Palladium American Eagles

Palladium Eagle Coin Design

Both sides of this new coin use historic designs that were originally created by Adolph A. Weinman, one of the most famous American coin designers. The high-relief obverse design displays Lady Liberty wearing a winged Phrygian cap in a style that is reminiscent of the Roman god Mercury. In ancient Rome, Mercury was seen as the responsible god for messengers, financial gain, commerce, poetry, travelers, boundaries and luck.

The "Winged Liberty" that appears on the obverse side of each American Palladium Eagle coin is an adaptation of Weinman's classic design that was first used on the Mercury Dime. That silver coin was issued from 1916 until 1945. Many coin collectors consider the "Winged Liberty" design as the most beautiful design on any American coin. You will also find the words LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST as well as the year of mintage engraved on the obverse side of each American Eagle palladium coin.

The high-relief reverse design of the Palladium American Eagle coins first appeared on the American Institute of Architects (AIA) annual gold medal in 1907 on which it has appeared every year since then. The design shows an eagle perched upon a rock and holding an olive branch in its beak. The United States Mint used the original reverse plaster of the AIA gold medal in the process of creating this new palladium coin. Weinman's design had never appeared on a U.S. coin before. The reverse also contains the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM as well as the $25 face value, 1 oz palladium weight and 99.95% palladium purity (Pd .9995 FINE).

Brilliant uncirculated coins do not display a mint mark on either side. However, the proof, reverse proof and burnished uncirculated versions of the Palladium Eagle coins display the W mint mark of the West Point branch of the US Mint on the obverse side. Additionally, Adolph A. Weinman's initials AW can be seen in the form of a monogram on the obverse side of all existing versions of the coins.

History of the American Palladium Eagle

The American Congress already authorized the production of the American Palladium Eagle in 2010. The Treasury Secretary subsequently commissioned an independent third-party study by the CPM Group that was supposed to determine market demand for such a coin. The results of this study were submitted to the Secretary in 2013 and predicted the issuance of palladium coins as an unprofitable venture. Many collectors across the country were unhappy with the findings of this study though. Nevertheless, the US Mint confirmed in July 2016 that production of the bullion version of the new coins was underway at the Philadelphia branch of the US Mint. The coins were originally scheduled to still be released in 2016 but the release date was postponed to 2017. The first 15,000 American Eagle palladium coins were then finally released on the 25th of September 2017.

The Palladium Eagle is the first-ever palladium coin that the US Mint produced and issued. Only brilliant uncirculated coins were issued in 2017 and these coins were sold exclusively through the US Mint's network of authorized resellers. No further brilliant uncirculated coins were issued in the following years until the 2nd release of such coins in 2021. However, the following years saw the release of proof (2018), reverse proof (2019) and burnished Palladium Eagle coins (2020). These coins were directly sold to the public and their annual mintage was always capped. The West Point branch of the US Mint was responsible for the production of the proof, reverse proof and burnished coins and the W mint mark therefore appears on the obverse side of all these collectible coins.

For the first time in the history of this coin series, two different coin versions were then released in 2021. These were 8,700 brilliant uncirculated bullion coins AND 12,000 proof coins. As it is the custom, the proof version of the 2021 Palladium Eagle coins that was minted at the West Point branch of the US Mint bears the "W" mint mark on its obverse side. However, the brilliant uncirculated version that was produced at the mint's main facility in Philadelphia is not mintmarked.

Mintage Numbers

A total of 15,000 brilliant uncirculated coins made up the initial release of Palladium Eagles on the 25th of September 2017. All these coins were minted at the U.S. Mint facility in Philadelphia. A total of 15,000 proof American Palladium Eagles were then minted by the West Point branch of the US Mint in 2018. The same branch mint also produced the 30,000 reverse proof coins as well as the 10,000 burnished coins that were then respectively issued in 2019 and 2020.

In 2021, both brilliant uncirculated and proof coins were then produced again, each for the 2nd time. Whereas mintage of the brilliant uncirculated coins in Philadelphia was limited to 8,700 pieces, proof mintage at the West Point branch was set at 12,000 coins.