U.S. Heritage Coins

		Minted by the United States Mint, the Gold Eagle has become the most popular gold bullion coin in the world because of its beauty, quality and the assurance of content by the U.S. Government. These legal tender coins, first minted in 1986, are produced from gold mined in the United States. The obverse design is inspired by the $20 Saint Gaudens' and the reverse contains a family of eagles. Available in 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/10 ounce sizes.

Face Value 50 USD 25 USD 10 USD 5 USD	Gold Content 1 troy oz .5 troy oz .25 troy oz .1 troy oz	Fineness .9167 .9167 .9167 .9167	Weight 33.93 g 16.96 g 8.483 g 3.393 g	Diameter 32.7 mm 27.0 mm 22.0 mm 16.0 mm

The Gold Eagle is one of the official gold bullion coins produced by the United States Mint. The Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985 authorized its production and issuance with the first release occurring in 1986. The U.S. government guarantees the Eagle Gold coins to include the stated gold weight in troy ounces. According to the law, the gold used in the coins must come from American sources and include silver and copper alloys to produce a coin that is a more durable .9167, the long-standing crown gold English standard relating to gold coins. Each coin also includes 3% silver and 5.3% copper. The United States Mint backs each Eagle Gold coin for its content and weight. The American Gold Eagle is minted in 1/10 oz, ¼ oz, ½ and 1 oz denominations. The market value of the Gold Eagle coins stems from their gold content rather than the coin’s face value. Figures from January 2008 show the $5, $10, $25 and $50 coins selling for $110, $225, $450 and $900 respectively. It is important to remember that these prices can fluctuate daily based upon the current price of gold. As with most bullion coins the face value imprinted on the coins for the purpose of legal tender is mostly symbolic and does not indicate the true value of American Eagle Gold coins. This can sometimes cause problems as in some cases involving taxes where the jury refused to convict nine defendants because it could not decide if they knew they had to declare the market value of the coins rather than the face value. Based on that information the IRS was unable to convict nine defendants of 116 charges. All four of the gold eagles are identical in design with the exception of the markings on the reverse side of the coins that show their weight and face value. The front of an American Eagle Gold coin shows a rendition by Augustus Saint-Gaudens of Lady Liberty in full-length with flowing hair while holding a torch in her right hand. In the left hand, she holds an olive branch and the Capitol building in the background on the left. The backside of the coin shows a design of a male eagle flying over a female eagle’s nest where she is attending her young hatchlings. The male eagle is carrying an olive branch as he flies over the nest. This reverse design was the creation of the sculptor Miley Busick. These coins are usually in production at the West Point Mint and include the mint’s mark underneath the date. Any Gold Eagle coins minted prior to 1992 have Roman numerals for the dates—it was not until 1992 that the U.S. Mint switched to Arabic numbers for dating the coins. There is a proof version of the coin available for coin collectors through the United States Mint.