$5 Gold Eagles, Proof

Proof $5 gold American Eagles have been produced since 1988 and are popular with both collectors and investors. The $5 gold eagle carries an obverse motif of Miss Liberty striding before a sunrise, as designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and made popular on $20 gold double eagles struck from 1907 through 1933. The reverse of the $5 gold American Eagle, depicting a family of eagles at their nest, was designed by Miley Busiek. Pieces struck from 1988 through 1991 are dated with Roman numerals, whereas those made since 1992 are dated using the more familiar Arabic digits.

The $5 eagle contains a tenth-ounce of pure gold and is the smallest gold bullion coin produced by the United States in terms of physical size. Proof examples trade for substantial premiums over spot value and thus are more actively pursued by numismatists than bullion investors, the latter of whom tend to seek gold bullion at lower prices over spot.

There are no significant rarities among the proof $5 gold eagles, all of which are readily available and about as common as any other proof specimen in the series, especially in grades of PR69 and lower. Some PR70 specimens command higher premiums than others, depending on the date. While collectors generally seek PR69 and PR70 $5 gold eagles, spotless examples in crisp government packaging also enjoy strong demand.