Gold Eagles Vs. St Gauden Coins for Investment

Identification

• The $10 gold eagle was minted between the years 1795 and 1933 with several design changes. For most of its history it had Liberty on the front and an eagle on the reverse with the value listed on the reverse of the coin. The gold eagle from 1907 to 1933 is actually an Augustus Saint-Gaudens design although the coin is known as the Indian head eagle. It features a younger Indian in headdress on the front and an eagle on the reverse. The coin known as the Saint-Gaudens was the $20 double eagle minted from 1907 to 1933. It features a torch-bearing Liberty with a flowing skirt on the front and a flying eagle on the reverse with the dollar amount above it.

Composition

• Most of the gold coins from this era was composed of 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper. Some of the earlier $10 gold eagles were composed of about 92 percent gold and eight percent copper.

Mintage

• Most early gold eagles only had between 5,000 and 20,000 copies minted each year. That number increased in the mid-19th century to the tens and hundreds of thousands, but dropped back down to an average of about 5,000 to 10,000 a year after the Civil War. The Saint-Gaudens double eagle was plentiful in the early 20th century with mintage reaching close to 10 million in some years. From a rarity standpoint the $10 gold eagle is much harder to find.

Variations

• Some early versions of the Saint-Gaudens coin are found in high relief, meaning that the features are raised on the coin to make them stand out. An estimated 12,000 copies of the high relief version were minted in 1907, making this coin worth even $10,000 in lower grades. Some early eagles had misstrikes. For example, in 1798 some coins have an 8 struck over the 7 in the last digit of the year. Fewer than 1,000 copies of this error are known to exist and the coin often brings $25,000 in very fine condition.

History

• Gold coins were popular in the 19th century (if only normally held by those citizens with more wealth) as the United States was, like other countries, under the gold standard. As the value of gold grew the U.S. Mint stopped making gold coins in 1933. In fact, the next year Congress passed a law prohibiting American residents from holding monetary gold. These restrictions were removed in 1974. At that time gold coins became popular with numismatists on the open market for both their collector and investment value.