2012 American Silver Eagle
Every version of the 2012 Silver Eagle with mintages, the silver it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2012
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 33,742,500
- 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 2012 Silver Eagle worth?
The 2012 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 2012-S proof (285,184) 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 2012 Silver Eagle version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($1) | 33,742,500 | Metal value |
| Proof | "S" | 1 oz ($1) | 285,184 | Small premium |
| Reverse proof | "S" | 1 oz ($1) | 224,981 | Small premium |
| Proof | "W" | 1 oz ($1) | 869,386 | Small premium |
| Uncirculated (burnished) | "W" | 1 oz ($1) | 226,120 | Small premium |
Five versions carry the 2012 date. Bullion strikes have no mint letter. West Point made a W proof with mirror fields and a W burnished coin with a satin finish. San Francisco made an S proof and an S reverse proof. That means two proofs that look the same apart from the mint mark, W or S, on the reverse beside the eagle's tail. The reverse proof is easy to spot because its finish is the opposite of a normal proof: frosted fields with mirror-like Liberty and eagle. The set coins came in a single case.
Quick answers
- How much silver is in a 2012 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 2012 Silver Eagles were made?
- 33,742,500 one ounce bullion coins plus 1,605,671 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 2012 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 2012
The San Francisco Mint marked its 75th anniversary in 2012 with a two-coin Silver Eagle set: an S proof and an S reverse proof. It was San Francisco's first Silver Eagle proof since 1992. The reverse proof came only in that set and 224,981 were sold. The 2012-S proof total of 285,184 is higher, which tells you not every S proof came from the two-coin set. Either way, the S mint mark had returned to the proof lineup after a twenty-year absence.
Elsewhere the program carried on at full speed. Bullion sales slipped to 33,742,500 coins after the 2011 record as silver cooled from its spring 2011 peak. West Point struck 869,386 regular proofs and 226,120 burnished coins. The burnished total fell by almost half on 2011, an early sign that collectors were becoming choosier about which versions they bought each year. That choosiness would shape the market for the rest of the decade. Bullion buyers, by contrast, kept buying at a record pace.
2012 Silver Eagle by the numbers
The Mint sold 33,742,500 one ounce bullion Silver Eagles dated 2012. That ranks 33rd lowest of the 39 bullion dates from 1986 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 2012 bullion sales were 1.2 times fewer than 2011 and 1.3 times fewer than 2013.
Collector versions dated 2012 add up to 1,605,671 coins across 4 versions. The scarcest is the 2012-S reverse proof at 224,981; the most plentiful is the 2012-W proof at 869,386.
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 2012-S reverse proof carries a collector premium, with demand from people who collect reverse proofs and from San Francisco specialists. The 2012-S proof, with its lower mintage, trades for a small premium a step above the W proof. The 2012-W burnished, at 226,120, also earns a small premium. Bullion trades at metal value. The two-coin set is most appealing complete in its original packaging. Coins graded at the top of the scale draw the strongest demand. Loose set coins sell too, just a little less easily.
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 is the 2012 San Francisco two-coin Silver Eagle set?
A Mint set marking 75 years of the San Francisco Mint, holding a 2012-S proof and a 2012-S reverse proof. Sales came to 224,981 sets. It was the first S proof Silver Eagle since 1992.
Is the 2012-S proof Silver Eagle rare?
Not rare, but scarcer than the W proof. San Francisco struck 285,184 against 869,386 at West Point. That gives the S coin a small premium a little above the W, more in top grades.
Mintages: American Silver Eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.