9.4
7.671 Reviews
English
EN
American Gold Coins from the era of the gold standard are still very popular with investors. These coins were legal tender in the United States until President Roosevelt restricted the private ownership of gold in 1933. After Americans surrendered their gold coins, the dollar was devalued from $20.67 to $35 per troy ounce.
Due to the confiscation of gold, many old U.S. dollar coins disappeared from circulation. The U.S. government had a new high-security gold vault built at Fort Knox, where all the melted-down coins in the form of gold bars are kept. Fortunately, some of the coins were preserved, because they were hidden or exported abroad.
It was not until 1974 that the private possession of gold was allowed again in the United States, when the gold value of the dollar coins had become many times higher than the face value. Because these coins are very limited and because they are very popular with collectors, they are traded at a relatively high premium.
Hollandgold has recently purchased a number of these U.S. gold dollar coins, including the $20 'Liberty Head' and the 'Saint Gaudens' and the $10 'Indian Head' and 'Liberty Head'. Below you will find more information about these beautiful coins.
The $20 'Liberty Head' coin was minted from 1849 to 1907. This gold coin was put into circulation during the gold rush in California, when the market was flooded with a large amount of gold. There was a demand for a larger coin than the $10 'Eagle' (the largest coin under the U.S. Coinage Act of 1792) and it eventually became a gold coin twice as large and was nicknamed 'Double Eagle'.
The $20 Liberty Head was designed by James B. Longacre and was designed in much the same way as the $10 coins of the time. At 0.9675 troy ounces, the gold content is twice as large as that of the ten dollar coins. Like the other dollar coins, this one also has a purity of 90% gold, supplemented with 10% copper.
$20 'Liberty Head' gold coin (1849-1907)
From 1907 a new type was introduced 'Saint Gaudens' $20 gold coin designed by the famous sculptor Saint-Gaudens. These coins are identical in size and weight to the older 'Liberty Head', but have a completely renewed design. A limited number of these coins were minted with a very high relief, but when it became apparent that these coins could not be stacked as well, they eventually switched to a design with less relief.
The 'Saint Gaudens' variant of the $20 coin features a portrait of 'Liberty' as a symbol of freedom. An eagle is depicted on the other side of the coin. The 46 and later 48 stars on the coin symbolize the different States of America. These coins were minted up to and including 1933, but the coins of the last year are very rare. Almost all of the 445,500 coins minted in that year were melted down, with the exception of about twenty that were stolen from the mint. In 2002, $7.59 million was paid for a 1933 copy.
$20 United States 'Saint Gaudens' coin (1907-1933)
The $10 American Eagle 'Liberty Head' gold coin was designed by Christian Gobrecht and was minted in the period from 1838 to 1907. This gold coin contains 0.48375 troy ounces of pure gold and, like the $20 coins, has a purity of 90% gold. These coins have a face value of ten dollars and are also known as the 'Liberty Head'. This coin features the portrait of Lady Liberty, surrounded by thirteen stars representing the American states.
$10 American Eagle 'Liberty Head' gold coin (1838-1907)
In 1907, there was also a new design for the $10 gold coins. That became the 'Indian Head', also designed by sculptor Saint Gaudens. This coin is identical in size to the older ten-dollar Liberty Head. This coin also contains the same amount of gold at 0.48375 troy ounces. These 'Indian Head' coins were minted until 1933. The obverse of this coin depicts an eagle perched on a forest of arrows, while the reverse depicts an Indian with a distinctive Indian headdress. The year of the coin is also inscribed on this side.
$10 'Indian Head' gold coin (1907-1933)
