American Gold Eagle

The American Gold Eagle is an official gold bullion coin of the United States. Authorized under the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985, it was first released by the United States Mint in 1986. Because the term "eagle" also is the official United States designation for the pre-1933 ten dollar gold coin, the weight of the bullion coin is typically used when describing American Gold Eagles (e.g., "1/2-ounce American Gold Eagle") to avoid confusion with the pre-1933 coins. This is particularly true with the 1/4-oz American Gold Eagle, which has a marked face value of ten dollars, the same as that of its predecessor.

Details

Offered in 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz denominations, these coins are guaranteed by the U.S. government to contain the stated amount of actual gold weight in troy ounces. By law, the gold must come from sources in the United States, alloyed with silver and copper to produce a more wear-resistant coin. In addition, sales of these and other specie coins from the US Mint are mandated, at least in part, to pay off the national debt.31 U.S.C.A. § 5116(2)

The 22 kt gold alloy is an English standard traditionally referred to as "crown gold". Crown gold alloys had not been used in U.S. coins since 1834, with the gold content having dropped since 1837 to a standard of 0.900 fine for U.S. gold coins. For American Gold Eagles the gold fraction was increased again to .9167 or (22 karat). It is authorized by the United States Congress and is backed by the United States Mint for weight and content.

The obverse design features a rendition of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' full-length figure of Lady Liberty with flowing hair, holding a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left, with the Capitol building in the left background. The design is taken from the $20 Saint-Gaudens gold coin which was commissioned by Theodore Roosevelt to create coins like the ancient Greek and Roman coins.

For mint years 1986 to 2021, the reverse design by sculptor Miley Busiek Frost (MB) featured a male eagle carrying an olive branch flying above a nest containing a female eagle and the pair's two eaglets. Frost says that the design is "a symbolic tribute to the American family, senior citizens and young people." Frost's design drawing was sculpted for the reverse of the Gold Eagle by US Mint sculptor-engraver Sherl Joseph Winter (JW). Hence, on the reverse of these coins, the initials MB and JW are inscribed.

In 2021, the US Mint introduced a new reverse design on the American Gold Eagle featuring a close-up head portrait of an eagle. This design was created by US Mint artistic designer Jennie Norris (JN) and sculpted by US Mint medallic artist Renata Gordon (RG). Hence, Gold Eagles from 2021 onwards, show the initials JN and RG on each side of the eagle head design. Norris explains her design inspiration as follows: “The American Eagle is such a noble bird. I was hoping to capture the intensity of his stare through the close cropping. His gaze speaks of pride and wisdom passed down through generations of time.”

Specifications Gold Eagles minted 1986–1991 are dated with Roman numerals. In 1992, the U.S. Mint switched to Arabic numerals for dating Gold Eagles.

The , , and troy oz coins are identical in design to the 1 troy oz coin except for the markings on the reverse side that indicate the weight and face value of the coin (for example, 1 OZ. fine gold~50 dollars). The print on the smaller coins is, therefore, finer and less legible than on larger denominations. +Each of the four sizes contains 91.67% gold (22 karat), 3% silver, and 5.33% copper. Denomination1/10 troy oz1/4 troy oz1/2 troy oz1 troy ozDiameter16.5 mm22mm27 mm32.70 mmThickness1.19 mm1.83 mm2.24 mm2.87 mmGross weight0.1091 troy oz (3.393 g)0.2727 troy oz (8.483 g)0.5454 troy oz (16.965 g)1.0909 troy oz (33.931 g)Face value$5$10$25$50 The 22k gold alloyed makeup of Gold Eagle coins stands in contrast to the 24k Gold Buffalo Coin, which is minted entirely from .9999 fine gold, and therefore weighs less (1 troy oz or 31.1035 grams gross).

Value

The market value of the coins is generally about equal to the market value of their gold content, not their face value. Like all commodities, this value fluctuates with market forces. The face values are proportional to the weights except for the 1/4 oz coin.

While their actual selling price (purchasing power) varies based on the spot price of gold, these coins carry face values of $5, $10, $25, and $50. These are their legal values, reflecting their issue and monetized value as "Gold Dollars," as opposed to standard bullion. They are legal tender for all debts public and private at their face values. These face values do not reflect their intrinsic value which is much greater and is mainly influenced by their weight and the price of precious metal. For example, on September 13, 2019, the U.S. Mint sold the 2016 one-ounce coin ($50 face value) at $1,510.00. Since the coins can be "paid" only at a disadvantage to the payer, they are generally held as collectibles rather than used for transactions. Furthermore, US taxpayers are subject to capital gains taxes on profits when a gold coin is sold (unless held in an individual retirement account).

In addition to standard bullion coins (sometimes referred to as "scruffies"), the United States Mint also produces proof and uncirculated versions for coin collectors. These coins carry the Mint's mark ("W") beneath the date, and are produced exclusively at the West Point Mint in West Point, New York (formerly the West Point Bullion Depository).

Mintages

These final audited mintages from the U.S. Mint include coins sold both individually and as part of multi-coin sets.

Annual bullion mintage

Year$5 – oz.$10 – oz.$25 – oz.$50 – 1 oz. 1986 912,609 726,031 599,566 1,362,650 1987 580,266 269,255 131,255 1,045,500 1988 159,500 49,000 45,000 465,500 1989 264,790 81,789 44,829 415,790 1990 210,210 41,000 31,000 373,210 1991 165,200 36,100 24,100 243,100 1992 209,300 59,546 54,404 275,000 1993 210,709 71,864 73,324 480,192 1994 206,380 72,650 62,400 221,663 1995 223,025 83,752 53,474 200,636 1996 401,964 60,318 39,287 189,148 1997 528,515 108,805 79,605 664,508 1998 1,344,520 309,829 169,029 1,468,530 1999 2,750,338 564,232 263,013 1,505,026 2000 569,153 128,964 79,287 433,319 2001 269,147 71,280 48,047 143,605 2002 230,027 62,027 70,027 222,029 2003 245,029 74,029 79,029 416,032 2004 250,016 72,014 98,040 417,019 2005 300,043 72,015 80,023 356,555 2006 285,006 60,004 66,005 237,510 2007 190,010 34,004 47,002 140,016 2008 305,000 70,000 61,000 710,000 2009 270,000 110,000 110,000 1,493,000 2010 435,000 86,000 81,000 1,125,000 2011 350,000 80,000 70,000 857,000 2012 290,000 90,000 43,000 675,000 2013 555,000 114,500 57,000 758,500 2014 545,000 90,000 35,000 425,000 2015 980,000 158,000 75,000 626,500 2016 925,000 152,000 74,000 817,500 2017 395,000 64,000 37,000 228,000 2018 230,000 62,000 32,000 191,000 2019 195,000 38,000 30,000 108,000 2020 350,000 106,000 70,000 747,500 2021 Type-1 150,000 56,000 31,000 456,500 2021 Type-2 350,000 108,000 65,000 665,500 2022 575,000 140,000 75,000 850,000 2023 675,000 198,000 102,000 924,000 2024 540,000 102,000 49,000 308,000

Annual proof mintage

During the series' inaugural year, the Mint only issued 1 troy oz proofs. It added troy oz proofs in 1987 and since 1988 has issued proofs in all four denominations. In 2009, due to increased worldwide demand for precious metals that caused supply shortages and the Mint's legal obligations to produce bullion versions, proof and uncirculated versions of the Gold Eagle were not issued. In addition to individual coins, the Mint also produces four-coin proof sets annually since 1988.

Year$5 – oz.$10 – oz.$25 – oz.$50 – 1 oz. 1986 - - - 446,290 1987 - - 143,398 147,498 1988 143,881 98,028 76,528 87,133 1989 84,647 54,170 44,798 54,570 1990 99,349 62,674 51,636 62,401 1991 70,334 50,839 53,125 50,411 1992 64,874 46,269 40,976 44,826 1993 58,649 46,464 43,819 34,369 1994 62,849 48,172 44,584 46,674 1995 62,667 47,526 45,388 46,368 1996 57,047 38,219 35,058 36,153 1997 34,977 29,805 26,344 32,999 1998 39,395 29,503 25,374 25,886 1999 48,428 34,417 30,427 31,427 2000 49,971 36,036 32,028 33,007 2001 37,530 25,613 23,240 24,555 2002 40,864 29,242 26,646 27,499 2003 40,027 30,292 28,270 28,344 2004 35,131 28,839 27,330 28,215 2005 49,265 37,207 34,311 35,246 2006 47,277 36,127 34,322 47,092 2007 58,553 46,189 44,025 51,810 2008 28,116 18,877 22,602 30,237 2009 - - - - 2010 54,285 44,507 44,527 59,480 2011 42,697 28,782 26,781 48,306 2012 20,740 13,775 12,809 23,630 2013 21,742 12,789 12,718 24,710 2014 22,725 14,790 14,693 28,703 2015 26,769 15,775 15,820 32,652 2016 TBD TBD TBD TBD 2017 11,158 14,516 12,717 9,245 2018 21,156 12,770 9,204 15,565 2019 17,809 10,613 9,454 14,697 2020 24,033 15,806 14,020 17,358 2021 T1 21,078 10,837 9,741 12,558 2021 T2 24,984 13,511 12,163 15,731 2022 23,712 14,370 11,876 15,819 2023 22,824 13,886 11,408 15,863 2024 8,129 14,250 6,315 8,129

Annual uncirculated mintage In 2009, the allocation of blanks for the legally required production of bullion Gold Eagles affected both uncirculated coin and proof availability. This suspension continued into 2010 for the uncirculated version. When production resumed in 2011 (without the fractional denominations which had been discontinued in 2008), it was met with a weak collector response. The United States Mint provided audited and finalized annual production sales reports between 2006 and 2012. Afterwards, they published production sales numbers in the weekly cumulative sales reports. The mintage number is the Last Known Sale (LKS), which is the last sales figure published for that product before it was dropped from the sales report. Year$5 – oz.$10 – oz.$25 – oz.$50 – 1 oz.2006-W20,64315,18815,16445,0532007-W22,50112,76611,45518,0662008-W12,6578,88316,68211,9082009-W - - - -2010-W - - - -2011-W - - -8,7292012-W - - -5,8292013-W - - -7,2932014-W - - -7,9022015-W - - -6,5332016-W - - -6,8872017-W - - -5,8002018-W - - -8,5182019-W - - -6,3652020-W - - -6,2842021-W - - -9,0632022-W - - -8,9002023-W - - -6,5922024-W - - -2,9422025-W - - -2,194

American Gold Eagle

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