What Does MCMLXXXVI Mean On My Gold Coin?

Why does my Gold Eagle not have a date? What year is my Gold Eagle, it’s not listed? What does MCMLXXXVI mean? These are all common questions we receive at Golden Eagle, and the answer to all of them is the same.

When the United States Mint began producing American Gold Eagle Coins, they decided to use roman numerals to denote the date instead of the more common Arabic numbers that we’re used to seeing today. Since the inception of the American Gold Eagle in 1986, through 1991, the U.S. Mint used roman numerals. These roman numerals can be found on all Gold Eagles: 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 troy ounce coins. Here is a breakdown of the dates:

MCMLXXXVI – 1986

MCMLXXXVII – 1987

MCMLXXXVIII – 1988

MCMLXXXIX – 1989

MCMXC – 1990

MCMXCI – 1991

1992 was the year that the U.S. mint transitioned to using Arabic numbers (standard) to list the date on all American Gold Eagles.

Other U.S. Gold Coins That Have No Date

In 1907, the United States Mint issued two versions of the famous Double Gold Eagle designed by legendary sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Both the high relief and ultra-high relief Double Gold Eagles have Roman numeral dates MCMVII on them. These 1907 gold Double Eagles with roman numerals are extremely rare.

In 2009, the United States Mint issued a special one-year Ultra-High Relief Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. This coin also featured Roman numerals instead of standard with the numerals MMIX engraved on the obverse. This coin was a tribute to the 1907 ultra-high relief Double Eagle.