American Gold Eagle coins are arguably one of the most beautiful gold coins ever made. When the program got its start way back in 1986, no one could have imagined how it would have taken off like it did. However, like all precious metal coins out there, the coins are subject to their rise and fall depending on how the market decides to run. That is exactly the case for our next entry in the 100 Greatest United States Modern Coins blog series as modeled off the publication by Whitman Publishing. With authors Scott Schechter and Jeff Garrett leading us along, we will take a closer look at a backdated Proof American Gold Eagle coin that got its claim to fame on this list due to dropping gold prices and buyer demand waning.
#51 - 2001-W $50 American Gold Eagle, Proof
Back in the mid-1990’s and through the early 2000’s, gold prices would see a steady decline. In turn, collectors shied away from buying opportunities causing the United States Mint to lower issue prices of its gold products and more specifically, its Proof American Gold Eagles. Led by Mint Director Philip N. Diehl, the Mint would decrease its pricing for the 1998 $50 Proof Gold Eagle to $570 and lower the maximum mintage to 35,000 from 45,000. Hoping this would appeal to customers, there was just a slight reaction from the public but nothing too drastic like they were hoping for.
The next three years would see the same from the Mint for the series although mintage maximums would slightly increase. However in 2001, European banks were in the midst of selling off gold, making the metal decline even more. In the meantime, 1oz Proof American Gold Eagles were trading for $150 to $200 above spot per ounce but also somehow lower than the Mint’s issue price. With their hands tied, collectors would soon back off buying the coins altogether from the Mint, allowing for just 24,555 of the 2001-W American Gold Eagle $50 Proof coin to be sold. It would be one of the lowest mintages for the series ever at the time. Years following, the issue prices and mintage limits increased as gold began to climb.
This coin has moved down just one spot (#50) since it first made the list in the first edition of this publication.