2005 American Gold Eagle
Every version of the 2005 Gold Eagle with mintages, the gold it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2005
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 356,555
- 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 2005 Gold Eagle worth?
The 2005 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 2005 1/4 oz bullion (72,015) 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 2005 Gold Eagle version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($50) | 356,555 | Metal value |
| Bullion | None | 1/2 oz ($25) | 80,023 | Metal value |
| Bullion | None | 1/4 oz ($10) | 72,015 | Small premium |
| Bullion | None | 1/10 oz ($5) | 300,043 | Metal value |
| Proof | See below | 1 oz ($50) | 35,246 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/2 oz ($25) | 34,311 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/4 oz ($10) | 37,207 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/10 oz ($5) | 49,265 | Small premium |
There are eight 2005 versions: bullion and proof in each of the four sizes. Bullion coins have no mint mark and were sold to authorized purchasers in bulk. Proofs carry a mint mark and have mirror fields with frosted relief; they came in individual capsules with a box and certificate. No burnished coins exist for 2005, so a satin finish coin with a W is from 2006 or later. Proofs from this period sometimes turn up loose in jewelry boxes; the mirror fields and frosted design remain the giveaway even without the case.
Quick answers
- How much gold is in a 2005 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 2005 Gold Eagles were made?
- 356,555 one ounce bullion coins plus 156,029 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 2005 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 2005
2005 was the last year of the original eight coin lineup. Bullion sales eased slightly, with 356,555 one ounce coins sold, but the tenth ounce rose to 300,043, its best result since 2000. The quarter and half ounce coins came in at 72,015 and 80,023. Gold was still climbing and buyers stayed active. Bullion production came to 808,636 coins, close to the totals of 2003 and 2004.
Proof sales jumped in every size: 49,265 tenth ounce, 37,207 quarter ounce, 34,311 half ounce and 35,246 one ounce. Combined, that was the strongest proof year since 1996. The following year, the program's 20th, brought the first new Gold Eagle version since the proofs began. So 2005 is the last date before burnished coins joined the lineup, a small milestone that some collectors like to note when building a date set. For most finders, though, a 2005 coin is simply bullion or proof; the finish decides which. Collectors bought 156,029 proofs in total, up from 119,515.
2005 Gold Eagle by the numbers
The Mint sold 356,555 one ounce bullion Gold Eagles dated 2005. That ranks 14th lowest of the 39 bullion dates from 1986 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 2005 bullion sales were 1.2 times fewer than 2004 and 1.5 times the 2006 figure.
Collector versions dated 2005 add up to 156,029 coins across 4 versions. The scarcest is the 2005 1/2 oz proof at 34,311; the most plentiful is the 2005 1/10 oz proof at 49,265.
Fractional bullion that year: 300,043 1/10 oz coins, 72,015 1/4 oz coins and 80,023 1/2 oz coins. The 1/4 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 scarcest 2005 Gold Eagle is the half ounce proof at 34,311, with the one ounce proof at 35,246 next. Proofs carry a small premium over metal value when they're original. Bullion coins in all four sizes trade close to metal value. As with any gold coin, scratches, spots or cleaning reduce what collectors will pay, so leave a coin as it is. Graded proofs near perfect earn a little more, though the extra over a well kept boxed coin is usually small for this date.
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
Are there 2005 burnished Gold Eagles?
No. Burnished uncirculated Gold Eagles with a W mint mark started in 2006. For 2005 there are only bullion coins and proofs, each in four sizes. Any satin finish W coin is from a later year.
What is the lowest mintage 2005 Gold Eagle?
The half ounce proof, with 34,311 struck. That's higher than most proofs of the early 2000s, so it carries a small premium rather than a collector premium. The one ounce proof is next at 35,246.
Mintages: American Gold Eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.