American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins

The American gold eagle coins started out as a means of currency and included a high percentage of actual gold content.  As the coins slowly stopped being minted and fell out of circulation, they became valuable collectors’ items.  Not only were the American gold eagle coins valuable for their gold content that increased in value when the gold market was on the rise, but there was also an additional historical value to them.  The historical significance coupled with the rarity of the coins made them a lucrative investment for the avid collector.  Today, the original gold eagle coins are no longer in circulation.  However, they were replaced with American gold eagle bullion coins.

When the United States Mint determined to issue a series of gold bullion coins in 1986, the tradition of the eagle remained.  For first time collectors, this may seem a bit confusing so it is important to understand the difference between the original gold eagle coins and the newer bullion coins.  Today, the bullion coins are issued in four different sizes and weights.  All of the coins, however, carry the same design.  The design on the reverse depicts a male eagle carrying an olive branch to the nesting female eagle.  The obverse is that of Lady Liberty.

The sizes and weights vary but there are certain restrictions to the coins as determined and overseen by the United States mint.  All gold eagle bullion coins are guaranteed to contain the exact gold content it shows and the gold for the coins must come from internal sources in the United States and can not be imported from other countries.  The sizes for each of the four gold bullion coins range from 32.7 millimeters for the largest down to 16.5 millimeters for the smallest.  Actual gold content in troy ounces are 1.0, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.10 for the one ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce and tenth ounce respectively.

The face value of the coins starting with the one ounce through to the tenth ounce is fifty dollars, twenty five dollars, ten dollars and five dollars.  However, the value of the coins typically is much more than the face value and depends on the current gold market.  Currently, the value of the gold bullion coins range in price from approximately one hundred dollars to one thousand dollars according to the gold market.  However, these prices are subject to increase or decrease depending on how the gold market is faring at any particular time.  The value of the coins can literally change on a daily basis.

American gold eagle bullion coins are a good investment for collectors.  However, for the serious collector, they typically only have one each of the lower denominations to complete a collection and choose instead to concentrate their efforts on the higher denomination coins.  Collectors purchasing in bulk have a better chance of getting a lower per coin price than someone purchasing a single gold coin.  Investors tend to purchase multiple coins while the hobbyist will tend to get a coin for their collection and build on it from there.