2007 American Gold Buffalo
Every version of the 2007 Gold Buffalo with mintages, the gold it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2007
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 136,503
- Versions
- 2
- Metal
- .9999 fine (24 karat) gold
Original illustration of the coin's size and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because metal and coin prices change daily.
What is a 2007 Gold Buffalo worth?
The 2007 bullion Gold Buffalo is worth its gold content: weight times the day's spot price, plus a modest dealer premium when you buy and less when you sell. Its scarcer versions are different: the 2007-W 1 oz proof (58,998) rates small premium.
Metal value = troy ounces of gold × the day's spot price. For collector versions, check recent sold results for the same version and grade.
Every 2007 Gold Buffalo version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($50) | 136,503 | Metal value |
| Proof | "W" | 1 oz ($50) | 58,998 | Small premium |
Two versions exist for 2007, both one ounce with a $50 face value. The bullion coin has no mint mark, 136,503 sold. The proof has a W mint mark and mirror fields with frosted details, 58,998 struck. Proofs were sold in a capsule with a presentation box and a certificate of authenticity. Bullion coins went out in tubes to authorized purchasers. The quickest test is the W: any 2007 Gold Buffalo without one is a bullion coin. The W sits on the coin itself, so you can check it even outside the packaging.
Quick answers
- How much gold is in a 2007 Gold Buffalo?
- Each coin contains its stated weight of pure gold: one troy ounce in the $50 coin. The alloy is 99.99% gold.
- How many 2007 Gold Buffalos were made?
- 136,503 one ounce bullion coins plus 58,998 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 2007 Gold Buffalo worth more than its gold?
- The bullion coin trades close to its metal value plus a dealer premium. Collector versions in their original packaging bring a small premium.
- Is the Gold Buffalo legal tender?
- Yes. Each size carries a face value ($50), but nobody spends them: the gold is worth far more than the face value.
The Gold Buffalo in 2007
In its second year the Gold Buffalo lost some of its launch excitement. Bullion sales fell to 136,503 coins, well under half the 2006 total. The design stayed exactly the same, as it would for every year after, with Fraser's Native American on the obverse and the bison on the reverse. Bullion buyers still had the only 24 karat gold bullion coin made by the US Mint and the program settled into a steadier rhythm.
Proof demand dropped even more sharply. The Mint struck 58,998 proofs, less than a quarter of the first year's figure. Collectors who had bought a 2006 proof as a novelty didn't all come back for a second date. Even so, 58,998 was still a healthy number and it would be the highest proof mintage the program reached after its first year. The 2007 coins are a natural pair with 2006 for anyone starting a date run and they're usually easy to find in both versions. Bullion sales also fell, but less sharply than the proof.
2007 Gold Buffalo by the numbers
The Mint sold 136,503 one ounce bullion Gold Buffalos dated 2007. That ranks 5th lowest of the 19 bullion dates from 2006 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 2007 bullion sales were 2.5 times fewer than 2006 and 1.4 times fewer than 2008.
Collector versions dated 2007 add up to 58,998 coins across 1 version. The scarcest is the 2007-W 1 oz proof at 58,998.
What to check on yours
- Weigh and measure it. A genuine one ounce Gold Buffalo weighs 31.108 g and measures 32.7 mm; the fractional sizes are 3.11 g (1/10 oz), 7.776 g (1/4 oz) and 15.552 g (1/2 oz). Fakes are usually the wrong weight or the wrong thickness.
- Try a magnet. Gold is not magnetic, so a coin that sticks is not genuine. A coin that does not stick still needs the other checks.
- Look for the mint mark. Bullion strikes have none; proofs and burnished coins carry a small letter. A mirror field with frosted design means a proof, a soft satin look means burnished.
- Handle it by the edge and never clean it. Fingerprints, wiping and polishing leave marks that cost collector versions much of their premium.
- Keep the original capsule, box and certificate with collector versions. Coins that come with them are easier to sell and more likely to bring their full premium.
The 2007 bullion coin trades for a small premium over metal value. The proof carries a modest collector premium, more than 2006 thanks to its lower mintage but still in the range of an easy date. Because pure gold scratches easily, condition makes a big difference. A proof with hairlines or a bullion coin with bag marks will be treated much closer to metal value than a clean example. Keeping a proof in its capsule is the simplest way to protect it from those marks.
Launch and the 2008 specials (2006 to 2008)
The Gold Buffalo arrived in 2006 as the US Mint's first 24 karat gold coin. Congress authorized it in the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 and the Mint chose James Earle Fraser's Buffalo nickel design, already one of the most admired in American coinage. Investors got a pure gold coin to compete with the pure gold bullion coins of other countries and collectors got a proof with a W mint mark from West Point.
The first year was a hit. The Mint sold 337,012 bullion coins and struck 246,267 proofs, a proof figure no later year has come close to. Sales cooled in 2007 to 136,503 bullion coins and 58,998 proofs. Then 2008 brought the program's most complicated year. The Mint added 1/10, 1/4 and 1/2 ounce coins in proof and burnished finishes and offered burnished coins with a W for the only time. Proofs and burnished coins in the small sizes came in Mint packaging with certificates.
The 2008 extras sold poorly at the time, which is exactly why collectors chase them now. The one ounce burnished coin sold just 9,074, the lowest figure of any Gold Buffalo. The quarter ounce burnished coin finished at 9,949, the lowest of the fractional coins and the one ounce proof fell to 18,863. Meanwhile bullion demand rose to 189,500 coins. If you have a Gold Buffalo smaller than one ounce, it's a 2008 and it deserves a careful look at its finish and packaging.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Program | American Gold Buffalo |
|---|---|
| Issuer | United States Mint |
| Metal | .9999 fine (24 karat) gold |
| Alloy | 99.99% gold |
| Sizes | 1/10 oz ($5, 3.11 g, 16.5 mm); 1/4 oz ($10, 7.776 g, 22 mm); 1/2 oz ($25, 15.552 g, 27 mm); 1 oz ($50, 31.108 g, 32.7 mm) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| One ounce coin | 31.108 g, 32.7 mm |
Frequently asked questions
How many 2007 Gold Buffalos were made?
The Mint sold 136,503 bullion coins with no mint mark and struck 58,998 proofs with the W mint mark. Both are one ounce coins with a $50 face value. The proof figure dropped by more than three quarters from 2006.
Is the 2007 Gold Buffalo proof rare?
Not really. At 58,998 coins it's the second highest proof mintage in the series. It carries a modest collector premium, mostly for coins in top condition with the original box.
Mintages: American Gold Buffalo (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.