50 US dollars coins

50 US dollars represent quite a large period beginning in 1851. It is worth noting that this denomination was minted exclusively of gold and until 1933 these coins were legal tender in the United States. Today, all 50 dollar gold coins are bullion, and many of them are a subject of interest for private collectors-numismatists. All 50 Dollars US gold coins in our catalog.

50 US gold dollar coins

50 US gold dollar coin of 1851-1852

• Obverse: eagle standing on a rock with a shield, arrows and a laurel twig in its clutches; ribbon with the inscription “900 THOUS” in its beak; inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “FIFTY DOLLS” inside the circle of a dotted line; year of minting (at the bottom) and “AUGUSTUS HUMBERT UNITED STATES ASSAYER OF GOLD CALIFORNIA” along the circle.
• Reverse: embossed surface
• Metal: gold (90 %) + copper-nickel admixtures

50 US dollar gold coin “Liberty” of 1877-1907

• Obverse: profile of a woman, who symbolizes of Liberty, wearing a hat with the inscription “LIBERTY” on it; thirteen stars symbolizing the affiliated states; year of minting at the bottom; beaded border.
• Reverse: inscriptions «UNITED STATES OF AMERICA» and «FIFTY DOLLARS»; eagle with a laurel twig and three arrows in its clutches; shield that covers its trunk; ribbon with an inscription «E PLURIBTS UNUM» in its beak; inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST” in the circle of 13 stars.
• Metal: gold (90 %) + copper (10 %)
• Weight: 83.58 g
• Diameter: 50.8 mm

50 dollar gold coin from the Panama–Pacific International Exposition series of 1915

• Obverse: inscriptions “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “FIFTY DOLLARS”; profile of the goddess of fertility, science, crafts and gardening – Minerva with the Corinthian helmet on her head; inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST” above it; year of minting of the coin in Roman numerals under her neck; dolphins encircling the edge.
• Reverse: inscriptions «PANAMA-PACIFIC-EXPOSITION» and «SAN FRANCISCO»; Minerva’s owl, sitting on a pine branch; inscription «E PLURIBUS UNUM» near it; dolphins encircling the edge.
• Shape: octagon
• Edge: reeded
• Metal: gold (90 %) + copper (10 %)
• Weight: 83.59 g
• Diameter: 44 mm

50 US dollar gold coins of American Eagle series 1986-2018

• Obverse: woman rising up the mountain, symbolizing liberty, with a torch and a laurel twig in her hands; building of the US Congress and rays of sun in the background; year of minting in Roman numerals (since 1992 – Arabic); inscription «LIBERTY»; stars in the number of states in the US.
• Reverse: nest with a female bald eagle in it with offspring; father-eagle with a laurel twig in its clutches above them; inscriptions “E PLURIBUS UNUM” to the left, “IN GOD WE TRUST” to the right; “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” at the top and “1 OZ. FINE GOLD – 50 DOLLARS” at the bottom.
• Edge: reeded
• Metal: gold (91,7 %) + silver (3 %) + copper (5,3 %)
• Weight: 33.931 g (1,0909 of the troy ounce)
• Diameter: 32.7 mm
• Thickness: 2.87 mm

Year of minting 1990

50 Dollars 1994 US gold coin in our catalog.

Year of minting 2014

50 US dollar gold American Buffalo coin of 2006-2018

• Obverse: profile of the Indian, who personifies native inhabitants of America; inscription «LIBERTY»; year of minting; mint mark “W” (West Point) and engraver “F” (James Earl Fraser).
• Reverse: bison; inscriptions «UNITED STATES OF AMERICA», «E PLURIBUS UNUM» and «IN GOD WE TRUST»; denomination «$ 50» and composition «1 OZ. .9999 FINE GOLD» at the bottom. All 50 Dollars 1 oz. US gold coins in our catalog.
• Edge: reeded
• Metal: gold (999.9 %)
• Weight: 31.1035 g
• Diameter: 32.7 mm
• Thickness: 2.95 mm

Year of minting 2013

Design

The sketches of the presented coins were developed by famous artists, sculptors, and architects, who were involved in by the US Mint:

• The profile of the famous “Liberty” was created by the chief artist-engraver of the US mint William Barber.
• The sketch of the gold commemorative coin of the USA, dedicated to the “International Panama-Pacific Exposition”, belongs to the New York artist Robert I. Aitken.
• Two people worked on the “American Golden Eagle” series. In 1906, the famous American architect August Saint-Gaudens created the obverse of the coin with the image of “Liberty”, and in 1986 the sculptor Miley Buzick developed a sketch with the family of eagles, symbolizing the unity of the United States.
• The original design of the gold “American Buffalo” coin was developed by the student of August Saint-Gaudens – sculptor James Earl Fraser.

Mints

The main US mint is the mint in Philadelphia, which was founded in 1792. However, during the “gold rush” of the mid-19th century, several more mints were built in San Francisco, New York, Denver, New Orleans, and Carson City. Today, gold coins with a face value of 50 dollars are minted in Philadelphia, New York, Pennsylvania and West Point. All 1797-2017 Republic US gold coins in our catalog.

Circulations and cost

The emission of coins certainly affects their cost, but if we are talking about old coins, then their rarity is also taken into account (the remaining number of coins in the world):

• There are only 13 copies of the first fifty-dollar gold coins and their value at auctions starts from $ 75,000.
• The coin with the image of the goddess Minerva (1915) is one of the rarest of this denomination since its circulation was only 645 copies. The price of this coin at auctions and exchanges can range from $ 58,750 to $ 96,938 and even higher.
• The minimum cost of the coins of the “American Gold Eagle” series of this denomination is not higher than 1,400-1,550 US dollars. The coins of the rarer coinage of 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, and 1995 can reach a price of twenty thousand dollars. The coins of 2007-2010 coinage cost of about $ 2,000 on average.
• The gold coins “American Buffalo” produced in circulations ranging from 151,765 to 569,267 copies per year and their price reaches $ 1,382.53-1,424.55.

In addition to the rarity of coins, a fineness of gold and its price on the world exchanges are taken into account, as well as the quality of minting of coins with a face value of 50 US dollars, like on the photo:

Interesting facts

• The coins of the “American Gold Eagle” series minted in 1986, which were issued in an updated design, became the best-selling coins in this series, beating all previous sales results.
• During 1986, the price for gold was $ 326.30 per ounce at the beginning of the year and the level of $ 396.13 at the end after it reached a peak of $ 438.00 in September.
• After Augustus Humbert was appointed as an adviser of the United States at the end of 1850, he printed his name and imprint of the US government on fifty-dollar gold coins of 1851-1852, confirming their purity and value.