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 US Gold Eagles
Buying US Gold Eagles
The American Gold Eagle is an official
gold bullion
coin of the United States. Authorized under the Gold Bullion Coin
Act of 1985, it was first released by the United States Mint in
1986.
Gold Eagles are offered in 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz denominations,
these coins are guaranteed by the U.S. government to contain the
stated amount of actual gold weight in troy ounces.
By law, the gold
must come from sources in America, with an additional alloy of
silver and copper to produce a more wear-resistant coin of .9167 (22
karat, which had long been the crown gold English standard for gold
coins, and before 1834, for American gold coins as well). It is
authorized by the United States Congress and is backed by the United
States Mint for weight and content.
The obverse design features a rendition of Augustus Saint-Gaudens'
full length figure of Lady Liberty with flowing hair, holding a
torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left, with the
Capitol building in the left background. The reverse design, by
sculptor Miley Busiek, features a male eagle carrying an olive
branch flying above a nest containing a female eagle and her
hatchlings.
The market value of the coins is generally about equal to the market
value of their gold content, not their face value. (As of March 2010 the $5, $10, $25, and $50 coins by face value are worth
and sell for about $130, $275, $550, and $1,000 USD respectively.
Their actual selling prices vary daily based on the current spot
price of gold.) The American Gold Eagle may be used to fund one
government sanctioned Individual Retirement Account. Please seek
professional advice.
The United
States Mint also produces a proof version for
coin collectors. These
coins are for the most part produced at the West Point Mint in West
Point, New York and carry the mint's mark ("W") beneath the date.
Specifications
Each of the four sizes contains 91.67% gold (22 karat), 3% silver,
and 5.33% copper.
Gold Eagles minted 1986-1991 are dated with Roman numerals. In 1992,
the U.S. Mint switched to Arabic numbers for dating Gold Eagles.
The 1/10, 1/4, and 1/2 troy oz coins are identical in design to the
1 troy oz coin except for the markings on the reverse side that
indicate the weight and face value of the coin (for example, 1 OZ.
FINE GOLD—50 DOLLARS). As is often the case with bullion coins, the
face values of these coins ($5, $10, $25 and $50; reflecting the
fact that the coins are legal tender) are not consistently
proportional to their weights, are mostly symbolic, and do not
reflect their value as expressed in Federal Reserve Notes (U.S.).
However, in a setback for the I.R.S.,
a Las Vegas jury refused to convict nine defendants on any of the 116 charges brought against
them valuing Gold eagles with their legal tender value for tax
purposes. The jury hung because it could not decide if the
defendants were aware that they had to declare the market value of
the coins, not their face value since until this trial the IRS had
never issued the public guidance on this issue.
The United States Mint has officially stopped minting fractional
sizes of the American Eagle Gold Uncirculated Coins.
PLEASE SEEK
PROFESSIONAL ADVICE BEFORE YOU BUY OR SELL GOLD, SILVER & COINS.
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