The 1986 American Silver Eagle

When the American Silver Eagle series kicked off in 1986, it ushered in a new era of bullion coinage in the United States. The American Eagle bullion coin program, which originally called for the issuance of high-purity silver and gold coins, was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 9, 1985. Over the next months, a design was finalized for the silver coinage, which was to be minted in the form of one-ounce silver bullion coins of .9993-fine purity and denominated to a nominal value of $1. The American Silver Eagle, designed by John Mercanti, showcases a revival of Adolph A. Weinman’s Walking Liberty design from the half dollars of 1916 through 1947 on the obverse, while the reverse carries an original motif depicting a modern heraldic eagle.

The American Silver Eagle was released on November 24, 1986, at a time when silver was trading for around $5.26 an ounce; this translates into American Silver Eagles then selling for around $6.50 to $7 apiece. And the new silver bullion coin surely became an overnight sensation. A total of 5,393,005 uncirculated, or business-strike, examples were sold – a great many to bullion speculators looking to buy precious metals at prices close to their spot values. Additionally, the United States Mint distributed 1,446,778 proofs bearing an S mint mark to indicate their origin from the San Francisco Mint. These pieces were sold by the U.S. Mint for $21 each and intended mainly for coin collectors.

While a modern coin, the 1986 uncirculated (now called “bullion”) American Silver Eagle is remarkably challenging to find in a grade of MS70. To date, PCGS has graded “only” less than 1,000 examples in MS70 – a relatively small sum considering the tens of thousands certified PCGS MS69. Prices for the 1986 American Silver Eagle in PCGS MS70 trend for around $1,050 according to the PCGS Price Guide. Even that four-figure price is a far cry from the five-figure hammer bid on an especially nice PCGS MS70 example that crossed the block at Heritage Auctions in 2013 for a stunning $21,150.

Proof specimens in a numerical grade of 70 are far less elusive, thanks to the more meticulous process of striking these numismatic coins. Still, a nice 1986-S PR70DCAM will set back collectors around $350, much more expensive than the typical $100 or so paid for a PR69DCAM example. The all-time record price for a 1986-S American Silver Eagle in proof goes to a PR70DCAM that traded hands in a 2013 GreatCollections sale for $16,115.

In more recent years, new U.S. Mint documentation as well as rediscoveries of older information perhaps once considered rather inconsequential shows that the San Francisco Mint clandestinely struck bullion examples of the American Silver Eagle without mint marks and masquerading as regular Philadelphia-minted specimens.

However, the 1986 American Silver Eagles, which do not bear a mint mark, were struck at the San Francisco Mint. As history shows, both the uncirculated and proof versions of the American Silver Eagle are popular with collectors, who have taken to building date sets of this bullion series. This is certainly the case with PCGS Set Registry members, who have a variety of collecting options at their fingertips. To date, there are literally dozens of PCGS Registry Sets that accommodate the American Silver Eagle.