Values
A classic gold commemorative’s market depends on the issue and the grade. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves G, VF, and MS-63 blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not cover this series. A circulating quarter eagle price is not the 1926 commemorative.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The quarter eagle page is the circulating coin. Classic silver commemoratives are the silver issues, including the Panama-Pacific half.
Key Dates
No key list was copied onto this page. A small struck figure is still a row. It is not a bold line until a publisher key list is checked against this chart.
Errors
Proofs. A proof count printed beside the uncirculated figure stays off. The row is the uncirculated struck figure.
Authorizations. A maximum authorized for an issue is not the number struck.
The wrong series. A Classic Head or Indian Head quarter eagle is not this page. The Panama-Pacific silver half is not this page. The 1848 CAL quarter eagle is not a commemorative row.
Compare an issue to the NGC Coin Explorer. We do not host their plates. That category page is not the mintage source for this chart.
Varieties
These are different portraits, planchet shapes, and a star, not die chips. A circulating gold dollar or quarter eagle is not this page.
- 1903 Jefferson and McKinleyTwo Louisiana Purchase dollars. They share a reverse and not a portrait.
- Panama-Pacific round and octagonal fifty dollarsBoth show Minerva and an owl. The planchet shape is the difference: round on one, octagonal on the other.
- 1922 Grant, plain and with starGrant’s gold dollar comes plain and with a star in the obverse field. They are separate rows on this series, not one coin.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Struck uncirculated figures for the gold issues whose cells print an exact count and a mint letter. The mint column names the issue.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | Louisiana Jefferson P | 125,029 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1903 | Louisiana McKinley P | 125,029 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1904 | Lewis and Clark P | 25,028 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1905 | Lewis and Clark P | 35,041 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1915 | Panama-Pacific dollar S | 25,034 San Francisco gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1915 | Panama-Pacific quarter eagle S | 10,017 San Francisco gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1915 | Panama-Pacific round S | 1,510 San Francisco gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1915 | Panama-Pacific octagonal S | 1,509 San Francisco gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1916 | McKinley gold P | 20,026 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1917 | McKinley gold P | 10,014 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1922 | Grant gold plain P | 5,000 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1922 | Grant gold star P | 5,016 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1926 | Sesquicentennial quarter eagle P | 200,226 Philadelphia gold strike. Proofs and authorizations stay off. | — | — | — |
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
Uncirculated struck figures are the Wikipedia lists of United States commemorative coins, retrieved 2026-10-06. Proofs stay off. An authorization stays off. The silver half from the same exposition stays on the silver page.
The counts are the Wikipedia lists of United States commemorative coins, retrieved 2026-10-06. Authorizations stay off. Proofs and patterns stay off. A melt note is not subtracted. The grade columns are empty because this site has no NGC guide extract for these issues.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off a coin. We will not invent a tolerance. No catalog page used here prints one thickness that fits a gold dollar, a quarter eagle, and the two fifty-dollar pieces.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | Not printed |
| Composition | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | The artist changes by gold issue |
No catalog page used for the classic gold commemoratives prints a thickness. Diameter, weight, and thickness stay Not printed. A gold dollar planchet is not copied onto the quarter eagle or the fifty-dollar pieces.
Grading
A classic gold commemorative is graded as that gold issue.
A circulating quarter eagle of the same decade is a different coin.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The denomination | Gold dollar, quarter eagle, or fifty-dollar piece, and round or octagonal. | Panama-Pacific struck four gold coins. They are not one type. |
| The portrait | Jefferson or McKinley, Lewis or Clark, Grant with or without the star. | Shared reverses still leave two obverses. Each obverse is its own row. |
| The reverse | The reverse of that gold issue, including Independence Hall on the 1926 quarter eagle. | Jefferson and McKinley share a reverse and not a portrait. The portrait does not name that side. |
| The surfaces | Bag marks in the fields and wear on the cheek or the high relief. | These were sold, then often carried. A rub is wear. Do not polish it. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a gold commemorative if you already know the type.
- The cheek and the high relief are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this gold commemorative are already slick.
- The cheek and the high relief are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A commemorative gold coin is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The cheek and the high relief are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from the cheek and the high relief.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The cheek and the high relief are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. The cheek and the high relief still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the cheek and the high relief. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular commemorative gold coin is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the cheek and the high relief.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on the cheek and the high relief.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on the cheek and the high relief.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the cheek and the high relief.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean gold commemorative for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the cheek and the high relief.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proof gold commemoratives exist. This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to these gold coins. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
Classic gold commemoratives run from the Louisiana Purchase dollars of 1903 through the sesquicentennial quarter eagle of 1926. They were sold as souvenirs. They are not the circulating gold dollar, quarter eagle, or double eagle.
No paired public-domain photograph was added. A gold dollar would not stand for a quarter eagle or a fifty-dollar piece. The placeholder is intentional.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
1903 brings two Louisiana Purchase dollars, one with Jefferson and one with McKinley. Lewis and Clark follows in 1904 and 1905. The 1915 Panama-Pacific exposition adds a gold dollar, a quarter eagle, a round fifty-dollar piece, and an octagonal fifty-dollar piece. McKinley returns in 1916 and 1917 as a memorial dollar. Grant’s gold dollar of 1922 comes plain and with a star. The series ends with the 1926 sesquicentennial quarter eagle.
The silver half from Panama-Pacific, and the silver half from 1926, are on the silver page. They are not added to these gold counts.
Design
Each gold issue has its own obverse and reverse. Jefferson and McKinley share a reverse and not a portrait. The two Panama-Pacific fifty-dollar pieces share Minerva and an owl, and the planchet shape is the difference: round on one row, octagonal on the other. Grant’s star sits in the obverse field. The plain coin and the star coin are separate rows.
The 1926 quarter eagle. Obverse: a standing Liberty with a scroll and a torch. Reverse: Independence Hall. That is not the Indian Head quarter eagle of the same decade.
People Also Ask
Is the 1926 sesquicentennial quarter eagle a regular quarter eagle?
No. It is a commemorative. The circulating quarter eagle page does not chart it.
Where is the Panama-Pacific half dollar?
On the classic silver commemorative page. This page keeps the gold coins from that exposition.
Why are the proof counts missing?
The chart uses the uncirculated struck figure. A proof count stays off.
How much is a Louisiana Purchase gold dollar worth?
This page does not print guide prices. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include these commemoratives. A circulating gold dollar price is not this coin.
Collector Considerations
Read the mint column before you weigh the coin. A Louisiana Purchase dollar and a Panama-Pacific quarter eagle are not the same planchet. The round and octagonal fifty-dollar pieces are not one issue with two grades.
A circulating gold dollar ends in 1889. These commemorative dollars begin in 1903. Do not file one under the other.
A Final Word
The gold chart is the uncirculated struck figure where the list prints an exact count. Proofs stay off, and an authorization stays off.
The grade columns stay blank until a guide extract exists for these issues.