1991 American Eagle Fifty Dollar Gold

About This Coin

The 1991 American Eagle Fifty Dollar Gold is a United States dollar from the American Eagle Fifty Dollar Gold 1986 to Date series — an early issue, 6th of 41 years in the series. In 1991, coins were struck at the West Point and Philadelphia Mints with a combined mintage of 293,511. This ranks 11th of 39 years by total mintage, below the series median of 466,326. The obverse features Liberty striding forward holding a torch and olive branch, with rays of sunlight behind her — widely considered the most beautiful U.S. coin design — adapted from the 1907 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, the most revered U.S. coin design and the reverse displays a family of eagles — an adult and two juveniles — in a nest, designed by Miley Busiek (1986-2020) or an eagle portrait by Jennie Norris, the redesigned reverse introduced in 2021 (2021+). Struck after the transition from silver to clad coinage, as the Mint adapted to modern production methods and record-breaking mintages. Struck in 91.67% gold, 3% silver, 5.33% copper, weighing 33.93 grams, 32.7 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $5.1K to $11K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $7.8K in MS65 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Augustus Saint Gaudens/Miley Busiek.