Something you don't see everyday - A pound of gold
Goldminers
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I have always been a fan of the one-pound gold medal issued by the US Mint. The 1976 Bicentennial was a great design.
I keep a list of 21 different edge numbered examples that have been listed and weighed at major auctions the past 20 years and they range from 455.5 to 468.6 grams, so they are all greater than one av. pound.
Their average weight is 14.86 troy ounces of .900 fine gold and are 3-inches in diameter. My example is still in an NGC holder, but it will be in a PCGS holder within a month. This is from a 2022 Stacks auction photo.
The US Mint sold 423 of these large gold medals for $4,000 each when gold was around $120/ounce mid-1976. Most of these were melted when gold went up to $700+/ounce in the summer of 1980, just 4 years later. My guess is there are probably less than 40-50 remaining.
If the Mint does one of these for the 250th Anniversary in 2026 with their current pricing grid, they would be asking close to $50,000.
Comments
Here is a really nice example from Coin Facts.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
Very cool medal.....thanks for posting.
PCGS Link
PCGS lists the variety as 13.5 oz. and .900 fine gold. They are a bit above 1 av. pound or 16 ounces, and closer to 14.86 troy ounces at .900 fine gold, or 13.37 troy ounces actual gold weight, AGW.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
I don't recall knowing about these.
Understanding that Mint medals didn't always get a ton of respect, I imagine that it didn't take much to send these to the refiner over the years.
Would've been interesting if they'd made it a coin with a denomination. 🤔
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Holy Cow!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
How thick is it?
That is cool. I haven't even heard of it until now...
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I've never seen one of those in hand, I have to believe it's pretty impressive. My aunt purchased the 3" silver and smaller gold version for me as a graduation gift at the time which I still own today. Didn't realize that one went for $4000 at the time... I think I was worth that, not sure why she cheaped out on me. HaHaHa! Just kidding of course.
Ive had three of these come across the counter. Only one wasnt messed up in some way, I think it ended up getting bought by someone at NGC who estimated that 25 to 30 might exist. I melted the other two, you know, to help make to rare.
For the American Revolution Bicentennial in 1976, the Philadelphia Mint issued 7 medals with this obverse design by Frank Gasparro and reverse by Edgar Z. Steever.
There were 423 of the large "one pound" 3-inch gold medals. They are MS, but some are proof-like and all were struck several times to get the relief.
A total of 5,396 mid-size proof medals were struck that weigh approximately 40.3 grams @.900 fine, or +/- 1.17 Troy ounces AGW and 33.3mm. A couple of mine are in PCGS holders that say Bicentennial 1 oz. Gold, but that label is not correct.
Another 29,468 were sold in an even smaller proof gold version which was +/- 12.8 grams and 23.8mm, or .37 troy ounce AGW.
Two .925 silver medals were struck. A total of 8,824 large 8.58 ounce 3-inch medals in a matte finish, and 211,772 38mm proof silver medals that were a little under one ounce.
A total of 438,971 bronze medals was issued weighing about 26 grams and 38mm and another 45,163 were gold-plated bronze. Note that some of the mintages stated may vary some depending on the source.
It will be interesting to see what happens in 2026.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
I have kept track of these in detail since 2005. I have documented 27 different edge numbers on the large medals at auction sites, and that includes 12 that were not graded. There are probably several more that have not appeared in public which is why I guess 40-50 remaining. More are recently showing up for sale now with $2,300+ gold.
Thanks for your help keeping them rare. LOL
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
Finally, a release that probably won't shut down their website
That's a great looking medal. Wish I would have bought one when gold was sub $300 in 2001.
In case the 5kg, 20oz & 15oz coins in my profile pic didn't give it away, I like big coins and I cannot lie.
It is close to 1/4 inch thick.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
Wow, never knew about these. I really want one. Sure wish I would have known they existed back at $240 gold instead of $2400 gold. RGDS!
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
I really wish I had bought mine back then as well!
HA has one at the Long Beach Expo auction in two weeks. There is a steep premium to get one of these now due to their scarcity and demand. It takes more than $40,000 to get one these days.
They have another one in the ANA auction in mid-August. Several have showed up this year because long time holders are selling with the gold spike.
These are also getting popular as we get closer to the 2026 Semiquincentennial, Bisesquicentennial, Sestercentennial, or the Quarter Millennial, (whichever version you prefer
) to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
The medal would be a lot cooler had "LIFE LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS" been left off of it.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
does anyone have one of the 1988 Young Astronauts 3-inch 12-ounce gold medals? Only 38 Uncirculated pieces were minted by the US Mint.
The final mintage figures of the Young Astronaut Medals were reported in the 1990 Report of the Director of the U.S. Mint and were as follows:
Half inch bronze, 28,700 Uncirculated and 17,250 Proof pieces
1.5-inch silver, 33,250 Uncirculated and 15,400 Proof pieces
0.845-inch gold medal, 13,000 Uncirculated and 3,400 Proof pieces
3-inch 6-ounce silver medal, 1,075 Uncirculated pieces
3-inch 12-ounce silver medal, 3,700 Uncirculated pieces
3-inch 12-ounce gold medal, 38 Uncirculated pieces.
i remember those from back in 1976.
The old puzzle of what weighs more a pound of feathers or a pound of gold....
Definitely a pound of gold!!!!!
An Avoirdupois pound of feathers weighs more than a Troy pound of gold.
Precious metals are weighed using the Troy system while everything else is weighed using the Avoirdupois system.
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
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I do have all these in my National Commemorative Medals of the US Mint Registry Set. The large proof medals are extremely rare and of the 38, I believe less than 5 may remain. They weigh a troy pound or 12 Troy Ounces, just a little less than the 1976 Bicentennial. They also have the P mint mark, that was not on the 1976 medal.
PCGS has graded only 2 of these. NGC does not show any large 1988 Astronaut or Shuttle medals graded now. Mine was crossed over and the NGC label sent back and deleted. They indicate 2 (1989) 76mm Shuttle in Flight medals, but no photos. These were dated 1988, so a "no date" 1989 version is questionable.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
But tungsten is even heavier!
Never saw either one of these. They are really impressive.