2019 American Gold Buffalo
Every version of the 2019 Gold Buffalo with mintages, the gold it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2019
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 61,500
- 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 2019 Gold Buffalo worth?
With only 61,500 one ounce bullion coins sold, the 2019 is a low mintage date, so it brings a premium over its gold value.
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 2019 Gold Buffalo version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($50) | 61,500 | Small premium |
| Proof | "W" | 1 oz ($50) | 14,844 | Small premium |
Two 2019 Gold Buffalos exist, both one ounce with a $50 face value. Bullion has no mint mark and an even, bright finish, with 61,500 sold through authorized purchasers. The proof has a W mint mark, mirror fields and frosted design, with 14,844 struck. Proofs came in a capsule, box and certificate, while bullion was shipped in tubes. Check for the W and the mirror finish to identify a proof. A bullion coin dated 2019 is still worth checking carefully, since it's the lowest bullion date. Proofs came with a certificate.
Quick answers
- How much gold is in a 2019 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 2019 Gold Buffalos were made?
- 61,500 one ounce bullion coins plus 14,844 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 2019 Gold Buffalo worth more than its gold?
- Yes. With only 61,500 one ounce bullion coins sold, the 2019 is a low mintage date, so it brings a premium over its gold value.
- 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 2019
2019 was the quietest year the Gold Buffalo has had. The Mint sold just 61,500 bullion coins, the lowest bullion figure of the entire program and about half of 2018. The coin stayed the same in every other way. Buyers simply bought fewer Gold Buffalos that year. Proof buyers thinned out as well.
The proof dipped to 14,844 coins, continuing the slow decline of the previous years. With both figures low, 2019 is a date worth noticing. The bullion coin is the scarcest bullion Gold Buffalo, though at 61,500 pieces it's still far from rare in absolute terms. The year also came just before a huge jump in demand, as 2020 bullion sales would almost quadruple. Collectors who track bullion dates as well as proofs often single out 2019 as the one bullion coin to look for in a date run. The proof, at 14,844, was the lowest one ounce proof mintage up to that time, a record that would fall again the next year.
2019 Gold Buffalo by the numbers
The Mint sold 61,500 one ounce bullion Gold Buffalos dated 2019. That ranks lowest of the 19 bullion dates from 2006 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 2019 bullion sales were 2 times fewer than 2018 and 3.9 times fewer than 2020.
Collector versions dated 2019 add up to 14,844 coins across 1 version. The scarcest is the 2019-W 1 oz proof at 14,844.
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 2019 bullion coin, as the lowest mintage bullion date, can bring a little more than the usual small premium over metal value, especially in top condition. The proof carries a collector premium in line with recent years. Clean surfaces matter for both. Keep proofs in their capsules with the certificate and handle bullion coins by the edges. Bullion coins with scratches or dings will trade much closer to metal value, even with the low mintage. A clean, bright coin is the one to keep.
Quieter years and the 2020 rebound (2016 to 2020)
After a steady 219,500 bullion coins in 2016, demand for Gold Buffalos fell away. The Mint sold 99,500 in 2017 and 121,500 in 2018, then just 61,500 in 2019, the lowest bullion figure of the program. A 2019 bullion coin is still a gold coin that trades near metal value, but it's the scarcest bullion date in the series. Bullion buyers in these years had plenty of other options and the Buffalo felt the slowdown as much as any coin.
Proof mintages kept drifting lower through these years. From 21,878 in 2016 they fell to 15,810 in 2017, 15,756 in 2018 and 14,844 in 2019. The coins themselves didn't change: same design, same W mint mark, same one ounce size. What changed was the size of the collector base buying them each year. Collectors who buy a proof every year still found them easily, but fewer new buyers joined in, so each date became a slightly smaller issue than the one before.
Then 2020 turned things around. Demand for precious metals surged that year and bullion sales jumped to 242,000 coins, almost four times the 2019 total. The proof went the other way, falling to 11,887, the lowest one ounce proof figure up to that point. So 2020 is a split year: a common bullion coin paired with one of the scarcer proofs in the program. Anyone sorting a group of coins from these years should look for the W first, since the 2019 bullion coin and the 2020 proof are the two that stand apart.
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
Is the 2019 Gold Buffalo the lowest mintage bullion year?
Yes. The Mint sold just 61,500 bullion Gold Buffalos in 2019, the lowest bullion figure in the program. It's still a common coin, but it's the scarcest bullion date. Still, it's far from rare.
How many 2019 Gold Buffalo proofs were made?
The Mint struck 14,844 proofs with the W mint mark. That's slightly fewer than 2018 and continues the gradual decline in proof mintages through these years. It's a typical proof of the period.
Mintages: American Gold Buffalo (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.