2015 American Gold Eagle
Every version of the 2015 Gold Eagle with mintages, the gold it contains, which versions carry a premium and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2015
- 1 oz bullion mintage
- 626,500
- Versions
- 9
- Metal
- 22 karat gold (91.67%)
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 2015 Gold Eagle worth?
The 2015 bullion Gold Eagle 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 2015 1/10 oz proof (26,769) 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 2015 Gold Eagle version
| Version | Mint mark | Size | Mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullion | None | 1 oz ($50) | 626,500 | Metal value |
| Bullion | None | 1/2 oz ($25) | 75,000 | Metal value |
| Bullion | None | 1/4 oz ($10) | 158,000 | Metal value |
| Bullion | None | 1/10 oz ($5) | 980,000 | Metal value |
| Proof | See below | 1 oz ($50) | 32,652 | Small premium |
| Uncirculated (burnished) | "W" | 1 oz ($50) | 6,533 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/2 oz ($25) | 15,820 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/4 oz ($10) | 15,775 | Small premium |
| Proof | See below | 1/10 oz ($5) | 26,769 | Small premium |
Nine versions exist for 2015. The bullion coins come in four sizes without a mint mark. Proofs in four sizes have mirror fields, frosted relief and a mint mark on the obverse. The burnished coin is a one ounce W with a satin finish. Each proof and the burnished coin came in a capsule and box with a certificate. Because the 2015 tenth ounce bullion coin is so common, most loose 2015 tenths you see will be bullion. Tenth ounce proofs are small enough that the mirror fields can be hard to see, so use a bright light.
Quick answers
- How much gold is in a 2015 Gold Eagle?
- Each coin contains its stated weight of pure gold: 1/10 troy ounce in the $5 coin, 1/4 troy ounce in the $10 coin, 1/2 troy ounce in the $25 coin and one troy ounce in the $50 coin. The alloy is 91.67% gold, 3% silver, 5.33% copper.
- How many 2015 Gold Eagles were made?
- 626,500 one ounce bullion coins plus 97,549 collector versions (proof, burnished and special finishes).
- Is the 2015 Gold Eagle 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 Eagle legal tender?
- Yes. Each size carries a face value ($5, $10, $25 and $50), but nobody spends them: the gold is worth far more than the face value.
The Gold Eagle in 2015
2015 brought heavy demand for the smallest size. The tenth ounce bullion coin sold 980,000 and the quarter ounce 158,000, both their best totals since 1999. The one ounce sold 626,500 and the half ounce 75,000. Bullion production came to 1,839,500 coins, the most since 2009. In ounces of gold, bullion sales rose by more than half, to 801,500 from 519,500.
Collector numbers stayed low. Proofs sold 26,769 tenth ounce, 15,775 quarter ounce, 15,820 half ounce and 32,652 one ounce, while the burnished one ounce sold just 6,533. That burnished figure was the lowest yet for the one ounce W coin apart from 2012. This was also one of the few years when the half ounce proof outsold the quarter ounce, though only by 45 coins. The tenth ounce boom means a loose 2015 tenth is almost always bullion. The collector coins of the year are the larger, boxed ones. Proof totals rose to 91,016, the highest since 2011, helped by a stronger one ounce proof at 32,652.
2015 Gold Eagle by the numbers
The Mint sold 626,500 one ounce bullion Gold Eagles dated 2015. That ranks 23rd lowest of the 39 bullion dates from 1986 to 2024.
Against the dates around it, 2015 bullion sales were 1.5 times the 2014 figure and 1.3 times fewer than 2016.
Collector versions dated 2015 add up to 97,549 coins across 5 versions. The scarcest is the 2015-W 1 oz uncirculated (burnished) at 6,533; the most plentiful is the 2015 1 oz proof at 32,652.
Fractional bullion that year: 980,000 1/10 oz coins, 158,000 1/4 oz coins and 75,000 1/2 oz coins. None of the fractional sizes is scarce.
What to check on yours
- Weigh and measure it. A genuine one ounce Gold Eagle weighs 33.931 g and measures 32.7 mm; the fractional sizes are 3.393 g (1/10 oz), 8.483 g (1/4 oz) and 16.965 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 burnished one ounce at 6,533 is the scarcest 2015 Gold Eagle and carries a collector premium. The quarter ounce proof at 15,775 and half ounce proof at 15,820 also carry a collector premium in original packaging. The tenth and one ounce proofs earn a small premium. Bullion coins trade close to metal value, especially the tenth ounce, of which 980,000 were made. Spotting is the main thing to watch on proofs of this period, since it lowers the premium even on boxed coins. Check both sides.
One ounce burnished coins and shrinking proofs (2011 to 2020)
When the burnished W coin returned in 2011 it came in the one ounce size only, with 8,729 struck. Every year since has followed the same pattern. Through 2020 the burnished mintage stayed between 5,800 and 8,729, low enough that each of these coins carries a collector premium over metal value.
Proof sales fell sharply over the decade. The quarter and half ounce proofs, which sold more than 40,000 each in 2010, dropped to between about 12,700 and 15,800 from 2012 to 2015. In 2018 and 2019 the half ounce proof slipped below 10,000, with 9,961 and 9,454 struck. The 2017 one ounce proof managed just 9,245. For collectors this is the period when ordinary proofs started to become genuinely scarce.
Bullion demand swung with the gold market. One ounce sales ran from 857,000 in 2011 down to 108,000 in 2019, the lowest one ounce bullion figure of any year from 1986 to 2024. In 2020 the pandemic sent buyers back to physical gold and one ounce sales jumped to 747,500. The same year the Mint issued a one ounce proof with a V75 privy mark for the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Only 1,939 were sold, the lowest figure of any Gold Eagle from 1986 to 2024. For most finders, the bullion coins of this decade trade on their gold. The burnished and low mintage proof coins are where the premiums are.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Program | American Gold Eagle |
|---|---|
| Issuer | United States Mint |
| Metal | 22 karat gold (91.67%) |
| Alloy | 91.67% gold, 3% silver, 5.33% copper |
| Sizes | 1/10 oz ($5, 3.393 g, 16.5 mm); 1/4 oz ($10, 8.483 g, 22 mm); 1/2 oz ($25, 16.965 g, 27 mm); 1 oz ($50, 33.931 g, 32.7 mm) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| One ounce coin | 33.931 g, 32.7 mm |
Frequently asked questions
How many 2015 tenth ounce Gold Eagles were made?
980,000 bullion coins, the most for that size since 1999, plus 26,769 proofs. The bullion tenth trades close to metal value; the proof brings a small premium. Most loose tenths are bullion.
What is the rarest 2015 Gold Eagle?
The burnished one ounce W coin, with 6,533 struck. It was among the lowest burnished mintages to that point and carries a collector premium. It's best kept with its box and certificate.
Mintages: American Gold Eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint figures. How we build these pages.