Owner Comments:
Mintage 11,442,335
Minted at Philadelphia without mintmark
Throughout my careful collection of American Silver Eagles, I rejected any coins that had milk spotting as it significantly detracts from enjoyment of the coin (and usually will keep a coin from grading higher than an MS-68.
This MS-69 is a sharply detailed specimen on the obverse and reverse with attractive sharp strike on all the prime focal areas, full original mint luster, smooth creamy textured fields, and exceptional eye appeal. No spots or hairlines area are seen. However, it does have two small (and non-detracting) contact marks on the obverse fields in non-focal areas which is probably the reason it did not grade a MS-70. Cherrypicking paid dividends in my hunt for this year as many examples examined had milk spots.
In 1987, the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation of America (NGC) was launched as a third party grading firm.
1987 was also the first year that American Silver Eagles were available for purchase from January through December. Demand for the 1987 bullion strike was huge, with the coin's mintage exceeding 11 million coins, setting a record that would stand for the next 20 years !
The 1987 average silver price was $7.02/ounce.