Sets
A set consists of all denominations from one year of issue in the same high grade.
For example, a Gold American Eagle Set is made up of all four certified denominations from the same year (1986 to current) and features a timeless design by legendary sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. A Gold American Eagle Set (single year) represents the building block for a full Gold American Eagle Date Run (all years).
Date Run
A date run consists of all denominations from every year of issue in the same high grade.
A Gold American Eagle Date Run in a high grade is based upon only a small fraction of a coin’s total mintage, which can contribute to its rarity. For example, less than two percent of all of the $25 Gold American Eagles ever minted in 1990 carry the highly-desirable PCGS grade of PR-70. This is why a very limited amount of PCGS-graded PR-70 Gold American Eagle Date Runs exist in the entire world today.
Extremely scarce quantities in existence allow for increased potential.
Creating a Gold American Eagle set Proof 69 or museum-quality Proof 70 condition is very difficult. It involves finding coins minted the same year, at the same U.S. Mint and graded in the same condition by PCGS. It could take months or years to find all four coins—the $5 one-tenth ounce, the $10 one-quarter ounce, the $25 one-half ounce, and the $50 full ounce—for just one set. Now consider the difficulty in putting together 29 sets to make a complete date run! That is 111 Proof 69 or Proof 70 gold coins!
The Gold American Eagle Date Run is one of the most rare achievements in gold ownership. Only 60 PCGS-Certified Proof 70 Gold American Eagle Date Runs exist in the world. That’s because there are only 60 PCGS-certified Proof 70 1993 $25 Gold American Eagles in existence so there can only be 60 of this same type of date run in the world. And, there are only 584 full PCGS-Certified Proof 69 Gold American Eagle Date Runs available to own!