Though not one of the most common gold coins in the United States, the American Gold Eagle Coin is one of the official gold bullion coins of the country. These gold coins were first minted in 1986, and they were authorized by the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985.
The obverse side of these American Gold Eagle Coin designs is a slightly different version of the Augustus Saint Gauden depiction of Lady Liberty, with Lady Liberty holding a torch in one hand and an olive branch in the other, with flowing hair and the Capital building in the background.
The reverse side was designed by the sculptor Miley Busiek, and it depicts a flying male eagle holding an olive branch and about to land in a nest with a female eagle and eagle hatchlings. Also on the reverse is the phrase E Pluribus Unum and the phrase In God We Trust, with the latter being required by law on any coin minted in the United States.
The American Gold Eagle coins are produced in 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz versions, and the United States Government offer a guarantee that each coin contains exactly the listed amount of gold weight in troy ounces. Interestingly enough, United States law also requires that all of the gold used in the coin must come from sources within the United States. Both the United States Mint and United States Congress back the coins for both weight and gold content.
These coins are also unique in that they come in a very large denomination of 50 dollars, a very high face value for a coin, even a gold coin. If obtained by a collector, which will usually be the case with coins of this type and value, the collector can at least take solace that the coin will always be worth its face value. However, with such a large gold content and such a unique design, the coin will almost surely be worth more than its listed face value.
There are also smaller denominations of the coin, with the $5, $10, and $25 versions available to go along with the $50 coins. However, numismatics will show you that such coins are usually worth more than their list face value, and their values are usually much closer to $150, $325, $650, and roughly $1,250. The face values are according to the different weights previously mentioned, but the actual values are tied much closer to the current price of gold.