Gold Eagle Coins

The US Mint originally introduced the American Gold Eagle Coin in the year 1986 and announced that it would be the official gold bullion coin in the US. You can buy these coins in the market and today you can choose to buy from a variety of weight denominations. The Gold Eagle Coins are available in four different weight denominations and they are:

One Ounce

Half an Ounce

Quarter Ounce

Tenth of an Ounce

There are some stipulations regarding the production of Gold Eagle Coins and they have to be followed as they are the law. No matter what denomination the coin must be made entirely of pure gold. Apart from gold there is the provision for the addition of copper and silver so as to make the coin more resistant to wear. It must come from a source within the USA itself and not anywhere else. All Gold Eagle Coins must be backed by the US Mint as to how much they must weigh and what they contain when they are produced. In addition to that Congress must authorize production for the coins to have any authenticity.

The market value of each American Gold Eagle Coin is based on its weight and how much gold it contains it. Here is a list of prices in January 2006 of gold coins that you could purchase. It should give you a rough idea.

Denomination	Face Value	Market Value
Tenth of an Ounce	$5.00	$75.00
Quarter Ounce	$10.00	$150.00
Half Ounce	$25.00	$300.00
One Ounce	$50.00	$600.00

Remember, however, that the price of each coin that you can buy will by and large depend on the spot price of gold at the time you decide to buy. So while the above table is indicative of the price of the coins at that particular time you should only use it as a rough guide. In more recent times you may actually find that the price of the American Gold Eagle coin is lower than the price mentioned in the table above.

As with all coins it has two sides. The main side is known as the obverse side while the other is called the reverse side. On the obverse side of the coin you will see a full length rendition of the Lady Liberty. The image includes her full flowing hair and includes an olive branch in the left hand and the torch in the right. Capital Building can also be seen on the main side. It is in the background to the left of Lady Liberty. This side of the American Gold Eagle Coin was designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The reverse side, designed by Miley Busiek, has the image of a male eagle carrying an olive branch while flying over a nest containing a female eagle and her young.

As we mentioned before the Gold Eagle Coins came into being in 1986. There is an example of an earlier Gold Eagle Coin, dating back to 1804. This was a special gift for President Andrew Jackson and has value as a collector's item today.

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