All Guide To Gold Values Articles

Robert Scot’s response to complaints about the Scrawny Eagle reverse of his Half Eagle coins was the larger, dramatic Heraldic Eagle.

In 1813, the only US gold coins that were being struck were the $5.00 Gold Half Eagles. The Half Eagle became the workhorse coin for the US Mint.

Over 9 million of these coins were struck by all of the mints combined but Charlotte and Dahlonega examples are among the most expensive.

Roosevelt suggested to US Mint Director Frank Leach that if the designs were lower than the background, they would give a high relief effect to the viewer.

The Three Dollar Gold piece was authorized by the Act of Congress of February 21, 1853, the Act authorized the production of Three Dollar coins to compete in international trade.

The plan had been to duplicate the $20 gold piece in two smaller sizes but that proved impossible as the mottoes and legends were too small to read.

The Liberty Head quarter eagle ran from 1840 to 1907 and was also known as the “Coronet Head”, and it was created by Christian Gobrecht.

The quarter eagle and half eagle were originally meant to be the same as the double eagle design, but the inscriptions were a challenge to fit on the smaller coins.

These coins were struck from 90% gold and 10% copper. Some of the gold used at Dahlonega had silver in the alloy that gave them a greenish tinge.