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4 Famous Types of US Gold Mint Coins

Blog Dec 22, 2011

Famous US Gold Mint Coins

In 1795, the first gold coins were issued by the US Mint. The value of the US dollar was fixed at 24 grains of gold which was done on the basis of the price of gold at that time ($19.39 per troy ounce which is 480 grains). In 1834 and 1837, the Congress again changed the gold price, fixing it at $20.67 per ounce. When the United States faced the Great Depression in 1933, President Roosevelt made the possession of gold illegal for US citizens and asked for gold coins to be returned to the State where they were melted into bars of gold.

Experts claim that only 1% of these gold coins were able to survive through time. This is why all gold coins minted in the United States before 1933 are evaluated individually and their value is determined on the basis of their rarity, date, their state of preservation and their demand among the collector’s circle.

Types of US Gold Mint Coins

There are certain types of US gold coins that are considered as collector’s items. Some of these are:

Liberty $20 Gold Coin

This gold coin was designed by James B. Longacre and was 34mm in diameter and made of 90% gold and 10% copper. The Liberty Gold Coins were not used for daily activities as $20 was considered to be a huge amount. Therefore, these coins were used mostly for paying debts to some foreign investor or bank transfers. Liberty $20 gold coins were minted three times with very minimal changes in design reflecting the era in which they were made. These time periods are –

  • Type I which was minted in 1850-1866
  • Type II which was minted in 1866-1876
  • Type III which was minted in 1877-1907

St. Gaudens $20 Gold Coin

This gold coin was designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It is 34mm in diameter with reeded edges. It was minted in San Francisco in 1908-1930 and is made of 0.9675 oz of gold and is considered to be the most beautiful minted gold coin.

Eight Piece Gold Set

One interesting way to collect these coins is with the Eight Piece Gold Set. These are a series of eight gold coins that are considered as a collector’s dream. These are:

  • $20 Saint-Gaudens Gold: 1907-1933
  • $10 Indian Gold: 1907-1933
  • $5 Indian Gold: 1908-1929
  • $2 1/2 Indian Gold: 1908-1929
  • $20 Liberty Gold: 1877-1907
  • $10 Liberty Gold: 1866-1907
  • $5 Liberty Gold: 1866-1907
  • $2 1/2 Liberty Gold: 1840-1907

In addition to the coins listed above, there are:

$1 Liberty Gold: – 1849-1854
$1 Indian Princess Gold: – 1854-1856
$1 Indian Gold: – 1856-1859

American Gold Bullion

In 1985, the Congress passed ‘The Bullion Act’ which stated that the Treasury should start making and distributing gold coins in different sizes. The family of American Eagle coins includes gold coins of one-tenth, one-fourth, half and one ounce. These coins have been blended with silver and copper to make them stronger and more resistant to wear. Also available is the American Buffalo.

Commemorative Gold Coins

$1 Louisiana Purchase/Jefferson Gold: – 1903
$1 Louisiana Purchase/McKinley Gold:- 1903
$1 Lewis and Clark Gold: – 1904-1905
$1 Panama-Pacific Gold: – 1915 S
$1 McKinley Gold- 1916: -1917
$1 Grant (no star) Gold: – 1922
$1 Grant (with star) Gold: – 1922
$2 1/2 Gold Sesquientennial Gold: – 1926
$2 1/2 Gold Panama-Pacific Gold: – 1915 S
$5 Statue of Liberty Gold: – 1986
$5 Constitution Gold: – 1987
$5 Olympic Gold: – 1988
$5 Congressional Gold: – 1988
$10 Olympic Gold: – 1984
$50 Panama Pacific (round) Gold: – 1915 S
$50 Panama Pacific (octagonal) Gold: – 1915 S

The First Spouse Gold coins have been ongoing since 2007. Mary Todd Lincoln First Spouse Gold Coins‘ proof version has finally been sold out according to the latest weekly sales report of the US Mint. The uncirculated as well as the proof versions of these US Gold mint coins were made available for sale on December 1, 2010 for an amount of $841 and $854, respectively. During the sale process, prices of the coins varied as per the price of gold in the market with the latest price of the proof coins being $1,054. The sales of America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins have remained slow. The other three designs available include Gettysburg National Military Park, Glacier National Park and Mount Hood National Park. The total sale was 1,065 units for these three designs.

Evaluating US Gold Mint Coins is an extremely difficult task. One should have thorough knowledge of the gold coins of various eras before deciding on which one to buy. If you like collecting these rare US minted gold coins, it is recommended that you consult an expert before investing your money in them.

 

 

 

Thumbnail Photo We believe that everyone deserves a properly developed strategy for financial safety.

Lynette Zang

Chief Market Analyst, ITM Trading

Sources & References In This Article

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