1986-S $1 Silver Eagle, DCAM PR70DCAM Certification #16516020, PCGS #9802

The design on the coin's obverse was taken from the "Walking Liberty" design by Adolph A. Weinman which originally had been used on the Walking Liberty Half Dollar coin of the United States from 1916 to 1947. As this iconic design had been a public favorite—and indeed one of the most beloved designs of any United States coinage of modern times, silver or otherwise—it was revived for the Silver Eagle decades later. The obverse is inscribed with the year of minting or issuance, the word LIBERTY, and the phrase IN GOD WE TRUST. The reverse was designed by John Mercanti and portrays a heraldic eagle behind a shield; the eagle grasps an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left talon, echoing the Great Seal of the United States; above the eagle are thirteen five-pointed stars representing the Thirteen Colonies. The reverse is inscribed with the phrases UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1 OZ. FINE SILVER~ONE DOLLAR, and E PLURIBUS UNUM, as well as the mintmark if applicable.

Jaime Hernandez

The 1986-S Prof Silver is the first year of issue for the series. It proved to be extremely popular and the Mint sold over 1.446 million examples. The original issue price for each coin was set at $21 each.  

This remained the highest mintage Proof Silver Eagle for the series until 2006. However, in 2006 the Mint produced a Reverse Proof besides the regular Proof Silver Eagle for the year. Only if you include the mintages of the Reverse Proofs would the overall 2006 Proof Silver Eagles have a higher mintage than the 1986. However, as a regular issue proof the 1986 Silver Eagle has the highest mintage.

Decades after the 1986-S Proof Silver Eagle was produced, examples still remain extremely popular with collectors. And for many years the coins have sold at significant premiums over their original issue prices, even for raw examples.