Mint (the regular Proof 2012 coins were struck at the West Point Mint).

The San Francisco Mint struck the annual Proof American Eagle silver dollar each year from the introduction of the series in 1986 through 1992.

In 1993, Proof American Eagle silver dollar production was moved to the Philadelphia Mint, with coins issued annually through 2000 bearing that facility’s P Mint mark.

The only exception between 1993 and 2000 was in 1995, when two silver Proof American Eagles were issued — one at the Philadelphia Mint for individual purchase, and the second, at the West Point facility. The 1995 West Point Mint strikes were included in a special five-coin set that included Proof versions of the four American Eagle gold coins, with the silver coin being a bonus. The five-coin Proof sets were offered at the same $999 price as the four-coin gold Proof sets. The U.S. Mint sold a total of 30,125 of the five-coin Proof sets.

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Examples of the Proof 1995-W American Eagle silver dollar alone trade hands today for thousands of dollars each and are the key to the series.

In 2001, Proof American Eagle silver dollar output was moved to the West Point Mint.

The West Point Mint has struck a Proof American Eagle silver dollar annually since, except for 2009, when Proof production was suspended because silver blanks were all diverted to bullion coins.