The 2012 1/4 oz American Eagles use the durable 22 karat standard established for gold circulating coinage over 350 years ago. They contain their stated amount of pure gold, plus small amounts of alloy. This creates harder coins that resist scratching and marring, which can diminish resale value.
The American Gold Eagle was authorized in 1985 by Congress to kick off the American Eagle Bullion Coin Program. The first bullion Gold Eagles were released by the US Mint in 1986 in 1 oz, ½ oz, ¼ oz and 1/10 oz weights. The weight, content, and purity of each coin is guaranteed by the United States government.
American Gold Eagles Are IRA Eligible
The 2012 ¼ oz American Gold Eagle Coins are IRA eligible. For more information on precious metals IRAs, please visit our IRA Page: Precious Metal IRA
Made In The USA
The Gold Bullion Act stipulates that the gold used for producing American Gold Eagle Coins must come from newly mined sources within the United States.
Obverse/Front
The ¼ oz Gold American Eagle Coins feature Lady Liberty walking in front of the rays of a rising sun, with a torch in her right hand and a olive branch in her left. Behind her is the United States Capitol Building.
Reverse/Back
The reverse, designed by Miley Busiek, features a male eagle carrying an olive branch flying above a nest containing a female eagle and her hatchlings.
The Designer
Augustus St. Gaudens, who designed the obverse of the American Gold Eagle, was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1848 but later immigrated to the United States and was raised in New York City. At the beginning of the 20th Century, St. Gauden was chosen by President Theodore Roosevelt to redesign the Nation’s coinage. St. Gauden’s produced a stunningly beautiful high-relief $20 Gold Piece that was later adapted to a flattened down version(due to too much wear due to the raised design) by the US Mint. St. Gaudens design was used on the $20 Gold Coins produced by the US Mint from 1907 until 1933. Due to its popularity, 53 years later in 1986, the Saint-Gaudens obverse design was re-used in the production of the American Gold Eagle Bullion coin program. While St. Gaudens is most famous for his contributions to US coinage, he also enjoyed critical success designing monuments commemorating heroes of the American Civil War. These monuments include one for Civil War Admiral David Farragut, in New York's Madison Square, he Standing Lincoln in Lincoln Park, Chicago (considered by many to be the finest portrait statue in the United States) and the bronze bas-relief that forms the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common.
Weight and Dimensions
- IRA Eligible: Yes
- Year: 2012
- Grade: Brilliant Uncirculated
- Denomination: $10 USD
- Composition: 22-Karat (91.67% Gold, 3% Silver, 5.33% Copper)
- Gold Content: .25 Troy Oz.
- Mint: US Mint
- Weight: 0.2727 Troy Oz. (8.483 g)
- Diameter: 22 mm
- Thickness: 1.83 mm