Numismatic

1986 1/4 oz American Gold Eagle MS-69 NGC

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The year 1986 marked the very beginning of a legendary American numismatic tradition. As the inaugural release in the American Eagle gold series, this ten-dollar denomination contains exactly one-quarter ounce of actual gold content. It represents a historic moment in United States minting, carrying a total worldwide mintage of 726,031 pieces, with each coin guaranteed for its weight and purity by the United States Mint. One of the most distinctive features of this first-year issue is the rendering of the date on the obverse. Instead of standard Arabic numerals, the year is elegantly displayed in Roman numerals as MCMLXXXVI. This inscription accompanies a classic design of Lady Liberty walking forward against a backdrop of radiating sunbeams, an iconic image adapted from the famous early twentieth-century gold double eagle. The reverse of the coin showcases a detailed family scene of America's national bird. Created by designer Miley Busiek, the imagery depicts a male bald eagle in mid-flight, carrying an olive branch back to a nest where a female eagle and her young wait. This particular specimen has been certified by a third-party grading service in an exceptional Mint State 69 condition, indicating a nearly flawless strike and preservation from this historic first year of production.