Liberty Gold Coins: Hot Among Individuals

According to Coin Update News, the popular James Buchanan’s First Spouse Gold Coin recorded an all-time high sale of 7,317 proof and 4,461 uncirculated versions at the beginning of 2011. This takes the total coins sold to 11,778. Sales were much stronger than usual for this series, perhaps, because of the classic depiction of Lady Liberty on its obverse. Although this series of Liberty Gold Coins is basically intended to honor the first spouses of US Presidents, there are four instances in which the obverse features an image of Liberty instead. This was the case during the Presidencies of Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan, since each of them served without a spouse.

Different Types of Liberty Gold Coins

Liberty Head Gold Coins which are different entirely than the first spouse coins, are considered to be very precious and rare by gold experts. Their original mintage period ranges between 1849 and 1907. The composition of these coins is made up of 90% gold and 10% alloy. Since most of this classical coinage was melted in the Gold Recall Order of 1933, they are considered rarer and hence more valuable than their Saint Gaudens counterparts.

• $20 Liberty Double Eagle: Minted during 1849-1907, Liberty Double Eagle is the most admired and highly demanded coin even to this day. It was first ordered to be minted during the 1849 Californian Gold Rush, which made the US a rich country almost overnight. The coin is made of 22 karat gold with one ounce of gold content which makes it highly popular with investors. This beautiful coin, designed by James Longacre, enjoyed being in circulation till 1907, when it was replaced by the Saint-Gaudens design version. Liberty Double Eagle is sometimes popularly called ‘The King of American Coins’.
• $10 Liberty Eagle: First minted in 1838, Liberty Gold Eagle was designed by Christian Gobrecht, who took inspiration from a portrait of Venus. These classic coins were minted in Philadelphia every year at the time of their circulation. A few of them were occasionally minted at the New Orleans Mint especially during the period 1841 through 1860, before the Civil War. Each coin contains nearly half an ounce of pure gold. Due to its $10 face value, this was one of the most circulated coins in the US at its mintage time.
• $5 Liberty Half Eagle: This is one of the two coins produced at all seven US mints in the nation’s history. It is quite difficult to get hold of a Liberty Half Eagle today, since they are very rare. These beautiful coins, minted during 1839-1908, are great examples of the rich American coinage history from the Pre-Civil War Era. There was no motto inscribed on Half Eagles till 1866. However, the classical motto ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ was added to the coins produced after this period.
• $2.5 Liberty Quarter Eagle: Liberty Quarter Eagles are quite popular with many of the coin collectors basically due to their easy affordability. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the obverse of these coins features Lady Liberty, whose hair is tied in a tight bun secured by a string of beads. In the image, the Lady is wearing a coronet inscribed with the word LIBERTY and thirteen stars representing the thirteen original colonies surround this image. The reverse features a proud bald eagle with wings spread, standing among olive branches. Very few survivals of these coins are left to this day due to their original low mintage.

Unlike many popular gold bullion coins, such as Canadian Maple Leafs, purchases of the Pre-1933 Liberty Eagles do not require any government reporting forms when buying or selling. They are also considered to be non-confiscatable which make them a very popular way to own gold.