Buy Historic U.S. Gold Coins in Ohio

The U.S. Mint struck its first gold coins in 1795. The mint continued to strike gold coins for circulation until 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order making gold ownership illegal for American citizens. This order remained in effect until 1974.

Liberty Head Gold Coins (1838-1907)

The Liberty Head design was first introduced in 1838 with the $10 Eagle, but the same obverse design was soon included on other denominations of the eagle coin. Since this series of gold coins spans several decades, there are many better dates with significant collector value beyond their gold content. Coins from the Carson City Mint (CC mint mark) are particularly sought after by collectors.

Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (1907-1933)

Considered by many to be the most beautiful U.S. coin ever produced, this coin was designed by the famous sculptor and engraver Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It is a popular coin with collectors due to its beauty and common availability in the market. It is also a popular coin with precious metals investors since it contains nearly one full troy ounce of gold (.9675 ozt). The coin underwent a slight design modification in 1908, creating two types: High Relief (1907 only, very rare) and Low Relief (1907-1933, more common).

Indian Head $10 Eagle (1907-1933)

Like the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, this is a popular coin with collectors due to its common availability in the market. Generally, most dates are common, and therefore, significant additional collector value comes with higher mint state professionally graded examples. These coins contain nearly one-half ounce of gold (.48375 ozt).

Indian Head $5 Half Eagle and $2.50 Quarter Eagle (1908-1929)

Both the Indian Head $5 Half Eagle and $2.50 Quarter Eagle are notable as they are the only incuse design coins minted in the United States. These incuse coins have their design and inscriptions stamped into the coin, leaving the higher points of the coin as the field (background).

This unique design was not popular with Americans when it was first issued because they falsely believed the coin would carry germs in its recessed design. Today, however, these coins are very popular with collectors. The $5 coin contains nearly one quarter of an ounce of gold (.24187 oz), while the $2.50 coin contains half that amount (.12094 oz).

Liberty Head Gold Dollars (1849-1854) and Indian Princess Head Gold Dollars (1854-1889)

The U.S. authorized the production of a gold dollar coin in 1849 due to the increased gold supply resulting from the California gold rush. Although popular in the early years of use, circulation dropped considerably in the years leading to the Civil War and virtually disappeared from circulation in most of the U.S. until 1879. By then, the popularity of the gold dollar remained low, and the series ended ten years later in 1889.

The rarity of these gold dollar coins today means they can be quite valuable to collectors, especially in better grades. The Type 3 Indian Princess design (1856-1889) is the most commonly encountered, while Type 1 and Type 2 examples are scarcer.