The debut year of the American Gold Eagle program arrived in 1986, and this piece belongs to that inaugural run. Congress authorized the series under the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985, and the first coins reached the public that fall. The $50 denomination carries a full ounce of gold and quickly became the flagship of the program. First-year examples remain the most collected date in the entire series.

The obverse revives Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Striding Liberty, first used on the $20 Double Eagle of 1907. Liberty advances with a torch and olive branch as the Capitol and sunrays fill the field, with the date rendered in Roman numerals as MCMLXXXVI. The reverse, by Miley Busiek, shows a male eagle returning to a nest with a female and hatchlings. Legends read UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, IN GOD WE TRUST, and 1 OZ. FINE GOLD - 50 DOLLARS.

NGC has graded this coin MS-70, the top of the Mint State scale. Surfaces are free of contact marks, with full satiny luster and complete definition across Liberty's gown and the eagle's feathers. A perfect grade on a first-year Gold Eagle is difficult to find, and demand for the 1986 date has stayed strong with type and date collectors alike. For those seeking a flawless example of the series' opening year, this coin delivers. The coin pictured is the exact coin you will receive.

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