Description
2004 American Silver Eagle
The 2004 American Silver Eagle is among the lower mintage years before a surge in Silver Eagles came during the financial crisis of 2008 which pushed annual production beyond 20 million pieces. There are just under 9 million Silver Eagles minted this year, and only 111,000 of them were graded as MS69 by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). This is barely over 1 percent of the overall production!
The Silver Eagle was modeled chiefly after the Walking Liberty half dollar, designed by Adolph Weinman and released in 1916. It was a tribute to the American victory in World War I. The obverse design shows Lady Liberty draped in the US flag walking toward a sunrise with her arm outstretched. The reverse design, made especially for the Silver Eagle by Chief Engraver John M Mercanti shows a heraldic eagle with thirteen stars over his head, signifying the 13 original colonies of the US.
NGC MS69 – Making the Grade
The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) is a top-tier third party grader with three decades experience in the business of offering professional grades in a tamper evident holder for coins. Their opinion is highly regarded in the industry – buying and selling coins based on their grade opinion alone is a common practice in numismatics. Their grade of MS69 on this coin indicates that the coin has no noticeable flaws except through magnification, and even then the flaws are tiny. They are usually not detectable without magnification.
Most collectors prefer their coins graded by a professional grading service, while most investors prefer their coins ungraded (or ‘raw’) because they are more after the value of the silver contained in the coin than the value of the coin itself. Collectors prefer professional grading because of the protection the holder gives the coin and the fact that the coins are easy to resell.
