1987 American Silver Eagle
Every version of the 1987 Silver Eagle with mintages, the silver it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1987
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 11,442,335
- Versions
- 2
- Metal
- .999 fine silver
Original illustration of the coin's size and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because metal and coin prices change daily.
What is a 1987 Silver Eagle worth?
The 1987 bullion Silver Eagle is worth its silver content: weight times the day's spot price, plus a modest dealer premium when you buy and less when you sell. Its scarcer versions are different: the 1987-S proof (904,732) rates small premium.
Metal value = troy ounces of silver × the day's spot price. For collector versions, check recent sold results for the same version and grade.
Every 1987 Silver Eagle version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($1) | 11,442,335 | Metal value |
| Proof | "S" | 1 oz ($1) | 904,732 | Small premium |
There are two 1987 versions. The bullion coin is the one most people own: no mint mark, bright mint luster and usually some light marks on Liberty from being stacked in tubes. The proof carries an S on the reverse and shows strong contrast between mirror fields and frosted devices. Hold the coin at an angle under a light. If the background looks like a mirror and there's a small S beside the eagle's tail, you have the proof. A blank spot there means bullion. Proofs were never sold in tubes, so a roll of twenty is always bullion.
Quick answers
- How much silver is in a 1987 Silver Eagle?
- Each coin contains its stated weight of pure silver: one troy ounce in the $1 coin. The alloy is 99.9% silver.
- How many 1987 Silver Eagles were made?
- 11,442,335 one ounce bullion coins plus 904,732 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 1987 Silver Eagle worth more than its silver?
- The bullion coin trades close to its metal value plus a dealer premium. Collector versions in their original packaging bring a small premium.
- Is the Silver Eagle legal tender?
- Yes. Each size carries a face value ($1), but nobody spends them: the silver is worth far more than the face value.
The Silver Eagle in 1987
Demand jumped in the program's first full year. Bullion sales reached 11,442,335 coins, more than double the 1986 total and a figure the Silver Eagle wouldn't top again until 2008. Investors who had missed the launch now had twelve months to buy and dealers kept the coins moving in tubes and sealed boxes. For the rest of the early years, 1987 stood as the high-water mark. Many of those coins went straight into long-term storage, which is why sealed tubes of 1987 bullion still turn up in estates.
Proof sales went the other way. San Francisco's output fell to 904,732, well down from almost one and a half million the year before, as the novelty wore off for collectors who already owned a 1986. That pattern runs through the early years: big launch interest followed by a steady settling into a core of buyers who ordered every new date. The 1987-S is still common by any measure, but it was the first sign of that slow decline.
1987 Silver Eagle by the numbers
The Mint sold 11,442,335 one ounce bullion Silver Eagles dated 1987. That ranks 22nd lowest of the 39 bullion dates from 1986 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 1987 bullion sales were 2.1 times the 1986 figure and 2.3 times the 1988 figure.
Collector versions dated 1987 add up to 904,732 coins across 1 version. The scarcest is the 1987-S proof at 904,732.
What to check on yours
- Weigh and measure it. A genuine one ounce Silver Eagle weighs 31.103 g and measures 40.6 mm. Fakes are usually the wrong weight or the wrong thickness.
- Try a magnet. Silver is not magnetic, so a coin that sticks is not genuine. A coin that does not stick still needs the other checks.
- Look for the mint mark. Bullion strikes have none; proofs and burnished coins carry a small letter. A mirror field with frosted design means a proof, a soft satin look means burnished.
- Handle it by the edge and never clean it. Fingerprints, wiping and polishing leave marks that cost collector versions much of their premium.
- Keep the original capsule, box and certificate with collector versions. Coins that come with them are easier to sell and more likely to bring their full premium.
With more than eleven million made, the 1987 bullion coin trades at metal value unless it is certified in a top grade, where it can earn a small premium. The 1987-S proof sits in small premium territory too. What separates a good example from an average one is surface quality. Proofs left in their original capsule usually stay bright, while coins moved into old soft plastic flips can pick up a green film that harms the surface. Keep the box and certificate together.
Launch years and San Francisco proofs (1986 to 1992)
The Silver Eagle began with the Liberty Coin Act of 1985, which created a one ounce silver dollar and directed the Mint to source its silver from the national defense stockpile. The first coins reached buyers in late 1986. The Walking Liberty design was a deliberate choice: many collectors already rated it among the most beautiful American coins ever made. Putting it on a full ounce of silver gave it room to breathe. Bullion coins were sold to dealers in bulk, while proofs went straight to collectors by mail order from the Mint.
Every proof in these years came from San Francisco and carries an S on the reverse, just left of the eagle's tail. Launch excitement pushed the 1986 proof to 1,446,778, still the highest proof figure in the program's history. After that collectors settled into a steady habit of buying each new date. Proof mintages drifted down to 498,654 by 1992. Each proof came in a capsule inside a presentation case with a certificate. Many still sit in those cases today.
Bullion demand peaked early, which surprised few dealers who had watched the launch. Sales reached 11,442,335 in 1987, then settled at five to seven million a year with silver prices low and quiet. None of these dates is rare in collector terms, but first-generation coins have had more than three decades to pick up milk spots, toning and handling marks. That makes bright, original pieces harder to find than the mintages suggest and top graded examples earn a premium.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Program | American Silver Eagle |
|---|---|
| Issuer | United States Mint |
| Metal | .999 fine silver |
| Alloy | 99.9% silver |
| Sizes | 1 oz ($1, 31.103 g, 40.6 mm) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| One ounce coin | 31.103 g, 40.6 mm |
Frequently asked questions
Is a 1987 Silver Eagle rare?
No. Over 11.4 million bullion coins and 904,732 proofs were made, so it is one of the more common early dates. Its value follows the silver price, with a small premium for proofs and coins in top grades.
Where is the mint mark on a 1987 proof Silver Eagle?
Look on the reverse, just left of the eagle's tail. The proof shows an S for San Francisco. Bullion coins of 1987 have no mint mark, so if that spot is empty your coin is the bullion version.
Mintages: American Silver Eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.