NGC offers the Early Production designation for select coins received by NGC or an NGC-approved depository in mint-sealed packaging that is dated on or before January 31 of the coin's year of issue. In most cases, NGC will make the Early Production designation available only to submitters of bulk quantities of select coin types. In all cases, the Early Production designation is available only by special request and will require a higher grading fee.
To qualify for Early Production, coins must be submitted in mint-sealed packaging that can be proven to have been sealed on or before January 31 of the coin's year of issue. Coins issued in prior years (sometimes called "backdates") are accepted for the Early Production designation provided they are still sealed in the original mint packaging. For example, a sealed box of Mint State 1998 American Silver Eagles will be eligible for the Early Production designation if the box is dated on or before January 31, 1998.
For Early Production coins received by NGC or an NGC-approved depository in mint-sealed packaging that is dated prior to the coin's year of issue, NGC may additionally designate the coins with the "Struck in [Year]" attribution, where "[Year]" is the year in which the coins were struck. For example, a sealed box of Mint State 1998 American Gold Eagles will be eligible for the "Struck in 1997" attribution if the box is dated on or before December 31, 1997. Regular bulk submissions of American Silver Eagles are not eligible for the "Struck in [Year]" attribution.
1986 American Silver and Gold Eagles: Bullion (non-mintmarked) 1986 American Gold Eagles were first released by the US Mint on October 20, 1986. Therefore, bullion 1986 American Gold Eagles received in mint-sealed packaging that is dated on or before November 19, 1986 are eligible for the Early Production designation. Bullion 1986 American Silver Eagles were first released by the US Mint on November 24, 1986. Therefore, bullion 1986 American Silver Eagles received in mint-sealed packaging that is dated on or before December 24, 1986 are eligible for the Early Production designation.
