Sacagawea gold dollar coins were minted first from 2000 until 2008 and again with different reverse designs starting in 2009. These are popular coins but well over a billion have been minted since 2000. There are a couple of special varieties that are collectible like the 2000-P Cheerios coin. However, your regular strike Sacagawea coins are still just worth $1 and will likely only be worth a dollar for the foreseeable future. A moderate exception would be that some of the older rolls do sell for a very small premium over their face value. All Sacagawea coins, while gold in color, have absolutely no precious metals value. They are made of copper, manganese, brass, zinc, and nickel. Despite their limited collector value, Sacagaweas are still a fun coin with a lot of history.
I know, it’s a bummer to find out that some 70- or 80-year old pennies are worth less than a modern day first-class postage stamp. That’s how I felt when I learned my first coin — a 1941 Lincoln wheat cent — was worth only a few cents, too. The prices listed within the NumisMedia FMV Price Guide represent our Fair Market Value determination for a properly graded coin within each category. The pricing information we report comes from all over the numismatic market including many reliable dealers known for their unbiased market knowledge and information. Coin value price guides are an average value for graded coins and not as an authority for exact coin values. Coin Help used the average value that coins have sold for, in the last few months or the last two or three years, at eBay, Heritage Coin Auctions and other online coin sales. Yes, now you can purchase just one coin at Monex in a format that offers impeccable beauty, packaging and value. Part of the Maple Leaf family, the 1.5-oz. Gold Canadian Maple Leaf, called the MegaLeaf™, is minted in.9999 (or “four-nines”) fine gold by the Royal Canadian Mint.It is a legal tender and contains 50% more pure gold than a standard Gold.
Our guide at the bottom of this page lists the mintage figures and historical information about all the various Sacagawea coins from different years. Here are some quick facts that collectors might find of interest:
-The legal authorization to mint a new dollar coin was passed in 1997, but the first coins were not released until January 2000.
-The general public actually preferred a coin showing the statue of liberty, but the Sacagawea design was selected by the officials in charge of the coin. Thanks to the coin, today Sacagawea is widely recognized. She was certainly not a household name in the late 1990s before the coin was released to the public.
-No images of the actual person Sacagawea exist (she died in 1812). The woman pictured on the coin is actually a 22 year old college student named Randy’L He-dow Teton.
-Most Sacagaweas are used in the United States in vending machines or hoarded by collectors who hope the coins will someday be worth a lot of money. We don’t see the coins too much in commerce for that reason. However, the USD is an official currency in Ecuador and Sac dollars are the preferred day to day denomination in Ecuador.
Design 2000-2008:
Sacagawea has her infant in a papoose over her shoulder. Her son was named Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. The back of the coin features a more familiar design. It has a flying eagle, 17 stars, and the traditional text of E Pluribus Unum – United States of America – One Dollar. The front of the coin says LIBERTY and In God We Trust. There will be a P, D, or S mint mark under the year. And the back of each coin also has the initials TDR for Thomas D. Rogers Sr, the mint sculptor and engraver.
The $50 Gold American Eagle coin is one of four gold coins that belong to the United States Mint’s bullion coin program, which began in 1986. $50 American Gold Eagles are coins that contain one troy ounce of 22-karat gold and represent the highest of the four gold coin denominations in the program. The obverse design on all American Gold Eagle coins depicts Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ design of Miss Liberty walking in a full gown as she holds a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left. On the reverse of American Gold Eagle coins is a design by Miley Busiek showing a male eagle clasping an olive branch as it flies above a nest with a female and her hatchlings.
$50 American Gold Eagles measure 1.287 inches in diameter and weigh 1.0909 troy ounces. While the 91.67% gold coin contains one ounce of pure gold, it’s composition is also 3% silver and 5.33% copper to help make the coin more wear resistant. The coin is also legal tender, but its $50 face value is purely symbolic. Clearly, the coin has a much higher actual intrinsic value than its denominational value, but indeed could be spent in a sales transaction. Bullion coins are minted at the Philadelphia mint and proofs and burnished finish specimens are produced at West Point. From 1986 through 1991, the date was expressed on the coin using Roman numerals.
Here’s a rundown of the various dates, mintages, and approximate values for the $50 gold coin:
Gold Coin Value Guide
MCMLXXXVI (1986), 1,362,650 minted; $1,300
MCMLXXXVI (1986-W) Proof, 446,290; $1,500
MCMLXXXVII (1987), 1,045,500; $1,300
MCMLXXXVII (1987-W) Proof, 147,498; $1,500
MCMLXXXVIII (1988), 465,000; $1,300
MCMLXXXVIII (1988-W) Proof, 87,133; $1,500
MCMLXXXIX (1989), 415,790; $1,300
MCMLXXXIX (1989-W), 54,570; $1,500
MCMXC (1990), 373,210; $1,300
MCMXC (1990-W) Proof, 62,401; $1,500
MCMXCI (1991), 243,100; $1,300
MCMXCI (1991-W) Proof, 50,411; $1,500
1992, 275,000; $1,300
1992-W Proof, 44,826; $1,500
1993, 480,192; $1,300
1993-W Proof, 34,389; $1,500
1994, 221,633; $1,300
1994-W Proof, 46,674; $1,500
1995, 200,636; $1,300
1995-W Proof, 46,484; $1,500
1996, 189,148; $1,300
1996-W Proof, 36,000; $1,500
1997, 664,508; $1,300
1997-W Proof, 27,554; $1,500
1998, 1,468,530; $1,300
1998-W Proof, 26,060; $1,500
1999, 1,505,026; $1,300
1999-W Proof, 31,446; $1,500
2000, 433,319; $1,300
2000-W Proof, 33,006; $1,500
2001, 143,605; $1,300
2001-W Proof, 24,580; $1,500
2002, 222,029; $1,300
2002-W Proof, 27,499; $1,500
2003, 416,032; $1,300
2003-W Proof, 33,000; $1,500
2004, 417,019; $1,300
2004-W Proof, 8,720; $1,500
2005, 356,555; $1,300
2005-W Proof, 35,246; $1,500
2006, 237,510; $1,300
2006-W Burnished Uncirculated, 45,912; $1,900
2006-W Proof, 47,000; $1,900
2006-W Reverse Proof, 10,000; $2,900
2007, 140,016; $1,400
2007-W Burnished Uncirculated, 18,609; $2,000
2007-W Proof, 51,810; $1,600
2008-W, 710,000; $1,400
2008-W Burnished Uncirculated, 11,908; $2,100
2008-W Reverse of 2007, mintage included above
2008-W Proof, 29,000; $2,150
2009, 122,000; $1,300
2010, 1,125,000; $1,300
2010-W, 59,480; $1,600
2011, 857,000; $1,400
2011 Burnished Uncirculated, 8,729; $2,400
2011-W Proof, 48,306; $1,600
2012-W, mintage unknown; $1,300
2012 Burnished Uncirculated, 5,829; $3,000
Gold Coin Value Over Time
*Values listed above are for uncirculated coins and bullions coins grading MS 65 and proofs grading PF 65, unless otherwise noted; as values for gold bullion coins fluctuates on a daily basis, you should double-check current bullion prices to better approximate the exact value.
The $50 American Gold Eagle has been produced every year since 1986 and is struck in both bullion (uncirculated) and proof finishes. The bullion version, which is usually sold for a small premium over the coin’s intrinsic bullion value, mainly appeals to gold investors. Meanwhile, proof $50 American Gold Eagles are generally sought by numismatists who appreciate the finer surfaces and strong strike qualities of proof coinage.
Gold Coin Value Today
Interestingly, American Gold Eagles have a much smaller numismatic market than American Silver Eagle coins, which have a strong collector base. In fact, even bullion finish American Silver Eagles are widely collected by numismatists and assembled into date sets. The lower cost of Silver Eagles versus Gold Eagles may be a major factor behind those particular collector habits. It’s also worth noting that, like the Saint-Gaudens design on the American Gold Eagle coins, Silver Eagles have an equally attractive Walking Liberty obverse design by Adolph A. Weinman.