2011 American Silver Eagle
Every version of the 2011 Silver Eagle with mintages, the silver it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2011
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 39,860,500
- Versions
- 5
- 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 2011 Silver Eagle worth?
The 2011 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 2011-P reverse proof (100,000) rates collector 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 2011 Silver Eagle version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($1) | 39,860,500 | Metal value |
| Reverse proof | "P" | 1 oz ($1) | 100,000 | Collector premium |
| Uncirculated (burnished) | "S" | 1 oz ($1) | 100,000 | Collector premium |
| Proof | "W" | 1 oz ($1) | 947,355 | Small premium |
| Uncirculated (burnished) | "W" | 1 oz ($1) | 409,766 | Small premium |
Five versions are dated 2011. The bullion coin has no mint mark. West Point's proof pairs mirror fields with frosted devices. Two burnished coins exist, one with a W and one with an S; both have a satin finish, so the mint mark is the only thing that separates them. The P reverse proof has frosted fields with mirror-bright design. All the mint marks sit on the reverse beside the eagle's tail. The S burnished and P reverse proof came only in the anniversary set, so if you have either, check whether the other set coins and the box are still around.
Quick answers
- How much silver is in a 2011 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 2011 Silver Eagles were made?
- 39,860,500 one ounce bullion coins plus 1,557,121 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 2011 Silver Eagle worth more than its silver?
- The bullion coin trades close to its metal value plus a dealer premium. The scarcer collector versions of 2011 are a different story; see the table above.
- 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 2011
The 25th anniversary made 2011 one of the most important years in the series. The Mint sold a five-coin set containing the 2011 bullion coin, the 2011-W proof, the 2011-W burnished coin and two coins found nowhere else: a burnished coin struck at San Francisco with an S mint mark and a reverse proof struck at Philadelphia with a P. Sets were limited to 100,000 and sold out quickly.
Bullion buyers were just as busy. Silver made a sharp run in the spring of 2011 and the Mint sold 39,860,500 bullion coins, a new record at the time. The regular W proof reached 947,355 and the W burnished coin 409,766. With the burnished coin back after skipping 2010, 2011 had the full lineup and then some, more versions than any year before it. For collectors it also set the pattern of limited sets that would follow in 2012 and 2013, each tied to an anniversary. Many of the sets were later broken up, so loose S and P coins turn up.
2011 Silver Eagle by the numbers
The Mint sold 39,860,500 one ounce bullion Silver Eagles dated 2011. That ranks 36th lowest of the 39 bullion dates from 1986 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 2011 bullion sales were 1.1 times the 2010 figure and 1.2 times the 2012 figure.
Collector versions dated 2011 add up to 1,557,121 coins across 4 versions. The scarcest is the 2011-P reverse proof at 100,000; the most plentiful is the 2011-W proof at 947,355.
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 2011-S burnished and 2011-P reverse proof each carry a collector premium, with only 100,000 made and steady demand from collectors completing anniversary sets. A complete five-coin set in its original box with the certificate is more desirable than the coins on their own. The regular W proof and W burnished coin trade for a small premium, while bullion trades at metal value. Check an S coin carefully against a W burnished coin, as they look nearly identical apart from the letter.
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
What came in the 2011 25th anniversary Silver Eagle set?
Five coins: a bullion coin, a W proof, a W burnished coin, an S burnished coin and a P reverse proof. The S and P coins came only in this set, which was limited to 100,000.
How rare is the 2011-S Silver Eagle?
Only 100,000 were made, all in the 25th anniversary set. That low mintage and steady demand give it a collector premium. Make sure the mint mark reads S, since the common W burnished coin looks almost identical.
Mintages: American Silver Eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.