The main question about the old James Madison gold coin 1809 to 1817 worth should start with the simple idea that people often talk about two completely different coins, and only one of these two coins is a truly antique and rare gold product.
The big problem is that the new presidential dollar coin recalls the days of James Madison, which were from 1809 to 1817, but in fact this dollar coin was issued much later, in 2007, as part of the coin group, and you should know that this new dollar coin is not made of real gold, but only silver and gilt make the coin look golden in color.
The truly valuable coin that was made at the time when President Madison was working for the benefit of the country is the Half Eagle.
The New Coin Problem
It is good to first look at the low price of the much newer coin before you can understand the very big price of the old gold coin, because this new piece makes the most trouble for people, but this coin isn’t a gold one, and it isn’t old, being made more than 190 years after President Madison finished his work.
This coin is just one part of a collection set that the United States Mint made, and while it is a nice thing to keep, it doesn’t have the big price of a real old thing.
- Year it was Made: This coin was made by the United States Mint in the year 2007, even though it has the work years 1809–1817 written on its side.
- What it is Made of: The coin isn’t made of gold but is made of a metal mix that has mostly copper, zinc, and manganese giving it a bright gold color that often makes people think it is a solid gold coin.
- Why the Price is Low: The Mint made many millions of these new dollar coins, and that means they are very easy to find today — this big supply makes the price stay very low for all people who want to buy one for their set.
The Old Gold Coin: The Five-Dollar Half Eagle
But the Five-Dollar Half Eagle was the only gold coin made at the Philadelphia Mint during most of the years from 1809 to 1817, and these coins are very hard to find today because the price of gold went up long ago, making most of the coins melted down for the gold inside.
The image on the obverse — the face of Liberty in a hat — was made by John Reich, and in the time of Madison, two slightly different images were used for this gold coin.
- Big Chest Picture Capped Bust Left, 1807–1812: This older type was used at the start of Madison’s time, from the years 1809 to 1812, showing the face of Liberty with a bigger chest area and cloth.
- Small Head Picture Capped Head Left, 1813–1817: This newer and smaller picture was started in the year 1813 and was used for a long time after that, with the picture of Liberty’s chest area being taken away and the stars being put in different places on the coin.
| What is it? | Detail of the Coin |
| What Metal is Used | The coins are made from gold that is 91.67% clean, mixed with a little copper to make the gold harder and better for use as money, which means it is truly a high-content gold piece. |
| Its Old Money Price | The first money number on the piece is $5.00, because the Half Eagle was a big money coin for its time, and the price today is many times more than this first number. |
| How Heavy is it | Each money piece is about 8.75 grams in weight, which is a little more than a quarter of an ounce of gold, so it is a thick and heavy piece of old money. |
| Years it was Made | The years made during President James Madison’s time are 1809, 1810, 1811, 1812, 1813, 1814, 1815, and 1817, but the Mint did not make any gold Half Eagle coins in the year 1816. |
How Much Money They Are Worth: 1809 to 1817
The final price a collector will pay for one of these early gold coins is determined by whether it is difficult to determine the date of manufacture and whether the coin is clean and new, because a brand new coin sells for much more than a used and dirty one, and this price difference can be significant. many thousands of dollars.
From 1809 to 1817, some of the most complex and expensive gold coins in American history were produced, where some years are a little easier to find, but they are still rare, and other years are almost impossible to find today.
| Year of Coin | Picture Type | How Hard to Find | How Much Money it is Worth (Used Coin) |
| 1809 | Big Chest Picture | Very Hard | $4,700 – $12,500 |
| 1810 | Big Chest Picture | Hard | $3,500 – $9,000 |
| 1811 | Big Chest Picture | Hard | $3,000 – $7,500 |
| 1812 | Big Chest Picture | Hard | $3,200 – $8,000 |
| 1813 | Small Head Picture | Not So Hard | $4,100 – $10,500 |
| 1814 | Small Head Picture | Very Hard | $7,000 – $15,000 |
| 1815 | Small Head Picture | Almost Impossible | $50,000+ |
| 1817 | Small Head Picture | Very Hard | $6,000 – $14,000 |
Simple About Each Year 1809–1817
The 1809 coin often shows a rare mistake called a 1809/8 Overdate, the number nine was put on top of the number eight by mistake, a coin that is new and clean can easily be worth $100,000.
The 1810 coin has small differences in the picture, like how big the numbers are, and even though it is hard to find, it is a big part of the history of money.
The 1811 coin picture is like the 1810 one, and most of these coins look very used because people carried them as real money a long time ago, but it is one of the easier coins from this group to find if you do not want a coin that is new and clean.
The 1812 token is a key piece for any person who wants to have all the different pictures from this time, but it isn’t the hardest coin to find at this time.
The 1813 coin with the small head picture, and because the Mint made more of these pieces, it is the one you can find most often from the newer design.
The 1814 coin is much harder to find than the 1813 coin, its price is much bigger for all collectors who need this year for their set, and a coin that is new and clean can easily be worth $60,000.
The 1815 one is the most famous and hardest coin in the whole group because the Mint made very few of these pieces, and only a small number are known to still be in the world today, and the price starts at $50,000 for a used one and goes much higher.
The 1817 coin is the last one made when Madison was President because no coins were made in 1816, and some pieces have a mistake where the number seven is put on top of the number four.
Why How Clean the Coin Is Matters Most
It is very important to know that the purity of a gold coin is the most important thing that determines the final price of an item, because a slightly used coin can cost only a few thousand dollars, but the same coin that has been preserved in perfect condition and looks brand new can cost a lot of thousands of dollars more because the old gold products that are clean and new are incredibly difficult to find.
The price table shows a large range, because the small number refers to a very used coin, and the large number refers to a coin that has been cleaned a little but is still in use.
- Any coin with no signs of use on it, will always have a price that is much, much higher than the money shown here.
- A collector should always send an old gold coin to a professional PCGS or NGC company, and these companies assign the coin an official number that shows exactly how well it is in condition, and this official number will be used by all serious buyers and sellers to determine the final and true price for a rare specimen.
These companies will also check if the coin is real to make sure it is a genuine antique and not a copy or fake, and this is a key step that raises the coin’s price before it can be sold to a serious collector.
Why the Price Stays High
When one of the very rare coins, for example, the half eagle of 1815, is put up for sale at an open auction, the most famous collectors in the world always show great interest in it, and this struggle to buy the coin often leads to the final sale price reaching a very large amount of money, sometimes setting new high prices. the value of an old gold coin of that time.
The value of gold inside the coin, which changes every day depending on the price of gold on the market, is only a small part of the final total price, because most of the price is the history of the coin and the small number of copies that are still left in the world today.
If you are lucky enough to get a real golden eagle from the time of James Madison 1809-1817, you have a truly valuable and important fragment of the past, but remember that the gold coin issued in 1809-1817 with the image of James Madison doesn’t exist.