US Mint: the American Eagle and American Buffalo Gold Coins
US Mint, officially the United States Mint, is the state mint of the USA and a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury. It strikes circulating coins, collector coins and the American Eagle and American Buffalo bullion coins. It does not run a refinery of its own on the LBMA list.
Who is the US Mint?
The US Congress created the mint in 1792 with the Coinage Act. Today it is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury. Coins are struck in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco and West Point. The US Mint also includes the Fort Knox gold depository, where no coins are made.
For bullion coins, West Point in the state of New York is the most important site: this is where American Eagles and American Buffalos are struck.
American Eagle gold
The American Eagle gold coin has been issued since 1986 under the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985. It is made of 22-carat gold, i.e. 91.67% gold with additions of silver and copper that make the coin more durable. A one-ounce coin nevertheless contains a full fine ounce of gold. By law, the gold must come from US sources.
There are four sizes: 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 ounce, with face values of 5, 10, 25 and 50 US dollars. The obverse shows Lady Liberty after a design by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. From 1986 to 2021 the reverse showed a family of eagles in a nest; since 2021 it has shown an eagle’s head by Jennie Norris.
Proof and uncirculated versions for collectors are made exclusively at West Point and carry the mint mark ‘W’. The market price of all versions depends on the gold content, not the face value.
American Buffalo gold
The American Buffalo came onto the market in 2006. It was the first 24-carat gold coin (999.9) that the US government struck for the public; its legal basis was the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. The ounce has a face value of 50 US dollars.
The design goes back to James Earle Fraser’s Indian Head nickel of 1913: the obverse shows the head of a Native American, the reverse a bison. In 2008 there were also fractional coins of 1/10, 1/4 and 1/2 ounce.
The law initially allowed up to 300,000 coins. In September 2008 the US Mint temporarily suspended sales because demand exceeded production. Mintages of the bullion version have varied widely since then, from around 61,500 coins in 2019 to 410,000 in 2022. The proof collector version cost 800 US dollars when issued in 2006; in 2024 it was 3,590 US dollars.
Why is the US Mint not on the LBMA list?
The US Mint does not run a refinery that is on the current LBMA gold list. The former state assay offices and mints (‘US Assay Offices & Mints’) are recorded on the Former List. This has no bearing on the quality of the coins, because their weight and fineness are set by law and guaranteed by the state.
What does 22 carat mean?
Carat describes the gold content of an alloy in 24 parts. 24 carat corresponds to fine gold at 999.9, 22 carat to a gold content of 22 parts, i.e. 91.67%. A 22-carat one-ounce coin such as the American Eagle or the Krugerrand therefore weighs more than an ounce but contains exactly one fine ounce of gold.
Only the fine gold content counts for the gold value. The alloy makes the coin harder and less prone to scratches. Fine gold coins such as the American Buffalo or the Maple Leaf are softer.
