2010 American Silver Eagle
Every version of the 2010 Silver Eagle with mintages, the silver it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2010
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 34,764,500
- Versions
- 2
- Metal
- .999 fine silver
Original illustration of the coin's size and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because metal and coin prices change daily.
What is a 2010 Silver Eagle worth?
The 2010 bullion Silver Eagle is worth its silver content: weight times the day's spot price, plus a modest dealer premium when you buy and less when you sell. Its scarcer versions are different: the 2010-W proof (849,861) rates small premium.
Metal value = troy ounces of silver × the day's spot price. For collector versions, check recent sold results for the same version and grade.
Every 2010 Silver Eagle version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($1) | 34,764,500 | Metal value |
| Proof | "W" | 1 oz ($1) | 849,861 | Small premium |
There are two 2010 versions. The bullion coin has no mint mark and was sold through authorized purchasers in huge numbers. The W proof has a W on the reverse beside the eagle's tail, mirror fields and frosted devices and came in the Mint's presentation case with a certificate. No burnished coin was dated 2010, so a satin-finish coin with a W and this date shouldn't exist. Proof and bullion are easy to separate: one reflects like a mirror, the other has an even mint luster. Bullion was never sold in a case, so a coin in Mint packaging with a certificate is the proof.
Quick answers
- How much silver is in a 2010 Silver Eagle?
- Each coin contains its stated weight of pure silver: one troy ounce in the $1 coin. The alloy is 99.9% silver.
- How many 2010 Silver Eagles were made?
- 34,764,500 one ounce bullion coins plus 849,861 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 2010 Silver Eagle worth more than its silver?
- The bullion coin trades close to its metal value plus a dealer premium. Collector versions in their original packaging bring a small premium.
- Is the Silver Eagle legal tender?
- Yes. Each size carries a face value ($1), but nobody spends them: the silver is worth far more than the face value.
The Silver Eagle in 2010
Another bullion record fell in 2010, with 34,764,500 coins sold as silver began a powerful rally in the second half of the year that ran on into the following spring. Demand was still pressing on the Mint's supply of blanks, so bullion again took priority. This time, though, collectors didn't miss out entirely. The record-breaking bullion totals of the next few years were just getting started. Dealers sold coins as fast as they could get them.
The proof returned from West Point with 849,861 sold, a strong figure that shows how many collectors had been waiting after the 2009 gap. It reached buyers later in the year than usual because of the pressure on blanks. People ordered it in large numbers to restart their date runs. The burnished coin did not come back in 2010; it returned in 2011. So 2010 has only the bullion coin and the W proof, the same simple pairing as the early 2000s. Apart from 2009, it's the only year since 2006 without a burnished coin.
2010 Silver Eagle by the numbers
The Mint sold 34,764,500 one ounce bullion Silver Eagles dated 2010. That ranks 34th lowest of the 39 bullion dates from 1986 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 2010 bullion sales were 1.1 times the 2009 figure and 1.1 times fewer than 2011.
Collector versions dated 2010 add up to 849,861 coins across 1 version. The scarcest is the 2010-W proof at 849,861.
What to check on yours
- Weigh and measure it. A genuine one ounce Silver Eagle weighs 31.103 g and measures 40.6 mm. Fakes are usually the wrong weight or the wrong thickness.
- Try a magnet. Silver is not magnetic, so a coin that sticks is not genuine. A coin that does not stick still needs the other checks.
- Look for the mint mark. Bullion strikes have none; proofs and burnished coins carry a small letter. A mirror field with frosted design means a proof, a soft satin look means burnished.
- Handle it by the edge and never clean it. Fingerprints, wiping and polishing leave marks that cost collector versions much of their premium.
- Keep the original capsule, box and certificate with collector versions. Coins that come with them are easier to sell and more likely to bring their full premium.
The 2010 bullion coin trades at metal value. The 2010-W proof trades for a small premium and has extra appeal as the coin that ended the 2009 gap. Its mintage is high, so condition and packaging matter more than the date. A boxed proof with its certificate and no spots is the version to keep. Some collectors look for top graded examples to sit beside a high-grade 2009 bullion coin in their runs, which gives perfect coins a little extra demand.
Record demand and anniversary sets (2009 to 2020)
Bullion demand took over in 2009. The Mint is required by law to meet bullion demand first, so every silver blank went to bullion coins and no proofs or burnished coins were dated 2009. Sales climbed above 30 million a year and peaked at 47,000,000 in 2015, the record for the program. Those huge numbers mean bullion coins from this era trade at metal value except in perfect grades. Proofs returned in 2010 and burnished coins in 2011.
Collectors had the opposite experience: a run of limited sets. The 25th anniversary set of 2011 added a burnished coin from San Francisco and a reverse proof from Philadelphia. The 2012 San Francisco set and the 2013 West Point set marked those mints' 75th anniversaries. The 2019 Pride of Two Nations set with the Royal Canadian Mint brought an enhanced reverse proof, while 2019 also produced the 29,913 coin San Francisco enhanced reverse proof and 2020 the V75 privy proof. Most of these sold out quickly and demand for them has stayed strong.
Bullion sales cooled sharply after 2016, falling below 15 million by 2019, before the pandemic sent buyers rushing back in 2020 for a total of 31,329,500. Through all of it the regular W proofs and burnished coins stayed widely available. The special issues are where the premiums are concentrated in this stretch. If you find a set from these years, keep every coin in its original holder and keep the box and certificate with it, since buyers expect complete sets.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Program | American Silver Eagle |
|---|---|
| Issuer | United States Mint |
| Metal | .999 fine silver |
| Alloy | 99.9% silver |
| Sizes | 1 oz ($1, 31.103 g, 40.6 mm) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| One ounce coin | 31.103 g, 40.6 mm |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a 2010 burnished Silver Eagle?
No. The Mint skipped the burnished version in 2010 and brought it back in 2011. For 2010 you'll find only the bullion coin (no mint mark) and the West Point proof, of which 849,861 were made.
Did the proof Silver Eagle come back in 2010?
Yes. After no proofs were made in 2009, West Point struck 849,861 proofs dated 2010. It reached buyers later in the year than usual and trades today for a small premium over metal value.
Mintages: American Silver Eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.