Eagle

(i) The first legal tender US gold coin, bearing the national emblem of the bald or white-headed eagle, was originally authorized by Alexander Hamilton at the Continental Congress to be struck at a new mint in Philadelphia. In practice, only silver coins were minted in the early years of American independence because gold was slightly undervalued and people primarily took silver to the mint for coinage. The first $10 Eagle was struck in 1795; it was 916 fine, with a fine gold content of 0.515 troy ounces. This was minted until 1804. The $10 Eagle was reissued in 1838 at 900 fine, with a fine gold content of 0.48375 troy ounces. From 1866 it was again reissued as a Liberty Eagle and from 1907 until 1933 with an Indian Head on the face. A $2.50 Quarter Eagle was also issued from 1840 and a $5 Half Eagle from 1795. The $20 Double Eagle was first struck in 1849, the year after the California gold rush. These various Eagle coins formed the main gold coin circulation in the United States until it went off the gold standard in 1933.


(i) $10 Eagle, Indian Head
type, minted 1907-1933


(i) $5 Half Eagle, Indian
Head type, minted
1908-1929
(Credit: courtesy MTB
Banking Corporation)

(ii) The Eagle was re-launched by the United States Mint as a one ounce legal tender bullion coin in 1986. The coin, like its predecessors, carries the eagle head; it is 916 fine and has a nominal face value of $50, that is to say, much less than the value of the gold it contains. Half ounce, quarter ounce and one-tenth of an ounce coins were also issued. The novelty led to the sale of nearly three million ounces (93.3 m t) of the coin in each of the first two years but demand then declined. The coins are distributed by the United States Mint to banks and bullion dealers.


(ii) The one ounce American Eagle
gold bullion coin, first minted
by the US Mint in 1986
(Credit: World Gold Council)