American Eagle palladium coins are a popular bullion product first introduced in 2017. They follow the success of the American Eagle Program, which introduced gold, silver, and eventually platinum bullion coins produced by the United States Mint and backed by the United States government for weight and purity. The American Eagle palladium coins contain one troy ounce of .9995 fine palladium, have a face value of $25, and are popular among numismatic collectors and palladium investors.
Creation of American Eagle Palladium Coins
Public Law 11-303 – The American Eagle Palladium Eagle Bullion Coin Act of 2010 – was passed by Congress to authorize the production and distribution of a one troy ounce palladium bullion coin. But it wasn’t until 2017 that this coin became a reality.
Design of American Eagle Palladium Coins
This Palladium coin may be considered to be a tribute to Adolph A. Weinman. On the obverse, the Palladium Eagle utilizes a faithful reproduction of Weinman’s Mercury Dime coin from 1916 – 1945. It’s official name is the Winged Liberty Head dime, and it depicts Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap with wings on it. The winged cap was used to represent the “freedom of thought.” When first released in 1916, the public thought it was supposed to represent the Roman God Mercury, earning it the name “Mercury Dime.” On the upper periphery is the word “LIBERTY,” and below and in front of her face is the phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The date of striking is below the truncation of her neck.
The reverse of the Palladium Eagle is taken from Weinman’s 1907 American Institute of Architects gold medal depicting an eagle on a rock with a branch in its beak. On the upper periphery is “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” and to the left the denomination is expressed as “$25.” The lower periphery has on two lines “ 1 OZ. Pd .9995 FINE,” and the motto “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
Types of American Eagle Palladium Coins
There have been uncirculated, burnished, proof, and reverse proof versions of the American Eagle palladium coins produced throughout the years. The original 2017 coin was released as an uncirculated coin, the 2018-W was a proof coin, while the 2019-W and 2022-W coins were struck as reverse proofs. The 2020-W and 2023-W Palladium Eagle coins were struck as a burnished uncirculated coin while the 2021 dated coins were struck in uncirculated and proof.
While popular, the demand never increased any year’s mintage beyond 15,000 coins even though one year’s mintage limit was 30,000 coins. The typical mintage is just under 15,000 coins annually.
Other Palladium Coins
Although the United States Mint struck the first palladium coins in 2017, Canada had been striking Palladium Maple Leaf coins since 2005. But numerous other countries even beat Canada to the punch.
Sierra Leone first struck a palladium coin way back in 1966 and the island nation of Tonga followed in 1967. Palau, China, Slovakia, Australia, France, Portugal, the Soviet Union, and Russia (later) all minted Palladium coins. In fact, the Soviet Union (now Russia) leads the world in the production of palladium bullion coins.
