Gold Coin mintage questions

atarian

I knwo it varies by series and denominations but in $2.50 gold pieces what is the magic number that makes the coin a low mintage? and same for 5,10 and 20


just wondering


and same goes for what makes a coin a high mintage

RYK

Focusing on mintages is overrated. Surviving population and demand are what is really important.

Example:

The 1883 $3 has a mintage of 900 circulation strikes and a PCGS population of 149 coins, 78 greater than MS-60.
The 1858 $3 has a mintage of 2133 circulation strikes and a PCGS population of 86 coins, 9 greater than MS-60..

Which coin is more desirable/scarce/valuable?

DaveG

Mintages mean almost nothing for US gold coins because so many were melted.

Here's what "The Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of US Coins" by "The Editors of Coin World" says in its intro to the gold coin section:

Mint reports show that by June 30, 1954, of 174.1 million double eagles minted, 67.9 million (or 39%) had been melted by the Mint; of 57.7 million eagles, 21.4 million (or 37%) had been melted; of 78.9 million half eagles, 27.5 million (or 35%) had been melted; of 20.4 million quarter eagles, 3.1 million (15%) had been melted.

For Three Dollar pieces, only 1% was melted by the Mint; for Gold Dollars, about 1.5% was melted by the Mint.

Obviously, these figures don't take into account private meltings - It is currently estimated that survivorship for pre-1834 gold coins is about 1% of the mintage; for 1834-1865, perhaps up to 5% of the coins minted still survive.