Description
1994-P American Silver Eagle proof Coin
In 1994 sales of both the bullion and proof versions of the iconic American Silver Eagle declined substantially, which was probably in large part due to an increase of almost $1 in silver prices that year. That year the average price of silver reached $5.28.
For collectors who bought and held coins from 1994 this turned out to be good news since the mintage of the 1994-P proof coin came in at 372,168, which is the second-lowest for the entire proof coin series after the 1995-W coin. Not surprisingly, the 1994-P proof coin has commanded a premium over more common date coins with higher mintages.
In fact, the 1994-P coin is ranked as no. 60 in the third edition of Jeff Garrett and Scott Schechter’s 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins (Whitman, 2014), an important reference book in this field. The authors note that the 1994-P is a key date for the American Silver Eagle coin series and that it is more difficult to locate than the 2006-W Reverse Proof issue, which has a lower mintage.
In reaction to the slump in sales in 1994 the U.S. Mint too several steps to boost sales including extending the period in which buyers could order the coins and issuing a special 10th anniversary set.
Why purchase this NGC PF69 UC 1994-P Silver Eagle?
NGC has graded 15,436 of the 1994-P proof Silver Eagles. Of those coins just 3% or 519 coins are graded proof 70, while 93% or 14,432 graded proof 69 and the rest graded between proof 62 and 68.
This is similar to the date for the 1993-P coin, and like that coin the 1994-P is a key date, modern rarity in proof 70 that costs thousands of dollars.
If you are looking to add this date to your Silver Eagle set, a proof 69 example is a good alternative to the 70 coin that is so much more affordable yet still looks almost flawless.
Plus you will own the second-lowest mintage proof coin of the series, and that status is not likely to be overtaken in the future in light of recent trends in sales of these coins.
