25 US Dollars Coins

25 US dollars are one of the denominations of coins of The American Golden Eagle series, the coinage began in 1986 and continues to this day, and the American Buffalo series, minted since 2006. These coins are primarily bullion, but at the same time, they are attractive for collectors around the world. All 25 Dollars US gold coins in our catalog.

Coins with a face value of 25 US dollars

American Gold Eagle coin series, first version (1986-1991).

• Obverse: woman in the rays of the sun rising up the mountain, symbolizing liberty; torch in her right hand and a laurel twig in the left; building of the US Congress in the background; inscription “LIBERTY” and stars, symbolizing the states of America at the top; year of minting in Roman numerals to the right.
• Reverse: family of bald eagles – the heraldic symbol of the USA; inscriptions «UNITED STATES OF AMERICA» at the top, «1/2 OZ. FINE GOLD – 25 DOLLARS» at the bottom, «E PLURIBUS UNUM» to the left, «IN GOD WE TRUST» to the right.
• Edge: reeded
• Metal: 91.7 % gold + 3 % silver + 5.3 % copper
• Weight: 1/2 troyo unce(16.965 g)
• Diameter: 27 mm
• Thickness: 2.4 mm

Minting of 1986

25 Dollars 1994 US gold coin in our catalog.

American Gold Eagle coin series, second version (1992-2018)

• Obverse: woman in the rays of the sun rising up the mountain, symbolizing liberty; torch in her right hand and a laurel twig in the left; building of the US Congress in the background; inscription “LIBERTY” and stars, symbolizing the states of America at the top; year of minting in Arabic numerals to the right.
• Reverse: family of bald eagles – the heraldic symbol of the USA; inscriptions «UNITED STATES OF AMERICA» at the top, «1/2 OZ. FINE GOLD – 25 DOLLARS» at the bottom, «E PLURIBUS UNUM» to the left, «IN GOD WE TRUST» to the right.
• Edge: reeded
• Metal:91,7 % gold+ 3 % silver + 5,3 % copper
• Weight:1/2 troy ounce(16,965 g)
• Diameter:27 mm
• Thickness: 2.24 mm

Minting of 1992

American Buffalo coin series (2006-2018)

• Obverse: image of an Indian, representing the native inhabitants of the United States; inscription “LIBERTY”; year of minting and mint mark in West Point, and the engraver artist James Earl Fraser at the bottom.
• Reverse: buffalo; inscriptions «UNITED STATES OF AMERICA» and «E PLURIBUS UNUM» at the top, «1/2 OZ. .9999 FINE GOLD» and denomination «$ 25» at the bottom; inscription «IN GOD WE TRUST» below the head of a buffalo.
• Edge: reeded
• Metal: 999.9 % of gold
• Weight: 15.5518 g
• Diameter: 27 mm

Minting of 2008

Creation process and purpose of design

As early as 1904, the US President Theodore Roosevelt invited the famous American sculptor August Saint-Gaudens to participate in the development of sketches for several denominations of gold coins. The new coins of denominations of 5, 10 and 20 dollars with the image of an Indian were created and were in circulation from 1907 to 1933. All 5 Dollars, 10 Dollars and 20 Dollars US gold coins in our catalog. Simultaneously a new series, which is now known as the American Golden Eagle was in process of creation. Barber, the chief engraver of the Philadelphia mint, disagreed with the concept of the obverse of the coins for this series, which was proposed by Saint-Gaudens. On August 3, 1907, the famous sculptor died of cancer. Barber, after finishing Saint-Gauden’s sketch, led the beginning of coins issue. The updated design of gold coins became popular instantly. Today, the coins of the American Golden Eagle series are the most expensive bullion coins of the United States. Many collectors consider it the most beautiful golden coin ever produced in America.

As for the reverse of the coins, after the Congress authorized the issue of cast coins in 1985, the sculptor Miley Buzick was involved in design of the reverse. During this period, she developed a 25 dollars coin in the memory of the President Ronald Reagan inauguration. The bald eagle has been a heraldic symbol of America’s power and freedom for a long time, but it was always depicted alone, just one bird on coins of the American Golden Eagle series. Inspired by Reagan’s heartfelt speech at the Republican National Convention in 1980, where he stressed that he would work for the common good, Buzik decided to depict not just one eagle, but the whole family. Since then an eagle-father carrying an olive twig back to the nest, where a female with a chick is waiting for him, has been depicted on the reverse of the 25 dollars coins.

As for the design of the “Buffalo” coins, it was developed by one of the students of August Saint-Gaudens, famous American sculptor James Earl Fraser. The portrait of the Indian on the obverse is a collective image. Three real chiefs of the Indian tribes became a prototype for it. Later, Fraser himself could not remember the third chieftain and this led to a controversy. This short memory provoked a lot of rumors. Some Indian called Big Three tried to claim his rights. Nevertheless, the US mint has denied all these rumors.

On the reverse there is a bison (buffalo) depicted. A bison called Black Diamond, who once lived in the Central Park of New York, became a prototype for it.

Mints

The Philadelphia Mint was created because of the need to establish national identity and the need to trade in the United States. This prompted the “founding fathers” of the United States to create a continental national mint, which was a top priority after the ratification of the United States Constitution.

The law on coinage was enacted on April 2, 1792, which proclaimed the creation of the first Mint of the United States. Philadelphia was the capital of the country at that time, that’s why the first mint was built there. The Mint Law also established a decimal system based on the dollar unit, determined the weight, composition and fineness of the coins, and, most importantly, it established the rule for every coin of the United States to have the image of a symbol of freedom.

In addition, gold coins of 25 dollars denomination were minted at mints in Pennsylvania, West Point and New York, which already worked at that time.

Cost on the market and circulation

When assessing the cost of investment coins, their nominal value is rather symbolic, since their real price can exceed the nominal value several times. The cost of 1 troy ounce of gold on world exchanges for the period of purchase (sale), the condition of the coin and the quality of the coinage is very important to take into account. Gold coins of this series with a face value of 25 dollars can have a value from several hundred dollars to tens of thousands:

• 25 dollar сoins of the American Eagle series from 1986 to 2018 were minted in circulations of 235,544-2,798,766 copies, and their price varies between $800 and $18,000.
• 25 dollar coins of the American Buffalo series from 2006 to 2018 were minted with a minimal circulation of several thousand copies, and their price varies in the range of $636.58-1,567.

Interesting facts

• In September 2011, William Gray, a former employee of the Philadelphia Mint, pleaded guilty in the United States federal court that he had stolen coins with mistakes (defective) worth $ 2.4 million and sold them to one of the distributors. The coins containing inaccuracies, errors or having a bad centering are not legal and subject to melting down.
• It is possible to trace the chronology of joining new states to the Commonwealth of the United States of America by the number of stars located along the rim of the obverse of 25 US gold dollars of the American Golden Eagle series.

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