Gold Bullion Coin Act Key Provisions
The main provision in this act is that all of the gold used to create and mint American Eagle Gold coins must come from mining sources in the United States of America. And they will only use 22 karat gold purchases to mint these coins . They created this program in an effort to compete with the South African Krugerrand, also made of 22 karat gold.
The Overall Design of the American Gold Eagle Coin
On the front or obverse side of the coin, you’ll find a design created by Augusts Saint-Gaudens. It’s the same design of the $20 Double Eagle, and to put it bluntly, many people around the world consider it extremely attractive . In fact, many people look at it as one the most beautiful coins of its kind. Although beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder and many other people might not feel this way.
On the back or reverse side of the coin, we have another design created by Miley Frances Busiek, an accomplished designer in her own right. She created such beautiful and breathtaking imagery that it’s hard to compete with her skills.
On the one hand, she has the picture of an American male bald eagle, but he’s clutching a branch from an olive tree in his talons. Below the male eagle rests a female American bald eagle. This female is in the nesting phase of her life cycle, currently taking good care of her little ones, better known as hatchlings.
The Typical Sizes of American Eagle Gold Coins
- 1 oz Gold America Eagle – this coin is 32mm in diameter, weighs 1.0909 troy ounces, and has a face value at $50.
- ½ oz Gold American Eagle – this coin is 27mm in diameter, weighs 0.5000 troy ounces and has a face value of $25.
- ¼ Gold American Eagle – this coin is 22mm in diameter, weighs 0.2500 troy ounces and has a face value of $10.
- 1/10 oz Gold American Eagle – this coin is 16.5mm in diameter, weighs 0.1000 troy ounces and has a face value of $5.
When each one of these coins are struck, they will all contain reeded edges.
Even more important, because of the Gold Bullion Coin Act of !985, every minted Gold American Eagle coin must be minted using 22 karat gold at all times. The overall composition of this coin is as follows:
- Gold – 91.67%
- Copper = 5.33%
- Silver – 3%
Taking the silver and copper into account, the American Eagle Gold Coin actually weighs more than a coin that contains pure gold because of the added metals that weigh more than gold.
How to Buy American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins?
Buying American Eagle Gold bullion coins may seem difficult on the surface, but the process is fairly easy to accomplish whether you know it or not.
In fact, there are so many great resources online and in person that you should have no trouble acquiring these coins in whatever quantities you desire.
To make things easy on you, I’d like to share some of my favorite ways to purchase American Eagle Gold bullion coins .
They are as follows:
- Online gold brokers – personally speaking, buying gold bullion coins and American Eagles on the Internet is the easiest way to accomplish this task. There are so many great online gold brokers with excellent reputations that you can trust. You can buy them and keep them safe at home or you can open a gold IRA account and purchase them for your retirement. Make sure the online gold broker has an excellent reputation before giving them your hard-earned money. Check out their rating with the Better Business Bureau, Trustlink, and the Business Consumer Alliance to make sure your broker is reputable, trustworthy, and worthy of your business.
- Online auction websites – buying American Eagle Gold bullion coins from online auction websites is certainly another way to go about making this purchase. Some people worry that auction sites are going to sell phony coins but nothing could be further from the truth. If you were to purchase a gold coin through eBay, as an example, you are buying from a high-quality website with a great reputation. They vet all of their sellers and have an excellent precious metals market where you can purchase gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from individuals and companies that feel like auctioning off their goods.
- Classified ad websites – in my personal opinion, this is the riskiest proposition as far as purchasing American Eagle Gold bullion coins is concerned. You never know who you’re dealing with on a website like Craigslist and there really isn’t any oversight to protect you from unscrupulous sellers. The only way you should ever buy American Eagle Gold coins through Craigslist or another online classified website is if you have serious knowledge of gold and other precious metals and you understand the market completely. Otherwise, you are leaving yourself vulnerable to predators that could potentially end up trying to rip you off and possibly getting away with it if you aren’t careful.
- Retail gold dealers – there are many brick-and-mortar gold dealers throughout the United States of America ready and willing to sell you high-quality American Eagle Gold bullion coinsat fair market value. Grab your local phone book if you do things the analog way, or look online to find the names and addresses of local gold dealers in your community. I’m sure there’s at least one or two gold dealers right in your neighborhood that you barely even know exist.
Finally, one popular way to collect American Eagle coins is to buy them in your retirement plan. When you do this, you’ll need to have a self-directed IRA plan that is set up professionally. The following page has my list of the best rated gold ira companies that can help you accomplish this.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there’s a lot going on regarding American Eagle Gold bullion coins. These coins have a rich and storied history, they are incredibly valuable, easy to keep in storage, and they are America’s answer for the South African Krugerrand. These valuable coins have beautiful designs, high-quality gold content, and they are one of the hottest gold coins all around the world.
About Tim Schmidt
Tim Schmidt is an Entrepreneur who has covered retirement investing since 2012. He started IRA Investing to share his expertise in using his Self-Directed IRA for alternative investments. His views on retirement investing have been highlighted in USA Today, Business Insider, Tech Times, and more. He invested with Goldco.