{"id":19150,"date":"2026-10-02T08:52:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T07:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/how-to-spot-fake-coins\/american-gold-eagle\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T08:52:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T07:52:35","slug":"american-gold-eagle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/how-to-spot-fake-coins\/american-gold-eagle\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake American Gold Eagle: How to Spot a Counterfeit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The American Gold Eagle is one of the most popular bullion coins, which is why fakes turn up too. Below are the genuine coin&#039;s official specifications, the mint&#039;s security features and the tests you can do at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"mrf-fake\">\n\t\t<h2>Genuine coin specifications<\/h2>\n\t\t<table class=\"fk-specs\">\n\t\t\t<tbody>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Total weight<\/th><td>33.93 g<\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Fine metal content<\/th><td>1 oz t<\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Fineness<\/th><td>916.7 (22K)<\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Alloy<\/th><td>91.67% gold, 3% silver, 5.33% copper<\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Diameter<\/th><td>32.7 mm<\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Thickness<\/th><td>2.87 mm<sup class=\"fk-fb\">*<\/sup><\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Edge<\/th><td>reeded<\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Face value<\/th><td>$50<\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<tr><th scope=\"row\">Mint<\/th><td>United States Mint<\/td><\/tr>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/tbody>\n\t\t<\/table>\n\t\t<p class=\"fk-fbnote\">* The mint does not publish this value; we give it from secondary sources (listed at the bottom of the page).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Security features of the genuine coin<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<ul class=\"fk-features\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>New reverse with enhanced security features, including a reeded-edge variation (a gap in the edge reeding). <span class=\"fk-since\">since 2021<\/span><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\n\t\t<h2>How to check the coin at home<\/h2>\n\t\t<ol class=\"fk-tests\">\n\t\t\t<li>Weigh the coin on a scale accurate to 0.01 g. The genuine coin weighs 33.93 g.<\/li>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>Measure the diameter (32.7 mm) and thickness (2.87 mm) with calipers. A copper, brass or lead fake with the right weight has the wrong dimensions, because those metals have a different density. Tungsten is almost as dense as gold, so a well-made fake with a tungsten core can pass this test.<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>Hold a strong neodymium magnet to it. Gold is not magnetic. Note: this test will not catch fakes made of tungsten or copper.<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li>Ping test (works best for silver): gently tap the coin against another coin. Genuine silver rings clearly for a second or two; a fake with a base-metal core sounds short and dull. It works best side by side with a coin you know is genuine.<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li>Look at the coin under a loupe and compare it with a genuine one: sharpness of the design, lettering, edge and the security features listed above.<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li>The most reliable non-destructive test is an electromagnetic or ultrasonic verifier (e.g. Sigma Metalytics). Many dealers have one, so ask them to test the coin when you sell.<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ol>\n\t\t<p class=\"fk-note\">No home test is 100% certain. The simplest protection is buying from a known dealer and, if in doubt, having the coin verified by a specialist.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Where to buy a genuine coin<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<p>The cheapest offers in our price comparison for 1oz American Eagle Gold Coin, by final price:<\/p>\n\t\t\t<ol class=\"fk-offers\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><span>gainesvillecoins.com<\/span><b>$4,215.09<\/b><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><span>herobullion.com<\/span><b>$4,287.86<\/b><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><span>summitmetals.com<\/span><b>$4,334.17<\/b><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ol>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"btn primary\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/product\/1oz-american-eagle-gold-coin\/\">All offers: 1oz American Eagle Gold Coin \u203a<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<details class=\"fk-src\"><summary>Sources<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/2025\/https:\/\/www.usmint.gov\/coins-precious-metal-coins\/bullion-coin-programs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">web.archive.org<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/American_Gold_Eagle\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">en.wikipedia.org<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/2024\/https:\/\/www.usmint.gov\/american-eagle-2023-one-ounce-gold-proof-coin-23EB.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">web.archive.org<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The American Gold Eagle is one of the most popular bullion coins, which is why fakes turn up too. Below are the genuine coin&#039;s official specifications, the mint&#039;s security features and the tests you can do at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":19147,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19150","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/"},"comment_info":0,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19150\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}