With the price of gold reaching a new record high of over $2,600 an ounce, it is fitting that we continue our blog series focusing on Whitman Publishing’s fourth edition of the 100 Greatest United States Modern Coins with a rather imperative gold coin from the late 2000s. Part of a series that started just two years prior, the mintage of this next entry is exceptionally low given the series’ immediate popularity. However, that is exactly why it has landed on this top 100 list courtesy of authors Scott Schechter and Jeff Garrett, in addition to some help from some of the most influential coin dealers across America.
#63 – 2008-W $50 American Gold Buffalo, Proof
After watching other world mints offer gold bullion options with .9999 fineness, the United States Mint finally tossed their hat in the ring with the release of the first American Buffalo gold coins in 2006. They were 24-karat, .9999 fine U.S. gold bullion coins that were included in the authorization of the Presidential Coin Act of 2005.
Before the American Buffalo series, the less fine American Gold Eagle coins were the Mint’s gold bullion option. First released in 1986, the Gold Eagle was only .9167 fine, or 22-karat gold. However, the marketplace was flourishing with other world mint gold bullion options, including the Royal Canadian Mint’s gold Maple Leaf program (1989) and the Austrian Mint’s gold Philharmonic coins (1989). Both issues were .9999 fine, and investors throughout the world were choosing purer bullion products. This left the Gold Eagle program behind, and in response, the first attempt to introduce a new purer gold bullion option began in 1996.
The coin features James Earle Fraser’s designs for the 1913 Type 1 Buffalo nickel. This showcases a bison on the hill on the reverse and an Indian chief on the obverse. It was issued in a one-ounce format with a $50 denomination. The 2006 American Gold Buffalo coin was a massive success, outselling the 2006 1oz American Gold Eagle by more than 100,000. There were also Proof versions allowed to be struck for collectors, with a mintage limit to be set by the Treasury secretary. They ended up selling a staggering 246,267 coins compared to the Proof version of the 1oz American Gold Eagle only selling 37,096. Proof versions of the Gold Buffalo remained strong in the following year of 2007 with around 60,000 coins sold. However, it dropped off considerably in 2008 to just 18,863 coins.
The 2008-W $50 Proof American Gold Buffalo mintage was small due in large part, according to the authors Schechter and Garrett, to the United States Mint’s supply channels for raw materials. World financial markets were volatile in 2008, increasing demand for gold. The Mint had a tough time securing the pure gold blanks to make the coins and had even less time to strike them. Considering the Mint sold 710,000 1oz American Gold Eagles in 2008 compared to the 140,016 they sold in 2007, few planchets were available to strike the Gold Buffaloes. The Mint would wait until late in the year of 2008 to strike the Proof coins and end up releasing incredibly less coins than normal, eventually calling it a sellout.