The U.S. Mint launched the American Eagle Coin Program in 1986 with gold and silver bullion coins for investors. The program has since expanded to include platinum and palladium coins. The Mint also makes proof and uncirculated versions of the American Eagle coins for collecting.

Introduced in 1986, Silver American Eagle coins weigh in at one ounce of silver (99.9% pure silver guarantee), authorized by Title II of public law 99-61 and certified by the United States Mint. US Mint Silver Eagles have a very strong sales history, having immediately sold out when released in 1986 and at many times since. Instead, the Mint distributes the coins through a network of wholesalers, investment companies, precious metal firms, and independent coin dealers such as the Silver Eagle Coin Company. Since their launch in 1986, the American Eagle Silver Dollar has become the most popular and widely collected coin in U.S. The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States. It was first released by the United States Mint on November 24, 1986. It is struck only in the one- troy ounce (Avoirdupois) size, which has a nominal face value of one dollar and is guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver.

The obverse of the American Eagle Gold Coins features a version of Liberty first used on the 1907 $20, or “double eagle” coin. The design, by famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, shows Liberty facing forward, holding a torch in one hand and an olive branch in the other. The reverse depicted an eagle grasping an olive branch flying above a nest of eagles. Starting in 2021, the gold coins feature a newly designed portrait of an eagle on the reverse and a refreshed obverse.

The obverse of the American Eagle Silver Coins uses the “Walking Liberty” design by sculptor Adolph A. Weinman from the 1916 half dollar. Liberty walks in profile, draped in the folds of the American flag. Her right arm is extended and she carries laurel and oak branches in her left. The reverse depicted a heraldic eagle with a shield, grasping an olive branch in the right talon and arrows in the left. Starting in 2021, the coins feature a new reverse showing an eagle carrying an oak branch coming to land and a refreshed obverse.

The Mint first released American Eagle Platinum Coins in 1997. The bullion coin features the Statue of Liberty on the obverse and a soaring eagle on the reverse. The proof coin design changes each year.

The American Eagle Palladium Coins were first released in 2017 as bullion and 2018 as proof. Like the silver coins, the palladium coins re-create historic designs by Adolph Weinman. The obverse features Liberty wearing a cap with wings used on the 1916 Mercury dime. The reverse shows an eagle grasping a branch first used on the 1907 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal.

American Eagle Bullion Coins

American Eagle Bullion Coins provide investors with a convenient and cost effective way to add a small amount of physical gold, silver, platinum, or palladium to their investment portfolios. The gold bullion coins are available in four sizes: one ounce, one-half ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce. The silver, platinum, and palladium bullion coins are available in the one ounce size.

The U.S. Mint does not sell American Eagle Bullion Coins directly to the public. Learn more about how to buy bullion coins.

Watch the video below to learn about palladium coins.

American Eagle Proof and Uncirculated Coins

The Mint produces American Eagle Coins for collectors with proof and uncirculated finishes. The gold and silver coins are released in both proof and uncirculated finishes each year. The platinum coins are currently made only as proof, while the palladium coins switch finishes each year.

The coins sell at a fixed price and can be purchased directly from the U.S. Mint.

American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins

The U.S. Mint produced its first legal tender platinum proof coin in 1997. Its $100 face value is the highest denomination for a U.S. legal tender coin. Produced for collectors, it bears the “W” mint mark of the West Point Mint, where it is produced. This precious metal coin has a limited mintage and may be purchased directly from the Mint.

From 1997 to 2017, the American Eagle Platinum Proof Coin shared a common obverse that depicted the Statue of Liberty. The coin’s reverse featured a variety of themed series designs, including:

• Portrait of Liberty (1997)
• Vistas of Liberty (1998 to 2002)
• Foundations of Democracy (2006 to 2008)
• Preamble to the Constitution (2009 to 2014)
• Torches of Liberty (2015 and 2016)

In 2017 for the 20th anniversary of the platinum proof program, the coin bore its original 1997 design. From 2018 to 2020, the Mint issued the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence Series. The obverse designs featured a different scene with Liberty each year. The common reverse showed an eagle in flight carrying an olive branch.

• 2018 Platinum Proof – Life
• 2019 Platinum Proof – Liberty
• 2020 Platinum Proof – Happiness

First Amendment to the United States Constitution Platinum Proof Coin Series

The 2021-2025 “First Amendment to the United States Constitution Platinum Proof Coin Series” features newly designed one ounce 99.95 percent platinum proof coins. The obverse designs use the lifecycle of the oak tree from seedling to a mighty oak as a metaphor for our country’s growth as a Nation that values freedom. Liberty grows to a thing of strength and beauty from a seed – our Bill of Rights. Each of the freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment contributes to the growth and development of the Nation.

This series continues the reverse design introduced for the 2018-2020 Preamble to the Declaration of Independence Series. It features an eagle in flight with an olive branch in its talons.

American Gold Eagle coins have been issued every year since 1986. They are part of the larger American Eagle bullion coin program of the United States. President Reagan signed the law authorizing the American Eagle program in 1985. The first Gold Eagles were unveiled the following year.

Today, American Gold Eagles are widely sought by both collectors and investors, both in the U.S. and around the world.

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American Gold Eagle coins carry an obverse design originally created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It was used on the $20 double eagle gold coin in 1907. The striding Liberty motif lasted on that denomination until 1933. This is when the production of circulating gold coins ended in the United States.

The design was then adapted for use on the American Eagle gold coins in 1986. It has appeared on the obverse since that time.

On the reverse of all American Gold Eagles is a portrait showcasing a family of eagles around a nest. This design, by Miley Busiek, debuted with the gold eagles in 1986 and is slated to be replaced in 2021.

Types Of American Gold Eagles

While the counterpart American Silver Eagle series is offered in just one format (one-ounce coins with a face value of one dollar), American Gold Eagles are made in four sizes and denominations. These include:

• One-tenth ounce (1/10 oz) with $5 face value
• One-quarter ounce (1/4 oz) with $10 face value
• One-half ounce (1/2 oz) with $25 face value
• One-ounce (1 oz) with $50 face value

Various sizes of the Gold Eagle

The face values are merely nominal. They do not necessarily correspond to the value of the gold content within these coins. In theory, these legal-tender pieces could be spent as money for their respective face values. One who does so would suffer a major monetary loss this way, though!

This is especially true given current gold spot values for these coins. At any point since 1986 up until the time of writing, the melt values have always been many multiples of each coin's face value.

Since the release of the first American Gold Eagles, they have appeared in four formats: bullion, burnished, proof, and reverse proof.

The vernacular surrounding the “bullion” version has changed over the years. It was originally known as “uncirculated.” This is a change that came in more recent years with the introduction of the “burnished” finish seen on some American Gold Eagles. These will be explained in greater detail below.

Here’s a look at the various types of American Gold Eagles:

Bullion Gold Eagle

1998 1 oz American Gold Eagle. Image: USA CoinBook

Bullion American Gold Eagles are the lesser-expensive of the two major product categories. While they generally feature well-struck details and decent surface quality, they generally are not pursued by collectors. The main market for bullion-quality Gold Eagles is the investor set, and such coins are produced in large numbers. Rather than being sold to the public as most United States Mint products are, they are distributed to a network of authorized dealers who then sell these coins in individual or bulk quantities to collectors and investors for relatively small premiums over spot.

Burnished Gold Eagle

2008-W Burnished Uncirculated 1 oz American Gold Eagle. Image: USA CoinBook

The burnished finish is regarded as a premium numismatic strike and imparts a greater value on the coin over its spot price. Burnished finish coins bear nicer surfaces with a soft, matte-like appearance. The first burnished American Gold Eagles appeared in 2006 across all four denominations. However, production of these coins has been sporadic over the years and has been mostly seen on the $50 one-ounce Gold Eagle in the years since the finish type debuted for the American Gold Eagle program.

Proof Gold Eagle

Boasting deep-mirrorlike fields and richly frosted cameo devices and lettering, proof American Gold Eagles have been offered directly to the public by the United States Mint since the series debut in 1986. These beautiful proof coins are mainly targeted to collectors and are sold at significant premiums above their respective spot values. However, their much higher level of surface and visual quality and lower mintages justify these stronger premiums. While most precious metals investors do not spend their portfolio funds on buying numismatic Gold Eagles, these coins often still do find crossover appeal with investors who want a collectible item with significant intrinsic value.

Reverse Proof Gold Eagle

2006-W Reverse Proof 1 oz American Gold Eagle. Image: USA CoinBook

A reverse proof showcases the fields with a frosted finish while the devices and lettering boast mirror-like surfaces—a complete inversion of the usual surface qualities of modern-era proof coinage. While the reverse proof finish has appeared with increasing frequency among contemporary United States Mint products, it has not been seen very often in the American Gold Eagle lineup and to date has appeared only on the one-ounce $50 gold coin.

Gold Eagle Errors & Varieties

American Gold Eagles are struck with exceptional precision and careful attention to detail. This has led to relatively few Gold Eagles escaping the mint with imperfections. Still, nobody is perfect—including the United States Mint. A few resultant varieties have therefore emerged among the American Gold Eagle coins. The bulk of these are known for the tenth-ounce $5 and quarter-ounce $10 series, with both sharing the 1999-W Uncirculated Strike Made from Unpolished Proof Dies variety.

1999-W unfinished proof dies 1/10 oz American Gold Eagle. Image: USA CoinBook

While the name is self-explanatory as to what this variety entails, what isn’t necessarily evident is how these coins are identified by collectors; the West Point Mint did not intentionally strike non-proof Gold Eagles in 1999, so any non-proof 1999 $5 or $10 gold eagle with a “W” mintmark can be attributed as having been struck by unpolished proof dies. Numismatic experts believe about 14,500 of the tenth-ounce eagles were struck this way while 10,000 of the quarter-ounce eagles feature this variety.

Another interesting variety is a 2015 tenth-ounce gold coin with narrower edge reeding than normal. This variety shows finer, more tightly spaced reeds than the wider reeding pattern seen on most 2015 tenth-ounce Eagles.

American Gold Eagle Values Today

Values fluctuate by the moment for bullion and regular-issue proof American Gold Eagles, thus it is impractical to publish fixed values for them here. However, you can find the latest prices for these American Gold Eagles here.

The prices for the American Gold Eagle varieties are more stable in part because they are less dependent on what the gold markets are doing. Therefore, it is feasible to publish prices for these pieces here with far less risk that pricing will be quickly outdated.

Collecting American Gold Eagles

The most widely collected American Gold Eagles are the tenth-ounce $5 coins, which are far and away the most widely affordable of the four denominations. Many collectors who pursue the American Gold Eagles will buy the burnished, proof, and reverse proof options, though a fair number of numismatists actively collect the bullion versions. Meanwhile, the aforementioned varieties are collected by error-variety specialists who may not ordinarily buy gold bullion coinage but find these scarcer varieties interesting modern collectibles.

Another popular vehicle for collecting American Gold Eagles are the annual four-coin proof sets containing one example of each the tenth-ounce, quarter-ounce, half-ounce, and one-ounce coins for a given year. These attractive sets are usually sold for a premium above the combined spot values of the four coins and are very popular with collectors and entry-level investors—the latter cognizant of the higher numismatic premiums paid for the proof coins but also aware that these sets offer easy liquidity in all market conditions. All American Gold Eagles are approved for Individual Retirement Accounts and can be easily bought and sold for IRAs.

All things being considered, the American Gold Eagle coinage represents one of the most popular bullion coin programs in the world. It’s also among the oldest of the modern bullion coinage offerings on a global scale, following the South African Krugerrands that debuted in 1967, the Canadian Maple Leaf series that launched in 1979, Iran Emamis first produced in 1980, the Mexican Libertads that premiered in 1981, and the Chinese Pandas that were initially struck in 1982.

Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez is a journalist, editor, and blogger who has won multiple awards from the Numismatic Literary Guild. He has also authored numerous books, including works profiling the history of the United States Mint and United States coinage.

American Eagle Proof Coins

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