I've noticed that on the early Silver Eagles (1986-1990), the strike appears to be weak - the crisscrosses do not appear on the stars of the flag, the skirt lines are weak, etc. Is this because the coins I've seen were struck with worn out dies, or was not enough pressure applied when the coins were struck? Or was it something else?
Weak strikes and worn dies are both a common occurence on the single squeeze presses used now. Many of the early BU eagles suffer from weak strikes.
I am not an expert on SE, although I do own all of them. My assumption had always been that the earlier ones had softer details, not necessarily weaker strikes. The reason I came to this conclusion is that ALL the details seem to be "soft" - not just the highest points. I could be wrong, here, though. I notice that the older ones are softer in detail and tend to be shiny when new, whereas the later ones have sharper detail and are more of a matte finish.
I have a SE set from 86>99. But have some extra's from a couple of years I'd like to get rid of. How much would (should) I get for them from a reputable coin dealer? For example I have 4 '98 SE to sell.
Normal retail for '98 ASEs is about $10 - $12. From a dealer I would expect no more than $8 - if you are lucky.
