Historically speaking, American Gold Eagle sales every year really depend on the market and the level of collectability the coins present. When it comes to the worst sellers, the $25 American Gold Eagles, or half ounce eagles, are the ones that always seemed to top the list. No longer offered anymore from the United States Mint in denominations other than the $50 or 1oz option, it makes those offered in the past even more collectable, especially those lower minted options that at the time were seen as unpopular.
Authors Jeff Garrett and Scott Schechter will help guide us through this next entry in our blog series covering Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest United States Modern Coins as it pertains to a backdate Gold American Eagle that also happens to be the Uncirculated (or Burnished) version. The fourth edition lays out the coin at the very bottom of the list but reminds us that sometimes what shines does, in fact, turn out to be gold.
#90 – 2007-W $25 American Gold Eagle
As the authors describe in the fourth edition of the publication, “the half-ounce is the dud American Gold Eagle.” Among all the duds though was the eventual breakthrough of one of the greatest modern coins according to dealers and coin experts across the country, the 2007-W Uncirculated $25 American Gold Eagle. It is one of the lowest minted of any half ounce Gold Eagle across all three formats that include the Proof, Uncirculated, and bullion versions. Only 11,455 pieces were struck, attracting collectors that clamor after low mintage coins for their scarcity and a way to own gold.
When it comes to the reason the coins sold poorly is easy to determine, according to Garrett and Schechter. The United States Mint started offering Uncirculated American Gold Eagles directly to the public in 2006. The coins looked an awful lot like the bullion editions except they included the “W” mintmark for West Point where they were produced. For collectors of the series, they had already purchased the half ounce versions of the American Gold Eagle in the Proof and bullion finishes. Now they were being asked, or prompted really, to buy yet another version of the coin. When the Mint pushed those coins in 2006, the sales of the 2006-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle were not great. By the following year, in 2007, they dropped off even more.
In response to the poor sales overall, and especially with the half ounce version, the Mint tried a new sales tactic in 2008 that would include a set featuring a half ounce Uncirculated American Gold Eagle and a half ounce Uncirculated American Gold Buffalo. While the set was said to have been aimed at Asian buyers who associated the number ‘8’ with wealth and prosperity, the 8-8-08 Double Prosperity Set still did not do great numbers. However, when the final mintage numbers for the half ounce Uncirculated Gold American Eagle came out for 2008, it totaled 15,683, which was the highest mintage figure for any denomination American Gold Eagle for its date and type. The Prosperity set, which sold 7,622 units, had helped the final mintage numbers for the $25 Gold Eagle in 2008, but the Mint was still not satisfied with the outcome and the low demand, cancelling the program entirely in 2009 and 2010.
This coin first made its appearance in the second edition of the 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins Series ranked at #92. It has since moved up two places in the latest fourth edition (#90).