The US Mint is the country’s primary producer of gold coinage used for private and federalized trading and commerce. The origins of the US Mint date back to the Coinage Act of 1792, which formally established the it as the producer and regulator of coinage in the US. The US mint network contains five key minting facilities:
Philadelphia Mint – The primary US Mint facility was located in the US’ first capitol, Philadelphia. The US Mint Philadelphia facility was opened in 1793. A newer facility was established in 1969 and is still the country’s primary mint facility and is responsible for the production of master die used for coinage designing and production.
San Francisco Mint – The first West coast gold coins contain an S marking to signify the fact that they were minted by the San Francisco mint. The demand for gold coins derived from gold metals found during the Gold Rush coast prompted the creation of the San Francisco mint, which produced over $4 million in gold coinage during its first year.
Denver Mint – Opened in 1863 as a response to the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. The mint liquidized, assayed and stamped gold brought in from the local mining areas. By 1906, the Denver mint had reserved enough gold and begun minting $20 Double Eagle gold coins. Standard Eagle, Quarter Eagle and Half Eagle gold coins were also done at Denver in smaller amounts. All Denver gold carries the D mintmark and original gold coinage retains significant value.
Carson City Mint – One of the few mints opened primarily for silver minting purposes. The Carson City mint began minting coins in 1870 using silver and gold from the large Comstock Lode mining facility. All gold coinage from the Carson City mint facility bares a CC mintmark. CC mint marked gold coins include various Eagle gold coins designed by Christian Gobrecht and even the very rare 1876 $0.20 cent piece.
West Point Mint – Established in 1937, West Point was only identified as a legitimate branch of the US Mint in 1988. The West Point Mint originally focused largely on silver minting and is largely known for its production of non-mint marked Lincoln cents from 1873 to 1986. The West Point W mark did not appear until 1983, when it was placed on the $10.00 Los Angeles Olympic Games commemoration gold coins.
Valued Gold Coins
Gold coins from the early years retain the most value due to their scarcity. Other valuable coins are appraised by their limited production, some of which have only been produced in runs of 50 coins or less as exclusive gifts. The Gold Eagle coin is the primary gold coin first authorized. It was originally designed by Robert Scot and minted in Philadelphia in the following configurations:
$10.00 Gold Eagle at 270 grains
$5.00 Gold Half Eagle at 135 grains
$2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle at 67 grains
Other mint facilities such as the San Francisco and Denver mint also provided Gold Eagle coins that were later designed by Christian Gobrecht. Some of the most value of its kind, where the $20.00 Double Gold Eagle coins of 1877, 1879 and 1880.
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