The best known US gold coins minted before 1933 include the 20 Saint Gaudens also known as Double Eagles and the $20 Liberty series. In a more recent development, the US Mint has announced that it is no longer selling the individual “W $5 Proof American Gold Eagle”, as reported in news published on April 12, 2012. This 1/10 ounce value 22 karat coin has now been added to the “No Longer Available” section of the mint website along with a “sold out” mention. This latest withdrawal now leaves just this set of four coins as the last among the options available for dated proof gold coins of 2011.

Earlier coins in the list of sold outs include the $25, which went on the “No Longer Available” list in February, the denominations of $10 in December, and the $50 variety in October. Although the available “W Proof American Golden Eagle” in the four-coin set contains four fractional sizes, it stands to be more expensive at $3,585.50. The $5 proof was priced at $215.50 when taken out of the regular lineup. When the Gold American Eagle range was launched in the April of 2011, the product limit for the $5 strike was 30,000 and the mintage limit was 70,000 in order to account for its inclusion in the set of four coins. Just like its predecessors, these figures remained unattainable. The price and the current economy were the major reasons responsible for their withdrawal.

The bullion and proof versions of the American Gold Eagle coins arrived for the first time in 1986. The bullion version is without a mirror finish or a frosted design and also doesn’t have a mintmark. The sale of bullion 2012 Gold Eagles began on January 3. However, its sale was only a privilege of the mint’s network of “Authorized Purchasers”. Although a collector uncirculated version appeared in 2006, they weren’t produced later either in 2009 or 2010.

20 Saint Gaudens in the 21st Century

The advent of 2000 posed some true concerns for buyers who were subscribers to the notion that gold coins were “non-confiscatable”. Although “confiscation” as a theory still has validity, the premiums on old US coins climbed up. However, in January 2000, the anticipations surrounding such problems subsided. Buyers started selling and premiums dropped. Another major hindrance for purchasing old US gold coins was the overhang looming in Europe.

As the Second World War ended, America was the biggest holder of gold. Dollars could be redeemed in gold by foreign countries. After the war, America poured billions towards rebuilding Europe through the Marshall Plan. It also opened its markets to Europeans. Naturally, huge quantities of dollars flowed out of Europe. As prosperity came back to the European nations, these dollars were subsequently transferred to gold. The conversion rate was so high that President Nixon made the decision to close the gold window since the redemptions were reducing the gold in American vaults.

Before the Second World War, old US gold coins were highly popular in Europe and were hoarded by Europeans. Although there aren’t any stats available stating as to how many of these coins still remain in European banks, they could actually be in millions. Between 1850 and 1933, the American mint produced over 165 million $20 Liberty and $20 Saint Gaudens. There are numerous wholesale firms operating from their offices in Europe, in a bid to detect hoards of old coins such as the 20 Saint Gaudens.

20 Saint Gaudens are still popular options today. However, you need to procure them from trusted sources for complete surety before purchasing the 20 Saint Gaudens.