The 1999 American Silver Eagles marked the third year in a row in which both the bullion and the proof quality versions of the coin showed significant increases over strikes of the previous years.
Many attributed the interest in the bullion coin to the upcoming Y2K concern. Some felt that the computers and other technology in use at the time of the new millennium would not be able to handle the date change and would simply lock-up leading to wide-spread trouble in the financial sectors. As a hedge against that possibility, some turned to precious metals such as the silver Eagles to fall back on if problems did occur.
Despite that interest in silver, the average cost of an ounce of the precious metal during the year ended at $5.22, down from 1998′s average of $5.55 an ounce. Still, investors and collectors snatched up the bullion Eagles to push them to their second highest sales since they debuted back in 1986. In total, 7,408,640 of the one ounce 1999-dated coins were sold – up 2,561,091 over the previous year, or 52.8%.
Below is a table showing the monthly totals for bullion coins sold (this table reflects only the total number of coins sold each month and may include strikes minted in other years):
1999 Bullion Silver Eagles Sold
| January | 1,195,000 | July | 678,500 | |
| February | 149,000 | August | 768,000 | |
| March | 718,000 | September | 694,000 | |
| April | 718,000 | October | 349,000 | |
| May | 792,000 | November | 366,000 | |
| June | 863,000 | December | 1,718,000 |
This would mark the first year in which the bullion Silver Eagles were not struck at the US Mint’s facility in San Francisco. Instead, both the US Mint’s facilities in West Point and in Philadelphia would share responsibilities of minting the strikes for the next two years.
Proof Silver Eagles also fared well for the year, however, not quite as well as their bullion counterparts. They did manage to hit their mintage cap of 550,000 to attain a sell-out, but with the Mint’s adjustments for bad orders, cancellations, etc. the final tally came in at 549,796. Still, that was an improvement of 99,796 over the number of 1998 Eagles sold, or 22.18%.
The US Mint charged $24 per 1999 Proof Silver Eagle ordered – the same price as it had the previous year.
1999 Silver Eagle Mintages
| Bullion Mintage: | 7,408,640 |
| Proof Mintage: | 549,796 |
1999 Silver Eagle Specifications
| Weight: | 31.101 grams (1.000 ounces) |
| Diameter: | 1.598 inches (40.60 mm) |
| Thickness: | 0.117 inches (2.98 mm) |
| Composition: | 99.93% silver, 0.07% copper |
1999 Silver Eagle Design
| Mint Mark: | Bullion – None, Proof – ‘P’ |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Obverse Designer: | Adolph A. Weinman |
| Reverse Designer: | John Mercanti |
1999 Silver Eagles on eBay