1999 W American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins : Unfinished Proof Dies

What This Coin Looks Like (Obverse, Reverse, Mint Mark Location, Special Features, etc.):

The 1999-W $5 Gold Eagle is a highly unusual and valuable coin. This coin is actually an uncirculated coin struck using unfinished (or unpolished) proof dies. It actually resembles the burnished uncirculated coins that would be produced years later. Before 2006: The "W" mint mark was typically only displayed on proof gold eagles and not the uncirculated ones - except in this case.

Sometimes these coins are known as "emergency issues". There was a massive demand for gold coins in 1999 due to uncertainty involving Y2K (a theory that most computers around the world would fail because their clocks could not support the year "2000"). Typically the $5 tenth ounce gold eagles were produced in volumes of around roughly 250000 on average each year - but they produced 2.7+ million of them for 1999. People wanted gold as a safeguard against a potential Y2K collapse and so the West Point Mint used their unpolished proof dies in a rush job to produce 14500 more coins to sell. Only the $10 quarter ounce gold eagle was produced using unfinished dies as well. The gold eagle demand and production dropped dramatically during the next year.

Coin Value Chart: Typical Coin Prices, Values and Worth in USD based on Grade/Condition

Good (G-4)	Very Good (VG-8)	Fine (F-12)	Very Fine (VF-20)	Extremely Fine (EF-40)	About Uncirculated (AU-50)	Uncirculated (MS-60)	Uncirculated (MS-65)	Proof (PR-65)
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	$1,136	-

USA Coin Book Estimated Value of 1999-W $5 Tenth Ounce Gold - Type 1 American Gold Eagle (Unfinished Proof Dies Variety) is Worth $1,136 or more in Uncirculated (MS+) Mint Condition. Click here to Learn How to use Coin Price Charts. Also, click here to Learn About Grading Coins. The Melt Value shown below is how Valuable the Coin's Metal is Worth (bare minimum value of coin). Click here to see the Melt Value of every US Coin.


MELT VALUE: $270.92