The American Gold Eagle was first struck by the United States Mint in 1986. The 22-karat gold bullion coins were available in four different sizes, each containing the specified weight in pure gold. This included one ounce, one-half ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce sizes. Bullion coins have been distributed by the United States Mint through a network of authorized purchasers. Gold Eagles are acquired for both precious metals investment and collecting purposes.
2012 American Gold Eagle
The design for the obverse of the coin is reproduced from the Saint Gaudens Gold Double Eagle, designed by Augustus Saint Gaudens. A depiction of Liberty is shown, as she holds a lit torch and olive branch and strides boldly forward. The reverse of the coins was designed by Miley Frost, specifically for the new bullion coin series. It features a male eagle bringing an olive branch to a nest containing young eagles and their mother.
Since the Gold Eagle bullion coins are struck to public demand, in general this demand level determines the mintages for each year. Some years when demand and corresponding mintages were lower, collectible value exists for the coins beyond their precious metal value.
American Gold Eagle Notes:
There are a total of 49,269,565 Uncirculated and 5,777,701 Proof Gold Eagles produced across all denominations from 1986 to 2023.
The total weight of these coins is 30,565,899 ounces of gold.
The most produced denomination is the one ounce coin, which carries a $50 face value. From 1986 to 2023, there have been 24,853,007 of the one ounce Gold Eagles produced.
The least produced denomination is the one-half ounce $25 face value coin with production of 4,493,146.
The highest mintage individual issue is the one-tenth ounce 1999 Gold Eagle with a mintage of 2,750,338.
The lowest mintage individual issue is the one-half ounce 2020-W Gold Eagle with a mintage of 6,284.
In 1999, the West Point Mint struck 14,500 one-tenth ounce and 10,000 quarter-ounce Uncirculated coins made from unpolished Proof dies. As a result, these coins have a cameo finish and bear the “W” mint mark, which is reserved for Proof Gold Eagles.
In 2021, the Mint reported that 7,924 bullion-strike $10 Gold Eagles were made with in error with an unfinished Proof obverse die bearing a “W” mint mark.
$5 American Gold Eagle Mintages:
The mintages presented in the table below are subject to change and reflect the most current information as of October 18, 2023.
