2002 American Silver Eagle Coins

The 2002 American Silver Eagle Coins reversed the trends established the previous year and showed an increase in the bullion mintage with a decrease in the number of proof coins sold.

2002 American Silver Eagle Coins
Mintage: 10,539,026 Bullion, 647,342 Proof
eBay Listings
Authorizing Coin Law
U.S. Mint Online Site

Silver showed its first increase since 1998, which likely helped the bullion mintage as investors turned to the coins as a way to add the precious metal to their portfolios. For the year, in came in at an average of $4.60 an ounce, up $.23 from the previous year.

2002 also saw new legislation that pertained to the silver Eagles. When first introduced, the Eagle program was designed to use silver from the national stockpile, but by 2002 that stockpile was almost depleted. Consequently, Public Law 107-201 was signed into law authorizing the Treasury to purchase silver on the open market for the coins.

2002 Silver Eagle Mintage

Bullion Silver Eagle Mintage

Billion Silver Eagles had their second best year ever up to that point for the coins. A total of 10,539,026 of the strikes were sold beating out the previous year by 1,537,315.

Shown below are the total number of bullion Eagles sold by the Mint in each month. (Numbers may include coins minted in other years.):

Bullion Silver Eagles Sold in 2002

January 913,500   July 740,000
February 905,000   August 1,745,000
March 797,000   September 550,000
April 815,000   October 155,000
May 495,000   November 175,000
June 695,000   December 2,490,000

Proof Silver Eagle Mintage

The US Mint placed a mintage cap on the Proof Eagles of 750,000 coins, but did not sell close to that number. Only 647,342 were ordered from the Mint. A late availability of June 5, 2002 may have had some influence on the lower mintage.

Issue Information

With the 2002 Silver Eagles, the program had been running for seventeen years.

Release Date

Proof Eagles were released by the Mint on June 5, 2002. Bullion Eagles were available from the Mint for a majority of the year.

Issue Price

The US Mint once again sold the Proof Eagles for $24 a piece. Bullion Eagles were sold by the Mint’s network of authorized purchasers for a small premium over the spot price of an ounce of silver.

U.S. Mint Production Facility

Both the proof and the bullion Silver Eagles were struck at the US Mint’s facility in West Point. However, only the proof coins contain a ‘W’ mintmark.

Designer & Sculptor

Adolph A. Weinman’s "Walking Liberty" is featured on the obverse (heads side) of the Silver Eagle. It was first used on the half dollar coin from 1916-1947. The reverse (tails side) has John Mercanti’s heraldic eagle design.

Coin Specifications

Face Value: $1
Finish: Bullion, Proof
Composition: 99.93% Ag, 00.07% Cu
Standard Weight: 31.103 g
Standard Diameter: 40.60 mm
Edge: Reeded

Related Products

Links