Burnished 2010 Silver Eagle?

I know that they did not make a burnished Silver Eagle in 2010, but is there a possibility that a burnished planchet was struck as a regular bullion coin? I have a 2010 SE that looks like it is burnished, except it has no W mint mark. Has anyone ever heard of this happening? The comparison pictures show a regular SE with the shiny finish on the left and the burnished one on the right.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I guess it is possible, but it is hard for me to make a distinction based on those photos. The first two side-by-side photos of the obverse and reverse don't show each coin under the same lighting position. You should take each one separately (removed from the plastic case) under the same lighting position.

As for the bottom close-up photo, can you take a similar photo of the other coin for comparison?

Chris

 

Thanks Chris. It will be a few days before I can get more pictures. Traveling for work right now. I'll get some more posted by the weekend.

 

To my knowledge no extra handling or steps are taken when preparing the burnished coins. That means that there is NO difference between the burnished SAE and the bullion ASE except for the Mint mark.

So, the short answer to your question is, yes, the bullion coin was struck on a burnished planchet, but that is what they do every year.

 

The mint claims the burnished blanks are polished differently.

 

Yes, I thought they did too and looked it up for more detail. Here is an article on creating burnished goins where they do actually go through a 'polishing' to give them the different Matte finish look. Not all bullion coins go through this process.

http://blog.goldeneaglecoin.com/what-is-a-burnished-coin/

 

It depends on who makes the blanks and when. I have bullion eagles from every year and some look different than others. The US mint will source blanks from different places. Sunshine will produce from different facilities which might result in a slightly different blank. A new machine and/or new process for the same facility could result in a different finish too.

 

If memory serves me correctly, I believe the US Mint went from a more polished/proof look to a matte/burnished look for the bullion versions between 2008 and 2012. I will see if I can find an article stating the fact and post later. My guess being that is the difference you are seeing.

 

well, what I can add is this...

In 2008 the Mint went from a reducing lathe to digital reduction for the dies. This is likely to have caused some differences in the coins' appearance, and could explain differences between coins dated 2007 and prior with coins dated 2008 and later.

 

Nice article. I challenge you, however to look at coins and look at the finishes and tell me if they look any different.

I would also add that the last paragraph of the article describes "What a Burnished Coin looks like" as the design seemingly floating above a MIRROR FIELD.

I'm not sure if they were getting their info mixed up on that one, but it doesn't help me to see burnished coin in my mind. IYKWIM

 

Wow, that article is one of the bigger pieces of garbage I've ever read. Lots of misinformation in there.

 

well, Kurt, it comes from a blog, so as with anything, take it with a grain of salt... just like my answers

 

So like, where is the mention of the special treatment in the making of the dies? It's not merely a blank treatment difference. The dies are made differently.

 

Honestly, Kurt, I am unaware of ANY difference in the dies, planchets, or blanks for these coins.

And the coins show no evidence of any special treatment, either

 

Well, in the case of the ASE's, the dies are glass-bead sandblasted before use, fields and devices. In the case of their big brother, the 5 ounce puck ATB's, the dies are directly produced by the CNC lathe, not made by pressure transfer from a master hub, then also given the glass bead treatment. There was serious talk of going to direct dies for the burnished ASE from West Point also, but I don't know if that trigger was pulled.

I agree that since 2008, the difference between regular and burnished ASE's is subtle as all git out, but it was obvious in 2006-07. I also quibble with the terminology "digital reduction". It's just plain digital creation; it's not "reduced" from anything. Think of it as Adobe Illustrator with physical depth added to the feature set.

 

agreed about the "reduction", however it is more a term of convention. The drawings are done digitally, and the size is virtual.

 

Chris,
I finally got a chance to take more pictures. I used the same portion of the coin in the same light witout the holders. The one thing I did notice was that the two coins had a different hue to them. The first of each set is the 2010.

 

@mikenoodle and @V. Kurt Bellman Thanks for the information and feedback.

 

Well, I wanted to see comparison photos for the entire coin (obverse and reverse), not just bits and pieces.

Chris

 

Okay, here you go. Thanks again!