MINUTEMAN
RARE COIN
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Pre-1933 U.S. Rare Gold Coins
Pre-1933 United States gold coins are highly sought after by collectors and investors worldwide due to their historical significance, rarity, collectibility, and exceptional investment potential.
In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt implemented Executive Order 610, which prohibited private ownership of gold valued over $100 to aid in combating the Great Depression.
This led to millions of gold coins being removed from circulation, melted, and added to U.S. gold reserves at Fort Knox. The year 1933 represents a crucial turning point in U.S. gold coin history, marking the end of their use as consumer and commercial currency.
As a consequence, Pre-1933 U.S. gold coins have become increasingly rare, with well-preserved examples in higher Uncirculated Mint State condition being especially coveted.
At Minuteman Rare Coin, we excel in curating historically significant and valuable Pre-1933 rare United States gold coin collections.
With our experience and numismatic expertise, we carefully examine and select only the best specimens. We pride ourselves on curating exceptional collections of historically significant, valuable, and rewarding rare U.S. gold and silver coins tailored to our clients' interests and budgets.
MINTAGE ACT OF 1792
The Mint Act of 1792 established the United States' monetary system, allowing the nation to produce and mint its own coins by defining the design and production standards for public currency. Thus, the act formed the foundation for modern U.S. currency.
This Act designated the silver dollar as the standard monetary unit and authorized the regulation of U.S. coinage, as well as the construction of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.
It was the first legislation to allow the production of gold coins, approving three denominations: the $5 Half Eagle, the $10 Eagle, and the $2.50 Quarter Eagle.
In 1795, the U.S. commenced gold coin production with the $5 Half-Eagle, followed by the $10 Eagle later that year and the $2.50 Quarter-Eagle in 1796.
For the next 138 years, circulating gold coins featuring various denominations and designs were used as official currency.
From 1795 to 1933, the U.S. Mint issued 36 major types of gold coins for circulation.
THE HISTORY OF U.S. GOLD COINS 1795-1933
Pre-1933 U.S. GOLD COIN DENOMINATIONS
$1 Liberty/Princess (1849-1889)
$2.50 Quarter Eagle (1796-1929)
$3 Gold Princess (1854-1889)
$5 Half Eagle (1795-1929)
$10 Eagle (1795-1933)
$20 Double Eagle (1850-1933)
EARLY & CLASSIC HEAD GOLD COINS 1795-1839
The United States Mint faced a challenge from the outset, as the country lacked a known primary source of native gold. Consequently, the U.S. had to depend on gold bullion depositors and foreign gold coins, mainly the Spanish dollar (Peso), to mint authorized U.S. currency.
All "early gold" coins are considered scarce to very rare in any condition. In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson ordered the U.S. Treasury to remove the $10 gold Eagle from circulation due to its weight imbalance with foreign gold currencies.
For the next 34 years, an entire generation went without a $10 gold coin in circulation, with the $5 gold half eagle serving as the primary denomination and taking on the role of "workhorse" within the U.S. economic and monetary system.
However, in the late 1820s and early 1830s, significant gold discoveries in North Carolina and Georgia would transform American gold coinage.
The new gold discoveries and the wars in Europe drove up the world price of gold. Metals speculators and bullion brokers bought U.S. gold coins and exported them for large profits. The melting of U.S. gold coins in Europe reached epic proportions.
U.S. gold coins had never been in wide circulation from the beginning and now began disappearing from circulation altogether.
In 1834, President Andrew Jackson pressured Congress to pass a new Coinage Act. The Act raised the silver-to-gold weight ratio, setting the spot price of gold below the international market price.
Only two gold denominations were in production: the $5 Gold Half Eagle and the $2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle, both with a Capped Head design.
The U.S. Mint changed the design of both denominations. The gold coinage of this era is referred to as the "Classic Head," minted between 1834 and 1839.
COINAGE ACT OF 1834
The Coinage Act of 1834 authorized the opening of three branch mints. In 1838, Charlotte, NC., Dahlonega, GA., and New Orleans began operations.
The Charlotte and Dahlonega branches were authorized to produce only gold coins, while the New Orleans branch was authorized to mint both gold and silver coins.
In 1861, the state of South Carolina seceded from the Union, igniting the start of the Civil War. The Confederate Army seized all three southern branch mints, which shut down all three facilities.
Charlotte and Dahlonega would never reopen. The New Orleans branch mint reopened eighteen years later in 1879 and continued to mint gold and silver coins until its closing in 1909.
Investors and collectors worldwide highly covet gold coins produced at all three Southern branch mints.
During this historical time in United States history, the New Orleans mint produced some of the most valuable gold coin rarities that exist today.
THE (CORONET) LIBERTY HEAD DESIGN
In 1839, Chief Mint Engraver Christian Gobrecht overhauled the $5 Half Eagle and the $2.50 Quarter Eagle Classic Head design. After a 30-year absence, he created a new design for reintroducing the $10 Eagle.
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Gobrecht's new design was named the (Coronet) Liberty Head, which portrayed Miss Liberty's image wearing a coronet. Later, this design would grace the $1 gold piece and the $20 Gold Double Eagle.
The Liberty Head design would last through the early 20th-century.
THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH
Due to the massive influx of gold from the California Gold Rush in 1848 and 1849, the United States Congress authorized two new gold coins portraying the Coronet Liberty Head motif.
The first coin to be approved was the $1 Liberty gold piece, issued in 1849 and was produced until 1889.
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The second coin to be authorized was the $20 gold Liberty Head Double Eagle, which made its debut in 1850 and was continuously minted through the early 20th century, ending in 1907, when it was replaced by the $20 Saint-Gaudens.
The new Liberty Head $20 gold coin was twice the size and value of the $10 gold Eagle and was aptly named the Double Eagle. It soon became one of the most admired gold coins globally.
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Due to the Gold rush, a new branch mint was opened in San Francisco in 1854, and a new gold coin was approved, the $3 Princess. The U.S. now had six gold coin denominations in circulation.
EARLY 20TH-CENTURY GOLD COINS
In 1900, the U.S. officially adopted the gold standard. Under this system, the participating countries stored their gold in central banks and exchanged paper currency or certificates to settle transactions.
After 1900, large quantities of U.S. gold coins were deposited into European, South American, and other foreign bank vaults.
Domestically, gold coins were increasingly rare in day-to-day commerce, except in the Far West, where they never left the marketplace.
Suppose you had been a typical citizen living in the Eastern part of the United States. During a 12-month period, chances are you would not have encountered a single gold coin. Gold coins primarily circulated throughout the West.
The early 20th century saw the United States issue gold coins with notable design changes.
These gold coins are highly sought after by collectors and investors alike for their historical significance, unique designs, and investment potential.
Without Executive Order 6102, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, we would not have the exceptional, scarce, and valuable gold coins that exist today. The year 1933 essentially created the United States rare gold coin market as we know it.
MINUTEMAN
RARE COIN
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