Gold American Eagle |
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The Gold American Eagle - A Brief HistoryAmerican Eagle gold bullion coins began production at the Philadelphia and West Point mints in 1986. At this point in time: private ownership of gold by U. S. citizens had been legal again for 11 years; importation of Krugerrands into the U. S. had been banned two years earlier as a protest of South African apartheid; and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf was the popular one ounce gold bullion coin in the United States.Anticipating a good demand by U. S. citizens for an American-made gold bullion coin, first-year production of Gold American Eagles was sizeable. The Philadelphia mint produced 1,362,650 one-ounce Gold Eagles in 1986 and West Point mint produced 446,290 "proof" one-ounce Gold Eagles. In addition, the Philadelphia mint produced 599,566 half-ounce, 726,031 quarter-ounce and 912,609 tenth-ounce Gold Eagles in 1986. This was the highest mintage for these coins for the next several years. The Gold Eagle - Facts and DetailsEach Gold Eagle has the image of Lady Liberty on the obverse (front) - a modified rendition of the Augustus St-Gaudens design for the $20 Saint (1907-1933). The coin's reverse image is a Nest of Eagles designed by Miley Busiek (click on either image above for a larger view). Mint marks are "W" for the West Point Mint and "P" for the Philadelphia Mint. No
mint mark means it was minted in Philadelphia. A Roman
Numeral date
was used for Gold Eagles from 1986 thru 1991. In 1992, the date was
changed to Arabic and continues to this day. American Eagle gold bullion coins come in one ounce ($50 face value), half-ounce ($25 face value), quarter-ounce ($10 face value) and tenth-ounce ($5 face value) sizes. These 22-karat gold coins are alloyed with copper (5.33%) and silver (3%) making them more durable than pure gold coins. More details on their gold content, purity/fineness, Gross Troy weight, Net Troy (gold) weight and grams... Gold American EaglesOne ounce 1.0000 oz.gold, 9167 purity,1.0917 Gross Wt.,1.0000 Net Wt. 31.1034 gramsHalf-ounce .5000 oz.gold, .9167 purity, .5454 Gross Wt., .5000 Net Wt., 15.5517 grams Quarter-ounce .2500 oz.gold, .9167 purity, .2727 Gross Wt., .2500 Net Wt., 7.7758 grams Tenth-ounce .1000 oz.gold, .9167 purity, .1090 Gross Wt., .1000 Net Wt., 3.1103 grams American Gold Eagles are backed by the U.S. Government for weight, content and purity which makes them widely accepted and very liquid (easy to convert back to cash). Recently, the demand for these coins has been very high. In 2008, a total of 710,000 one-ounce Gold Eagles were sold compared to 140,000 the year before. Prices can vary widely and you will want to compare prices from a few (or more) dealers to get the maximum amount of gold for your money. Gold American Eagles on eBayYou can find out plenty about Gold American Eagles from current eBay auctions. A review of these auctions will tell you current bid prices for various denominations of these coins. Especially valuable are the auctions that are closest to expiring - both those with multiple bids and those with no bids. You will get a good idea of the going rate for Gold Eagles in today's market - and which are priced too high.If
you only want to invest in one or a
few coins at a time, eBay auctions might
be just the ticket for you (many
dealers are not interested in small sales). It's free to set up an
account - just click on any auction below, look
for "register" in the upper left-hand corner (by the eBay
logo) and click it to get
started.
For your convenience, I have included a number of Gold Eagle auctions closest to expiration below. Bookmark this site and check back often - you may be able to pick up some nice Gold American Eagles at a decent price. If
you see an auction you want to bid on, check the
seller's eBay "reputation" before you bid. On the auction page, look
for "Meet the seller" on the right-hand side (toward the top). There
you will see the seller ID followed by a number in parenthesis.
The higher that transaction number plus a high positive
feedback percentage (95% or better), the more assurance you have of a
"safe" winning bid.
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Disclaimer: I have made every reasonable effort to produce an informative and helpful article on Gold American Eagles based on my research and experiences. However, I make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to its completeness, accuracy or suitability for any specific situation or purpose. See Terms and Conditions for more info. Site Policies: Privacy|Terms & Conditions||Contact Us. Visit
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