The Gold Eagle Coin
Gold Eagle coins are a type of coin made by the United States Mint which uses the eagle as its base-unit of denomination. They are available in 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz gold. The four denomination units that were used are the cent, dime, dollar and the eagle in a system where the eagle represented ten dollars, ten dimes made a dollar and ten cents made up a dime. These coins were widely circulated until they were taken out of circulation in 1933. Although many people mistake them for the American Eagle coins, there are a different collection of coins. The American Eagle coin is a gold bullion coin that’s been used since 1987 unlike the Gold Eagle coins that stopped after 1933.
Different Productions of Gold Eagle Coins
Different years represented different types of coins that were produced. The United States Mine issued:
– Quarter eagles from 1796 to 1929 (diameter 17 mm)
– Half eagles from 1795 to 1929 (21 mm)
– Double eagles from 1850 to 1933 (34 mm)
– Eagles from 1795 to 1933 (27 mm)
In 1984, West Point began issuing eagles with the same size, weight and composition that were on the coins prior to 1933. These were minted as commemorative coins to go the general public. Although they are considered as legal tender just like the American Eagle gold bullion coins, their value is much higher; therefore, they are not circulated quite as much. The content of purity and weight of the gold eagle coins was different when the coins were first issued.
The eagles consisted of 270 troy grains of gold with 135 troy grains going in the half eagles and 67 ½ troy grains in the quarter eagles with the weight being 1 part alloy to 11 parts gold for a total purity of 22 karats.
Changes were made to the ratio of silver to gold in 1834. Instead of 15:1 it became 16:1while also changing the weight of the coins. The weight became 258 troy grains for the eagle instead of the original 270 with the same proportional changes being made to the other coins. These changes stayed in place until 1933 when the coins stopped being circulated.
Collectible Gold Eagle Coins
There are numerous collectible gold eagle coins available from coin dealers, coin auctions or online antique and coin stores. One example is the old $ 10 gold Indian eagle coin. The front of this coin displays an Indian head with the date on the bottom and 13 stars on top. The reverse of this coin has an eagle with IN GOD WE TRUST on the left and E PLURIBUS UNUM on the right; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on the top and the denomination TEN DOLLARS on the bottom. This coin, from the early 1900s is just one of many excellent gold eagle coins that can be collected and saved.
