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American Gold Eagles have a proud heritage. The eagle was adopted as the national emblem of the United States by the Continental Congress in 1782. When the United States congress authorized the minting of gold coins in 1795 the ten dollar gold piece was specifically called an eagle, the five dollar gold piece a half eagle, and the two and a half dollar gold piece a quarter eagle. A twenty dollar gold piece was minted in 1849 and was called the double eagle.

It was in 1986 that the United States mint first produced gold bullion coins in the tradition of all American gold coins and called them American Gold Eagles. This coin is minted in one tenth, one forth, one half and one ounce denominations and is guaranteed by the United States mint to contain the specified amount of gold. American Gold Eagles are based upon the “lady liberty” design of the last American gold coins before the 1933 confiscation of gold.

In a time of economic uncertainty and economic hardship, American Gold Eagles hold their value as the dollar perpetually slides. A historical footnote is that Benjamin Franklin opposed the use of the eagle as a national emblem and proposed the turkey. Many today may look at the performance of the United States economy and United States dollar over the last years and think, at times, that Franklin was right.

Current economic circumstances aside, the eagle has inspired patriots for over two hundred years. American Gold Eagles provide protection of wealth and economic security for today’s patriots. Lucky for all Americans that Franklin lost the argument! 

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Joshua Harris

Senior Staff Writer - Gold-Eagle.org