$5 Modern Commems, Proof

Modern commemorative gold $5 half eagles were first issued in 1986 with the Statue of Liberty Centennial program and have been offered during most years since. While $5 gold commemorative coins are issued at much higher retail prices than their half dollar and silver dollar counterparts, they nevertheless enjoy brisk sales from the onset. However, many $5 gold issues eventually suffer from lack of interest in their secondary sales channels months and years after their releases. This is not much unlike the marketplace situation experienced by other modern commemorative coins, which have been subjected to largely sluggish market conditions in recent years.

Several $5 gold commemorative coins are surprisingly tough in uncirculated condition, as most people who bought these coins originally seemed to prefer proof specimens. This leaves many MS $5 gold commemoratives scarcer on the whole than their proof $5 gold counterparts. The scarcest MS $5 gold pieces include the 1995-W XXVI Stadium and 1996-W Cauldron Olympic $5 gold coins, 1997-W Jackie Robinson $5 gold, 2001-W Capitol Visitor Center $5 gold, 2013-P 5-Star General $5 gold coin, and 2014-W National Baseball Hall of Fame gold $5 coin.

Proof specimens are much more common across the board, though the 1997-W Jackie Robinson $5 gold proof and 2014-W National Baseball Hall of Fame $5 gold proof are strong performers. All $5 gold coins graded MS70 or PR70 tend to sell better than lower-graded specimens, and spotless $5 gold coins in original government packaging also in demand.