$25 Gold American Eagles are among the four types of gold bullion coins that the United States Mint has struck each year since 1986. The $25 American Gold Eagle coin contains one-half troy ounce of 22-karat gold and is the second-highest denomination in the bullion coin program. On the obverse is a design by Augustus Saint-Gaudens that was first popularized on the $20 double eagle gold coin in 1907. The design shows Miss Liberty walking in a full gown and holding a torch in her right hand and in her left an olive branch. The reverse depicts a gorgeous design by Miley Busiek that shows a nest with a female eagle and her hatchlings as a male flies in with an olive branch.
The $25 American Gold Eagle coins measure 1.063 inches in diameter and weigh 0.5455 troy ounces. The coin has a composition that is 91.67% gold coin contains one half ounce of pure gold, and the coin also is 3% silver and 5.33% copper to strengthen the planchet. This results in a current melt value of $1,821, although all bullion coins command a small premium over the spot melt value. In general, a $25 Gold American Eagle should have a price around $2,005. The $25 American Gold Eagle is a legal tender coin and can technically be used in standard transactions, though the $25 face value is purely symbolic, as the coin has a much greater intrinsic value. Bullion coins are made at the Philadelphia mint and proof coins as well as burnished finish coins are minted at West Point. From 1986 through 1991, the date on the coin was expressed as Roman numerals.
$25 American Gold Eagles are produced in bullion, uncirculated, and proof surfaces, with the bullion version selling for the amount closest to the coin’s actual intrinsic value. The proof specimens of the American Gold Eagles are purchased by coin collectors, who like the finer details and mirror-like surfaces of the proof coins.
While $25 American Gold Eagles do see some numismatic following, they tend to have a much smaller collector base than American Silver Eagle coins, which have a strong numismatic following. This may be due to the much lower price point of American Silver Eagles versus Gold Eagles.