Seeing the closing spot price of gold per troy ounce on the London market above the $5,000 level did not deter United States Mint customers from placing orders March 5 for the Proof 1776~2026-W American Eagle gold coins in four sizes.

Sales began at noon Eastern Time with the retail  prices for the five .9167 fine gold product options — singles of the 1-ounce gold $50 coin, half-ounce $25 coin, quarter-ounce $10 coin, and tenth-ounce $5 coin, plus  the Proof set of all four gold coins — at the highest levels ever for the series since its introduction in the fall of 1986.

The issue price for the four-coin gold Proof set alone was $11,410.

The London Bullion Market Association closing spot price of gold on March 4 was $5,148.55 per troy ounce.

U.S. Mint pricing for its precious metals products is subject to change weekly based on changes in a given metal’s spot price over a term of several days, as outlined in the Mint’s pricing grid (to access the grid see www.usmint.gov/resources/product-pricing).

In addition to the dual dates for the nation’s Semiquincentennial anniversary in 2026 appearing on the obverse in the right field, each coin bears on its obverse a 250th anniversary privy mark in the left field, to Liberty’s right, at almost the 9 o’clock position. The privy mark depicts the Liberty Bell suspended from its wooden support with the digits 250 incused vertically.

First-day sales March 5 for the Proof 1776~2026-W American Eagle gold coin products are listed, followed by maximum issue and the inaugural retail price:

• 1,994 of the 1-ounce gold $50 coin (25,000-coin maximum), $6,100 each.

• 1,244 of the half-ounce $25 coin (18,500-coin maximum), $3,090 each.

• 1,569 of the quarter-ounce $10 coin, (21,000-coin maximum), $1,585 each.

• 4,279 of the tenth-ounce $5 coin, (29,000-coin maximum mintage), $685 each.

• 2,050 of the four-coin set, (product maximum 15,000 sets), $11,410 per set. 

  The collector versions of the American Eagle gold coins being issued in 2026 for direct sale to the numismatic market are a one-year type. For 2027 they are scheduled to return to Arabic numeral dates without the anniversary privy mark.

  In contrast, the 2026 American Eagle gold bullion coins marketed as investor products through the Mint’s approved bullion dealers appear with the date rendered as 2026 and they carry no anniversary privy mark.

  All the 1-ounce gold coins appear with an anti-counterfeiting edge notch at the 10 o’clock position, in line this year with the L in LIBERTY. The notch appears in the same location on every American Eagle 1-ounce gold coin, regardless of surface finish.

  Since its 2021 introduction, the edge notch’s position on the otherwise reeded edge has changed annually.

  The device was added in mid-June 2021 along with the 2021 redesign, often identified as Type II. The redesign strengthened the obverse to more closely resemble American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ original vision for the $20 gold eagle introduced in 1907, which had been repurposed for the introduction of the American Eagle gold coin program in 1986. The 2021 redesigned coins carry a completely new eagle reverse.