2008 1/2 oz American Gold Eagle Coin

Description

2008 1/2 oz American Gold Eagle Coin

The global financial woes of 2008 had a significant influence on the sales of the American Gold Eagle coins. Sales in the first half of the year were representative of the previous several years. However, in July, a dramatic increase in sales actually forced the US Mint to suspend gold coin sales in August. And when sales resumed, coins were rationed. In spite of this, the 2008 mintage count for the 1/2 oz Gold Eagle was 61,000, an increase over the 2007 mintage number. We currently have a 2008 1/2 oz American Gold Eagle coin available for purchase.

Coin Highlights:

• Ships in a protective plastic flip!
• 23^rd year of the American Gold Eagle coin series!
• Contains 1/2 Troy oz of actual gold content.
• Has a face value of $25 (USD) fully backed by the US government.
• The obverse features Lady Liberty.
• The reverse features a family of eagles.

President Theodore Roosevelt was the prime mover behind the Lady Liberty that appears on the Gold Eagle coins. He had become disenfranchised with the looks of US coinage. He worked to retain the talents of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to create a design that would return beauty to US coins. The result of that work is the Lady Liberty that now appears on the American Gold Eagle coin.

The 2008 1/2 oz American Gold Eagle obverse features the Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ version of Lady Liberty. It’s a full-length depiction of Lady Liberty, with her hair flowing behind her, appearing to walk straight out of the coin. Her right arm is outstretched carrying a torch and her left arm is out to her side holding an olive branch. Immediately to the left of her right foot is the Capitol building.

The 2008 1/2 oz American Gold Eagle reverse features the Miley Busiek design that was sculpted by Sherl J. Winter. The male eagle, carrying an olive branch in its claws, is flying above a nest with a female eagle and a couple of eaglets. It is meant to symbolize the importance of family in America.

Throughout time, the price of gold has experienced numerous ebbs and flows. A couple of years in a row of increases in the price are followed by one or more years of decreases. But the overall direction has been higher. The period of 2001-2012 was marked by increases each year in the price of gold. Some years, like 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2010, saw remarkable increases in the price, increasing more than 22% each of those years. But then there were years like 2008, sitting in the middle of 5 years of double-digit increases in the price of gold. The price of gold increased only by 3.41% in 2008.

2008 1/2 oz American Gold Eagle Coin 2008 1/2 oz American Gold Eagle Coin