Wait, there are more silver Eagles?

We must be getting spoiled.

I had a call yesterday from someone who was inquiring what the mintage was for the 2011-W uncirculated silver American Eagle coin.

I told the caller that the current sales total was 271,000.

What I said next seemed to stun the caller.

I said the coin was still being sold.

“It is?” was his reaction, with a tone of voice indicating that this tidbit of information had somehow come out of left field.

I had to repeat the information for him because he was afraid he might have misunderstood me.

He was thinking in terms of a low mintage and the fact that the total was still rising must of necessity delay any conclusion on this aspect of the coin.

The call got me thinking.

Have we gotten so used to rapid silver Eagle collector coin sellouts that when we return to more normal conditions we are caught off guard?

There is a good reason we use the term “habits of mind,” but apparently we collectors form new habits fairly quickly.