The History of Gold Coins in the U.S.

U.S. Mint

• The first gold coins were created by the U.S. mint in 1795. From Philadelphia to San Fransisco, in the expanding western frontier, gold coins were made at seven mints to form a currency for trade.

Gold Rush

• Production increased by 500 percent after gold rushes in the United States and Australia around 1848. After that time, minting in the U.S. and France rocketed. Most countries changed to using gold coins after silver dominated in the earlier part of the century. Unlike most countries, the U.S. used silver as well as gold in its coins even prior to 1848. Almost all the gold that was mined in the U.S. in the 1800s was made into coins.

Price

• In the mid-1800s, the value of the U.S. dollar was 24 grains of gold. This was based on the global price for gold, which was $19.39 per troy ounce, or 480 grains. According to austincoins.com, money in the early 1800s was literally "worth its weight in gold, no more, no less." The specifications changed when in 1834 and 1837 the price of gold was set at $20.67 per ounce.

Depression

• During the Great Depression in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first year of presidency made the possession of gold illegal. He ordered any gold coins to be returned to the U.S. treasury where they would be melted and turned into bars. This resulted in a 40 percent reduction in the buying power of the U.S. dollar. The dollar was adjusted from $19.75 per ounce to $35. According to austincoins.com, fewer than 1 percent of gold coins survived the government recall.

Valuation

• Today, gold coins are graded for value on a scale of 1 to 70, with 1 being the lowest grade; the date on these coins is barely recognizable. Coins are valued by their rarity, date, condition (or grade) and collector appeal.