Dan`s Golden Eagles #1
Private
Updated:
6/28/2026
Views: 5,311
THE AMERICAN GOLD EAGLE IS CURRENTLY AND MAY ALWAYS BE THE ONLY NATIONAL GOLD COIN WHERE IT IS EVEN POSSIBLE TO ASSEMBLE A COMPLETE NGC MS70 MINT STATE COLLECTION.
There are 167 coins in the original design (Type 1 Family of Eagles) complete Gold Eagle, Mint State set (1986-2021) and as of June 2026 26 additional Eagle Portrait (Type 2) coins totaling 193 Gold Eagles in a complete set (1986-2026).
Through 2026 Dan`s has been the recipient of well over 400 Best in Category, Best in NGC Category and Best Modern Set awards in the MInt State, 1/10 Ounce, 1/4 Ounce, 1/2 Ounce, 1 Ounce and Yearly Set categories. This is believed to make the collection the most so decorated single set of coins on the entire NGC Registry ever since NGC began recognizing excellence through the the award programs.
Collectors generally agree that RARITY and CONDITION are the key factors in determining a coin or coin set value. This set is loaded in both areas. It contains an abundance of Gold Eagles which were pioneers and leaders in the early grading process of the modern American Eagle coin. All have received the NGC Perfect designation for quality.
This collection has been the most complete NGC Mint State American Gold Eagle Set since the start of the NGC Registry. As of 7/14/2010 Dan`s completed the regular issue MS70 Gold Eagle collection (combined NGC & 1 PCGS) which was believed to be the first in the world. As of 4/2/2012 Dan`s also completed the first and until 12/22/2017 was the only known full set of American Gold Eagle MS70 coins, including the 1999 W error coins (combined NGC & 1 PCGS) (as of that date there were only 3 sets possible). Finally, on July 10, 2014, after 15 years in the making, Dan`s finished assembling the first and only known complete exclusively NGC MS70 Gold Eagle collection. Given current populations and lack of availability of the earlier coins it would be very difficult for a collector starting a set today to recreate a complete early date NGC MS70 Gold Eagle set.
NGC started using the edge-view holder design in 2009. All but two of the pre 2009 coins are housed in older generation holders. Many contend that the early date grading standards made it quite difficult to obtain MS70 grade Gold, Silver and Platinum Eagles. This is evident by the difficulty of obtaining early grade coins in older holders.
It is cumbersome to gather information about when the coins were actually graded. Based on the earliest available NGC/PGGS population reports the set is known to contain several that were the first ever to be given the MS70 distinction (by either NGC or PCGS) and many more that were among the first (and probably/possibly were).
Included in the first ever certified MS70 group are the key 1991 $10 and $25 and the 1995 $10 coins. Many of the pre 2000 coins are of such distinguishing quality that they were amongst the standard setters for the MS70 grade (of the 58 pre-2000 coins 40 of them have NGC invoice numbers ranging from 10,630 to 344,187 (most in the coveted earlier type 7 and type 9 NGC holders) - with current NCC invoice numbers in the millions these were indeed early grades). Based upon the earliest available NGC/PCGS population reports there are at least 22 known to be in the first 5 ever given this grade by NGC and 18 which were in the first 5 ever graded MS70 by both NGC and PCGS. As of the 5/5/2003 NGC population report just 1 in 5723 Gold Eagles minted had received the MS70 grade.
The uncirculated American Gold Eagle was intended to be a mass produced bullion coin. The mint did not initially take extra measures, as is done with proofs, to ensure that Mint State Eagles (especially pre-2000 coins) were given special handling in the production process, thereby making early date high grade MS grades especially difficult to obtain. .Around 2000 the emphasis seemed to change toward producing higher quality BU Eagles and the MS70-Perfect population figures reflect this fact. '
Top quality Gold Eagles are submitted for grading in the hopes of finding that "perfect" coin. From the "cream of the crop" sent to NGC for grading very few obtain the MS70 grade.
It is particularly challenging to find most of the earlier coins in perfect condition. Several years ago, at a time when MS70 populations at NGC were miniscule for the pre 2000 Gold Eagles we had considered selling Dan`s. The consignment director for Heritage pointed out an interesting fact. Going into 2014 Heritage Auctions had zero prior sales activity on 19 of the pre 2000 coins whereas they had sold 3 each of the extremely rare Brasher Daubloons and 1804 Silver Dollars. The NGC population levels in 2014 were exceptionally small and had not yet fallen subject to the apparent population explosion that started to appear after the introduction of the edge view holders.
The collection of course contains all 14 hard to assemble complete pre-2000 yearly NGC MS70 sets. Set years 1989, 1990 1991 and 1995 were the first sets assembled. There are other years which were probably the first completed (1992, 1993 and 1997)
Dan`s was the first to compile complete 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 ounce gold eagle sets and maintains that position today.
Earlier Gold Eagles are highly collectible. In fact, 2014 auction sales have been quite supportive of the underlying health of the pre-2000 coins with the Heritage sale of an NGC 1987 $25 MS70 Gold Eagle for $32,900 in June, 2014, an eBay sale of the NGC 1998 $25 MS70 Gold Eagle for $32,100 in October, 2014.and a Great Collections sale of the NGC MS70 1989 $50 Gold Eagle for $29,700 also in October. Obviously values have fallen from these levels since the MS70 population explosion.
The mint only "officially" started to produce collection Gold Eagles in 2006 with the W series Also in 2006 NGC began using the First Strikes designation to distinguish those Gold Eagles that were graded early in the grading process. Later that year beginning with the 2006 W coins the terminology was changed to Early Releases. These early minted coins are coveted and tend to sell at a premium over their later minted counterparts. This set contains the complete collection of NGC First Strikes and Early Releases MS70`s from 2006 onward, including the 2015 1/10 ounce early release "narrow reeds" coin.
The American Gold Eagle is considered by many to be the most popular and beautiful gold coin in the world.
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