1994 American Silver Eagle : History & Value

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

Demand for the 1994 American Silver Eagle marked a low level within the nearly decade-long American Silver Eagle bullion coin program. Silver limped all year long, ending about 16¢ decrease on December 31 than the place it opened in January. The paper markets had been blended: bonds had been massacred, and the Dow Jones returned solely 2.14% for the 12 months. The primary “web bubble”, which might mark the financial good occasions of the Clinton Presidency, wouldn’t start to manifest for an additional 12 months.

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Market Information and Noteworthy Specimens

The 1994 American Silver Eagle market has modified dramatically since 2012-2016 when examples graded by NGC and PCGS had bought at public sale for greater than $10,000 every. For NGC and PCGS, the method to grading American Silver Eagles was markedly completely different.

NGC obtained a better quantity of submissions of American Silver Eagles and would discover {that a} small share of the cash merited a grade of MS70 whereas discovering {that a} majority of the cash had been of excessive sufficient high quality to earn a grade of MS69. By means of 2014, NGC counted 120,897 cash in its MS69 census, including about 5,000 cash to its inhabitants report from the earlier 12 months. At MS70, the NGC inhabitants stood at 202, a 50-coin enhance year-to-year.

To that cut-off date, PCGS had but to assign a single 1994 American Silver Eagle with a grade of MS70. In consequence, submissions to PCGS amounted to a tiny fraction of these submitted to NGC. We counted 5,133 cash within the PCGS MS69 census, with a year-to-year enhance of simply 326 cash.

PCGS noticed a serious shakeup in its bulk program in 2015 with the departure of Michael “Miles” Standish, who had served because the architect of the PCGS “First Strike” program and its signature label choices. Mark Stephenson, a training lawyer, and his assistant Daniel Kadem, previously with Gainesville Cash, changed Standish with blended outcomes. Stephenson lasted three years, whereas Kadem was out after only a 12 months. One of many tandem’s most curious improvements was the introduction of multi-colored gaskets. Standish joined NGC, bringing autograph signers John Mercanti and Ed Moy with him – however PCGS’s insurmountable market share lead was already properly in place.

To extend bulk submissions of early-date American Silver Eagles, PCGS needed to shift its place relating to milk recognizing on trendy silver cash. It did so by including this provision to its grading assure:

This assure shall not apply to cash exhibiting environmental deterioration subsequent to certification, together with recognizing on trendy silver cash.

Indemnified in opposition to future losses brought on by milk recognizing on cash after encapsulation, PCGS opened the door for elevated submissions from sellers making markets in American Silver Eagles. Within the Spring of 2016, PCGS graded its first MS70 1994 American Silver Eagle, which bought at a September 2016 Heritage sale for $11,162.50. The PCGS MS70 inhabitants elevated by a handful of cash per 12 months, reaching 19 by early 2022; evaluate that to NGC’s 375. By early 2023, the PCGS quantity had elevated to 22, with 438 at NGC. Since then, the PCGS MS70 inhabitants has elevated to 78, with NGC as much as 578.

With the premiums that MS70-graded 1994 American Silver Eagles deliver, we anticipate to see continued submissions till the obtainable inventory of contemporary Monster Bins has been diminished. We stay bearish on the difficulty.

As for cash graded MS69, in 2015 we wrote:

“Getting a gauge on what PCGS MS69 eagles from this subject are “value” is hard enterprise. Adequate materials isn’t within the retail pipeline to offer us with a big variety of transactions and people which might be provided are sometimes listed at Mounted Costs according to what the “Guides” sometimes say the coin is value. These things discover patrons, however no reserve auctions for a similar coin current a starkly completely different image. In Could 2014, all 4 no-reserve auctions for PCGS MS69s introduced costs properly beneath the $115 to $130 vary typical in our “Purchase It Now” knowledge set. Our present worth steering for this subject rests between the 2 knowledge units. We are going to monitor this subject intently in our subsequent replace. NGC MS69s had been additionally down barely month-to-month.”

In the summertime of 2024, PCGS MS69 cash traded on eBay for a variety of costs from. True auctions yielded leads to the $50 to $60 vary, whereas Purchase It Now listings for $150 to $200 illustrate the folly of the uninformed collector’s intemperance. In November, we see a slight uptick within the variety of PCGS cash on the platform. True auctions yielded $51 (November 22), $64 (November 21), $61 (November 17), and $61.77 (November 8).

Had the worth of the PCGS MS69s saved up with inflation, these cash would have bought for about $150 immediately. As a substitute, these $50-$60 worth factors point out the true decline in worth that this subject has skilled because the third-party grading companies established the date as one of many collection’ keys.

In Could 2024, the PCGS inhabitants of MS70 cash stood at 78 items. By means of November 27, that determine has risen to 95 – a 22% enhance over the interval of simply six months. The NGC inhabitants has seen an much more dramatic enhance, going from 578 to 787 (up 36%) in the identical interval. CAC, with its inhabitants of three cash at MS70 has graded too few cash make a lot of its 72.66:1 ratio of 69 cash to 70 cash.

Prime Inhabitants: PCGS MS70 (95, 11/2024), NGC MS70 (789, 11/2024), and CAC MS70 (0:3 stickered:graded, 11/2024).

• NGC MS70 #4490010-005: Heritage Auctions, December 13, 2024, Lot 3584 – View.
• NGC MS70 #6897041-012: Heritage Auctions, November 20, 2024, Lot 3473 – $4,080.
• PCGS MS70 #47933105: eBay, October 1, 2024 – $7,390.
• PCGS MS70 #46429631: eBay, Could 17, 2024 – $7,950.
• NGC MS70 #1554254-003: Heritage Auctions, Could 10, 2024, Lot 4967 – $3,120.
• NGC MS70 #4652566-006: Stack’s Bowers, March 28, 2024, Lot 7779 – $3,600.
• PCGS MS70 #42756631: Heritage Auctions, October 9, 2023, Lot 51388 – $5,760.
• NGC MS70 #6498456-013: Heritage Auctions, March 13, 2023, Lot 51270 – $6,900.
• NGC MS70 #1958349-009: Heritage Auctions, March 13, 2023, Lot 51269 – $6,600.
• NGC MS70 #1758858-002: Heritage Auctions, April 11, 2022, Lot 91084 – $7,500.
• NGC MS70 #4493332-003: Heritage Auctions, December 30, 2020, Lot 29430 – $6,000. Mercanti signature insert.
• PCGS MS70 #35315050: Heritage Auctions, December 5, 2019, Lot 3461 – $9,600. Mercanti signature insert.
• PCGS MS70 #81325818: Heritage Auctions, September 8, 2016, Lot 5832 – $11,162.50. First PCGS MS70 to seem at public sale. Pop two on the time of the sale.
• NGC MS70 #1958349-007: Stack’s Bowers, February 2014, Lot 3402 – $3,290.
• NGC MS70 #1837990-001: Heritage Auctions, November 2, 2013, Lot 4926 – $11,162.50.

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Design

Obverse:

Artist Adolph A. Weinman’s Girl Liberty is depicted mid-stride. She is seen as a full-body determine, wearing a flowing robe, and draped with a big billowing American flag. She holds laurel and oak branches in her left hand that symbolize the civil and navy glories of America, respectively. As Liberty strides confidently in direction of the rising solar, she additionally reaches out a welcoming open hand. So giant is Girl Liberty that she is superimposed over the obverse legend LIBERTY ringing the obverse – in actual fact, she obscures half of the “BE” and nearly the whole “R”. Above Liberty’s rear foot is the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, and beneath her is the date 1994.

The design bears a notable resemblance to sculptor Oscar Roty’s The Sower, a typical picture on French cash. Numismatist Roger Burdette posited in his guide Renaissance of American Coinage (2007) that this was not a coincidence and whereas Adolph Weinman didn’t instantly copy, he did derive vital inspiration from Roty’s work. Weinman’s Liberty Strolling design shortly turned one in all America’s most iconic numismatic pictures and could be used with minor modifications on the American Silver Eagle bullion coin beginning in 1986.

Reverse:

United States Mint Chief Engraver John Mercanti’s Heraldic Eagle is positioned on the heart of the reverse. Clutched in its beak is a ribbon bearing the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Above its head is a constellation of 13 stars configured in an upside-down pyramid formation. The legend (high) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is wrapped across the design and the fineness and denomination (backside) 1 OZ. FINE SILVER. ONE DOLLAR.

Edge:

The sting of the 1994 American Silver Eagle bullion coin is reeded.

Coin Specs

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