The American Gold Eagle bullion coin is an official gold bullion coin of the United States of America. The American Gold Eagle came into being after the passing of the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985, and were first released in 1986. American Gold Eagle bullion coins are composed of 91.67% gold, 3% silver, and 5.33% copper. The reason American Gold Eagle coins are not pure gold, and are instead alloyed is to give the coin some added hardness, as pure gold is a very soft metal. The 22kt pureness of American Gold Eagle coins is what is commonly referred to as crown gold. The American Gold Eagle represents the first time the United States has used crown gold for its coins since 1834. From 1837 until 1986, when the American Gold Eagle debuted, gold American coins were ninety percent pure.
The American Gold Eagle coin comes in a variety of sizes: 1/10th ounce American Gold Eagle coins, 1/4 ounce American Gold Eagle coins, 1/2 ounce American Gold Eagle coins, and 1 ounce American Gold Eagle coins. All American Gold Eagle coins are measured in troy ounces, or fractions thereof.
The obverse design of the American Gold Eagle coin features a rendition of Augustus Saint Gaudens’ full length Lady Liberty Figure with flowing hair, bearing a torch in her right hand, and an olive branch in her left hand. The American Gold Eagle coins obverse also feature the capitol building on the left hand side of Lady Liberty.
The reverse design of the American Gold Eagle bears a male eagle with an olive branch in its talons, flying towards a female eagle and her hatchlings in a nest. This reverse design of the American Gold Eagle was designed by sculptor Miley Busiek.
American Gold Eagle coins are dated using Roman numerals from 1986 to 1991. From 1992 until the present day, American Gold Eagle coins are dated using traditional Arabic numerals. Because American Gold Eagle coins are legal tender currency, they all have a dollar value, but that dollar value is lower than the intrinsic value of the gold contained in American Gold Eagle coins. The 1/10 ounce American Gold Eagle coins have a 5 dollar value; the 1\4 ounce American Gold Eagle coins have a ten dollar value; the 1\2 ounce American Gold Eagle coins have a twenty five dollar value; and the one troy ounce American Gold Eagle coins have a fifty dollar value. Because of this, the American Gold Eagle coins can be used to pay all debts, public and private according to law, although it would be foolish to do that rather than sell them for their gold content.