The Liberty Head U.S. gold dollar was minted from 1849 to 1854. It was composed of 90% pure gold. Following gold discoveries, Congress authorized the gold dollar in the Act of March 3, 1849, and the Liberty Head or Type I gold dollar soon began circulating. It was designed by James Longacre. The obverse of the coins depicts Liberty's head circled by thirteen stars. She faces to the left and wears a coronet inscribed with the word "LIBERTY". The reverse depicts a simple wreath encircling the date and value of the coin, and the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The coin weighs 1.672 grams, consists of .900 gold and .100 copper. It contains .04837 ounces of pure gold.

Price $260.00

Buy Now|Read More

More Liberty Head Gold Coins For Sale

What Was It That Made This Coin So Rare?

In 1933, the US Mint made over 400,000 of this coin but before any of them were circulated to the public. During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt changed currency laws and took America off of the gold standard in an effort to stabilize the economy. Gold coins stopped being produced and were also taken out of circulation. People that already had gold coins were being asked to turn them in to be melted down and it became illegal to own a gold coin unless they were strictly for collectible reasons. At the time the government felt that if private citizens were able to own gold, that they would hoard it causing gold to become scarce thus causing even greater economic uncertainty.

Once all the 1933 Gold Double Eagles were melted down and made into gold bars, the US Mint thought that they had succeeded in destroying all the 1933 Gold Double Eagles. Only two of these coins were thought to be left and were given to the Smithsonian to put on display. It became so important to the US government to destroy all of these coins that the Secret Service was enlisted to hunt down any possible coins left in existence. They succeeded by finding 8 more by 1952. A savvy Mint cashier was responsible for switching the gold coins that were to be melted down and saved them from destruction.

Somehow another collector came into possession of another 19 1933 Double Eagle coins and sold 9 of them to King Farouk of Egypt. The US Secret Service tried to get these coins back, but the King had legally brought them into the country and was therefore allowed to keep them. In 1952 these coins were again brought to market and the Secret Service was still on their trail. The coins mysteriously vanished again!

Fast forward over 4 decades and the gold coins became available on the market in New York. The Secret Service, still after these coins setup a sting operation and were able to seize the coins. During the seizure the coins were stored in the World Trade Center vault and after a long legal battle and just a few months before 9/11, the coins were moved to Fort Knox. Continued legal battles ensued and finally the Secret Service made a compromise, allowing the collector to sell the coins and split the money with the US Mint.

Currently there are three different Gold Bullion coins that one should look at when deciding to buy Gold for investment purposes.  These coins are popular among collectors and investors because they all contain 1 ounce of gold.

1.  American Gold Eagle

2.  South African Krugerrand

3.  Canadian Maple Leaf

All three of these gold bullion coins are over 90% fine gold and are either 22 karat gold, in the case of the Gold Eagle and 24 Karat for the other two.  Another great aspect of all of these coins is that they are full legal tender in the country that they were issued.

Near Mint Gold Krugerrand Bullion one-ounce coin NR 1oz    US $1,150.00

More Gold Bullion Coins For Sale

Where Can You Learn About Collecting Gold Coins?

I would suggest that the very best place that you can learn about collecting gold coins is in books, magazines and periodicals which can be wonderful sources of detailed information on gold coins.  Because collecting gold can be very expensive, it's important to learn as much as you can about it before making a purchase.

We have compiled a list of resources to help you get starting in collecting gold coins. Please visit the link below for more information.

Gold Coin Collecting Information

The best way to know the value of the coin is to read coin related periodicals and also buy a reputable coin guide with listings of coin prices.  Here are a few coin guides that will help you establish the price of a gold coin.

I ran across an article written by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about gold investing that you might like to read.

CBC - Investing In Gold

Another gold coin loved by many collectors it the American Eagle however since it only contained 91.67% gold, many were turning to other international coins that contained a higher percentage of gold.  This need for gold bullion made it necessary to create the Gold Buffalo with 99.99% 24 karat gold.

AMERICAN BUFFALO ONE OUNCE GOLD PROOF COIN    US $1,255.00

More American Buffalo Gold Coins

1925 $2-1/2 Gold Indian Head Eagle Coin    US $195.76

More Indian Gold Eagle Coins For Sale