Customers: Please note that because these coins are older, they may have blemishes and/or imperfections and are not guaranteed to be in brilliant uncirculated condition.
Few years in the history of the American Silver Eagle coin program were more tumultuous than 2008. Just as the Great Recession began to grip economies around the world, the United States Mint saw American Silver Eagle demand soar beyond all previous records. The 2008 American Silver Eagle coin is now available for purchase from JM Bullion.
Coin Highlights:
- 2008 American Silver Eagle mintage totaled 21,817,736 coins!
- 23rd annual release of American Silver Eagle coins!
- Ships to you in a protective flip, sealed mint tubes of 20 coins, or Monster Boxes of 500 coins!
- Protect your investment with 40.6mm Direct Fit Air-Tite Capsules or 40.6mm Air-Tite Coin Tubes, which hold 20 coins.
- Contains 1 oz of .999 pure silver.
- Issued a face value of $1 (USD) by the United States government.
- Record-breaking sales year!
- Adolph A. Weinman’s Walking Liberty on the obverse.
- John Mercanti’s heraldic eagle on the reverse.
- Proof specimens feature the “W” mint mark of the West Point MInt.
The 2008 American Silver Eagle coin broke a sales record that had stood since 1987, when the coin was in just its second year of availability. Sales of the American Silver Eagle in 1987 totaled 12.3 million coins, with 11.44 million bullion products. Those records stood for 21 years and took the onset of the Great Recession in 2008 to be broken.
2008 American Silver Eagle coin sales totaled 21.8 million coins, nearly double the total from 1987. Much of that growth was due to an immense surge in the demand for bullion coins, with mintage topping that of 1987 for the first time, reaching 20.1 million coins for the year.
The reason for the boost in demand in 2008 was two fold. With the onset of the Great Recession, there was a massive spike in the price of silver to an average price of $13.28 per ounce throughout the year, nearly double that of the prices during the early 2000s. This led to a surge in demand for precious metals, and the US Mint was even forced to suspend bullion coin sales midway through 2008, eventually reinstated sales with a rationed approach.
On the obverse of the coins is the image of Walking Liberty, created in 2008 by Adolph A. Weinman. This revered design first graced the U.S. half dollar coin in 1916. The reverse of the coin includes the heraldic eagle design from John Mercanti, who served as Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1986 to 2010.
If you have a question, JM Bullion associates are happy to help. You can reach us on the phone at 800-276-6508, on the web through our live chat feature, or via our email address. We also offer other years in the series so be sure to scroll through our inventory.