American Gold Eagle by Year: Mintages, Versions and Key Dates

What the Gold Eagle is

Congress authorized the coin in the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985 and the first pieces are dated 1986. The Gold Eagle quickly became one of the most widely traded gold coins in the world.

Face values of $5, $10, $25 and $50 are symbolic; nobody spends these coins. Bullion coins are sold in bulk to authorized purchasers, who pass them on to dealers, while proof and burnished coins are sold by the Mint directly to collectors.

Gold Eagle mintages by year

Metal content and specifications

Gold Eagles are 22 karat gold: 91.67% gold, with the rest silver and copper. The size named on the coin is its pure gold content, so a 1 oz coin weighs a little more than an ounce. All four sizes have a reeded edge.

• 1/10 oz: $5 face, 16.5 mm across, 3.393 g total weight
• 1/4 oz: $10 face, 22 mm, 8.483 g
• 1/2 oz: $25 face, 27 mm, 16.966 g
• 1 oz: $50 face, 32.7 mm, 33.931 g

Designs and the 2021 change

The obverse is Augustus Saint-Gaudens's striding Liberty, adapted from the $20 double eagle first struck in 1907. She holds a torch and an olive branch, with the Capitol small in the background.

Until mid 2021 the reverse carried Miley Busiek's family of eagles: a male eagle flying toward a nest where a female sits with their young. In 2021 Jennie Norris's eagle head replaced it. Coins with the old reverse that year are Type 1 and coins with the new one Type 2.

Dates from 1986 to 1991 are in Roman numerals, MCMLXXXVI to MCMXCI. Ordinary numerals took over in 1992.

Bullion, proof or burnished: how to tell

For most years the version matters far more than the date.

• Bullion: no mint mark and ordinary luster. Most Gold Eagles you'll meet are bullion coins trading close to metal value.
• Proof: mirror fields, frosted design and a small mint mark on the obverse, sold in a capsule and presentation case with a certificate. Offered in all four sizes in most years from 1988.
• Burnished: a soft satin finish with a W mint mark for West Point, sold boxed like a proof. Made from 2006, in the one ounce size only since 2011.
• Type 1 or Type 2 (2021 only): a family of eagles at a nest is Type 1; a single eagle head is Type 2.

Key dates and scarce issues

Big bullion mintages mean most dates trade near metal value. The exceptions make a short list.

• 1991 half ounce bullion: 24,100 struck, the lowest bullion mintage from 1986 to 2024.
• Half ounce bullion from 1988 to 1991: under 50,000 every year. The 1991 quarter ounce reached only 36,100.
• 2006 to 2008 burnished tenth, quarter and half ounce coins, led by the 2008 quarter ounce at 8,883.
• Burnished one ounce coins since 2011, usually 5,800 to 9,100 a year, with 2024 sales running far lower.
• 1999 W tenth and quarter ounce coins struck from unfinished proof dies, a recognized variety. A similar 2021 W Type 2 quarter ounce bullion coin turned up later.
• Half ounce proofs below 10,000: 9,961 in 2018, 9,454 in 2019 and 9,741 for the 2021 Type 1 coin.
• Two special one ounce issues: the 2006 W reverse proof from the 20th anniversary set (9,996) and the 2020 W proof with the V75 privy mark (1,939), the lowest Gold Eagle mintage from 1986 to 2024.

Checking a coin is genuine and storing it

Counterfeits exist, mostly gold plated tungsten or base metal. These checks catch most of them.

Handle coins by the edge. Keep proofs and burnished coins in their capsules with the box and certificate. Small reddish spots sometimes appear on Gold Eagles over the years; don't clean them, because cleaning does more harm than the spot.

• Weigh it on a scale reading to 0.01 g and compare with the weights above.
• Measure diameter and thickness. Tungsten fakes may match the weight but rarely the size too.
• Gold isn't magnetic. A coin that jumps to a magnet is fake.
• Compare Liberty's face, the lettering and the edge reeding with a coin you know is genuine.
• Be wary of any coin offered well below the going rate for its gold. Grading holders can be faked too.

Frequently asked questions