1987 $50 American Gold Eagle MS-70 'Miles Standish" Signature Label from NGC

'TYPE I' AMERICAN GOLD EAGLES
 

While the American Gold Eagle coin of today is not the first gold coin produced by the United States, it was indeed the piece that paved the way for the U.S. to begin competing with the likes of the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf and South African Krugerrand - two gold coins that dominated the global coin market. First released by the United States Mint in 1986, the American Gold Eagle is the official gold bullion coin of the United States. 

While the Gold Eagle design has remained relatively unchanged for the majority of its existence, from 1986-1991 the obverse featured unique roman numeral dates - thus these pieces are considered "Type I" Gold Eagles. Collectors and investors alike continue to search for higher grade early year releases in order to build complete series run compilations. Unfortunately, finding flawless Gold Eagles from the late 80s can prove rather difficult.

The second-year issue - the 1987 $50 American Gold Eagle - boasted a mintage of 1,045,500 coins. This towering number gives false hope to those wishing to secure a Mint State 70 piece with little to no effort. However, out of the 1 million+ coins produced, NGC has only graded a mere 3,821 of these - in ALL grades. Out of the 3,821 coins, only (512) were deemed worthy of the perfect MS-70 grade. This number represents but a fraction of the original 1987 $50 Gold Eagle mintage.
 

WHY SO FEW MS-70 COINS?
 

While the second $50 Gold Eagle released in 1987, NGC did not even begin grading 'modern' gold coins until 1995. For close to a decade, these coins were able to be purchased, sold, transferred, and subjected to a multitude of destructive factors leading to continuous wear and tear. When NGC finally agreed to start grading Gold Eagles from '87, the quantity of 'flawless' coins had drastically dropped. A stark .3% of the original mintage has been graded by NGC, to this day, with just .04% receiving a perfect 70 grade!

These shocking numbers simply will not happen today due to several factors. Not only has Mint technology advanced remarkable over the years leading to better coin striking as a whole, but coins are now graded almost immediately following production. Coin capsules have also advanced to better protect specimens from damage during transit and the like. Now, it is common to see anywhere from 5,000-8,000 coins receive a flawless grade.