2001 American Gold Eagle
Every version of the 2001 Gold Eagle with mintages, the gold it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2001
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 143,605
- Versions
- 8
- Metal
- 22 karat gold (91.67%)
Original illustration of the coin's size and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because metal and coin prices change daily.
What is a 2001 Gold Eagle worth?
The 2001 bullion Gold Eagle is worth its gold content: weight times the day's spot price, plus a modest dealer premium when you buy and less when you sell. Its scarcer versions are different: the 2001 1/4 oz bullion (71,280) rates small premium.
Metal value = troy ounces of gold × the day's spot price. For collector versions, check recent sold results for the same version and grade.
Every 2001 Gold Eagle version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($50) | 143,605 | Metal value |
| Bullion | None | 1/2 oz ($25) | 48,047 | Small premium |
| Bullion | None | 1/4 oz ($10) | 71,280 | Small premium |
| Bullion | None | 1/10 oz ($5) | 269,147 | Metal value |
| Proof | See below | 1 oz ($50) | 24,555 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/2 oz ($25) | 23,240 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/4 oz ($10) | 25,613 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/10 oz ($5) | 37,530 | Small premium |
2001 has eight versions. Bullion coins in four sizes have no mint mark and were sold in bulk. Proofs in four sizes carry a mint mark on the obverse, mirror fields and frosted design. Each proof was sold in a capsule with a box and certificate. With bullion production this low, a 2001 one ounce bullion coin is less common than most later dates, though it is still far from rare. If you hold a 2001 proof, check its size first: the half ounce, at 27 mm, is the scarcest of the four. The others are 16.5, 22 and 32.7 mm.
Quick answers
- How much gold is in a 2001 Gold Eagle?
- Each coin contains its stated weight of pure gold: 1/10 troy ounce in the $5 coin, 1/4 troy ounce in the $10 coin, 1/2 troy ounce in the $25 coin and one troy ounce in the $50 coin. The alloy is 91.67% gold, 3% silver, 5.33% copper.
- How many 2001 Gold Eagles were made?
- 143,605 one ounce bullion coins plus 110,938 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 2001 Gold Eagle worth more than its gold?
- The bullion coin trades close to its metal value plus a dealer premium. Collector versions in their original packaging bring a small premium.
- Is the Gold Eagle legal tender?
- Yes. Each size carries a face value ($5, $10, $25 and $50), but nobody spends them: the gold is worth far more than the face value.
The Gold Eagle in 2001
Bullion sales slumped in 2001 to some of the lowest figures in the program's history. Only 143,605 one ounce coins were sold, the third lowest one ounce total from 1986 to 2024, along with 269,147 tenth ounce, 71,280 quarter ounce and 48,047 half ounce coins. In ounces of gold, only 2007 and 2019 came in lower over the same span. Gold itself was near the bottom of a long slide that had lasted most of the 1980s and 1990s.
Proofs hit new lows too. The Mint sold 37,530 tenth ounce, 25,613 quarter ounce, 23,240 half ounce and 24,555 one ounce proofs. The half ounce proof figure was the lowest of any Gold Eagle proof up to that time. The one ounce and quarter ounce proofs set record lows as well. For anyone building a run of proofs from the 2000s, 2001 is one of the harder years. That said, a few thousand coins either way rarely changes much for proofs of this period, which still turn up regularly.
2001 Gold Eagle by the numbers
The Mint sold 143,605 one ounce bullion Gold Eagles dated 2001. That ranks 3rd lowest of the 39 bullion dates from 1986 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 2001 bullion sales were 3 times fewer than 2000 and 1.5 times fewer than 2002.
Collector versions dated 2001 add up to 110,938 coins across 4 versions. The scarcest is the 2001 1/2 oz proof at 23,240; the most plentiful is the 2001 1/10 oz proof at 37,530.
Fractional bullion that year: 269,147 1/10 oz coins, 71,280 1/4 oz coins and 48,047 1/2 oz coins. The 1/2 oz is the scarce size of the year.
What to check on yours
- Weigh and measure it. A genuine one ounce Gold Eagle weighs 33.931 g and measures 32.7 mm; the fractional sizes are 3.393 g (1/10 oz), 8.483 g (1/4 oz) and 16.965 g (1/2 oz). Fakes are usually the wrong weight or the wrong thickness.
- Try a magnet. Gold is not magnetic, so a coin that sticks is not genuine. A coin that does not stick still needs the other checks.
- Look for the mint mark. Bullion strikes have none; proofs and burnished coins carry a small letter. A mirror field with frosted design means a proof, a soft satin look means burnished.
- Handle it by the edge and never clean it. Fingerprints, wiping and polishing leave marks that cost collector versions much of their premium.
- Keep the original capsule, box and certificate with collector versions. Coins that come with them are easier to sell and more likely to bring their full premium.
The half ounce proof at 23,240 is the scarcest 2001 issue. It and the other proofs carry a small premium over metal value when they're complete and original. Among bullion coins, the half ounce at 48,047 and the one ounce at 143,605 are lower than usual and may earn a small premium in high certified grades. Loose coins with marks trade on gold content. Proofs with hazy surfaces, spotting or fingerprints from careless handling sell for noticeably less, so condition matters even in a common year.
Arabic dates and the bullion boom (1992 to 2005)
From 1992 the date switched to ordinary numerals and the program settled into a routine of four bullion sizes and four proofs every year. Bullion demand was modest in the early and middle 1990s. The one ounce coin sold just 189,148 pieces in 1996. The quarter and half ounce sizes stayed below 100,000 every year from 1992 to 1996.
Then came the late 1990s surge. One ounce bullion sales jumped to 664,508 in 1997, 1,468,530 in 1998 and 1,505,026 in 1999, while the tenth ounce hit 2,750,338 in 1999, by far its biggest year. Worries about computer failures at the turn of the millennium are often given as one reason people stocked up on gold. In 1999 a small number of tenth and quarter ounce bullion coins were struck with unfinished proof dies and show a W mint mark, a recognized variety worth checking for.
Demand dropped almost as quickly as it had risen. The 2001 one ounce bullion coin sold only 143,605, one of the lowest one ounce totals of any year. Proof mintages drifted down across the era too, from about 41,000 to 65,000 per size in 1992 to between 23,000 and 38,000 in 2001, before recovering a little by 2005. The half ounce is usually the scarcest proof of the year in this period. Most of these proofs are plentiful enough to carry only a small premium over metal value when they're complete with box and certificate.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Program | American Gold Eagle |
|---|---|
| Issuer | United States Mint |
| Metal | 22 karat gold (91.67%) |
| Alloy | 91.67% gold, 3% silver, 5.33% copper |
| Sizes | 1/10 oz ($5, 3.393 g, 16.5 mm); 1/4 oz ($10, 8.483 g, 22 mm); 1/2 oz ($25, 16.965 g, 27 mm); 1 oz ($50, 33.931 g, 32.7 mm) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| One ounce coin | 33.931 g, 32.7 mm |
Frequently asked questions
What is the lowest mintage 2001 Gold Eagle?
The half ounce proof, with 23,240 struck. It was the lowest proof figure in the program at the time. The one ounce proof, at 24,555, is close behind. Both carry a small premium.
Were fewer Gold Eagles made in 2001?
Yes. Bullion production fell to 532,079 coins across all sizes, down sharply from 1,210,723 in 2000. The one ounce bullion total of 143,605 is one of the lowest of any year.
Mintages: American Gold Eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.