I was bored today and thought it would be a good idea to look at my collection. I was comparing two different year eagles that I have. I noticed that every older eagle weighed significantly more than recent date eagles. For example 1989s weighed .2-.4 grams over(used 1989s because I had more than one). The 2011 eagles weighed .05-.1 gram over(used 2011s because I had more than one). Every coin tested was BU. Also, I noticed many design changes between the two years. I tried researching this and there was no information available. Below is an image of two eagles side by side showing the changes between the years. I do not know when the design changed however these were the years that I personally had and compared. Images of eagles are stock photos and not my own.
from 2007 to 2008, the reverse was changed... There is a valuable variety of the 2008 ASE with the Reverse of 2007 http://www.coinworld.com/Articles/ViewArticle/reverse-of-2007-silver-eagles
The designs may have slight changes year to year. That would not mean much of anything. Design changes during the same year are what you want to look for, such as the previously mentioned 2008 with the reverse of 2007.
What about the weight difference? I have heard others talk about older eagles weighing more. Is this because the price of silver was much less than today and wasn't significant?
Silver eagles will usually be slightly overweight. The government guarantees them to be at least one oz so they run them very slightly heavy just to be SURE none are underweight.
