American Palladium Eagle

The American Palladium Eagle is the United States' official palladium bullion coin, carrying a face value of $25 and containing one troy ounce of .9995 fine palladium. First issued in 2017, it is the fourth metal in the American Eagle family, joining the long-running gold, silver, and platinum Eagles.

The coin is prized for reviving the artwork of sculptor Adolph A. Weinman: the obverse adapts the winged Liberty ("Mercury") head from his 1916 dime, and the reverse uses his 1907 eagle design created for a medal of the American Institute of Architects. This makes it visually distinct from the other Eagle series while remaining unmistakably a modern U.S. Mint product.

Because palladium is a comparatively volatile industrial and investment metal, the Palladium Eagle is followed closely by precious-metals investors as well as collectors of American Eagle sets.

Congress authorized a palladium bullion coin under the American Eagle Palladium Bullion Coin Act of 2010, but the U.S. Mint did not begin production until 2017 after market-study requirements were satisfied. The first bullion coins were released that year, followed in later years by proof and reverse-proof numbered collector versions struck at the West Point Mint.

The series deliberately drew on early-20th-century American medallic art rather than commissioning new imagery. Weinman's winged Liberty and his soaring eagle grasping an olive branch were both chosen to give the palladium coin a classic, dignified identity separate from the heraldic and Liberty motifs used on other Eagles.

Mintages have generally been modest compared with the silver and gold Eagles, reflecting palladium's higher cost and narrower buyer base. As a result, individual dates and finishes are watched for relative scarcity within the young series.

Look first at the obverse: a left-facing Liberty wearing a winged cap, with the inscriptions of a classic Weinman design. The photographed 2017 coin shows the winged Liberty motif alongside the denomination and national mottos. The obverse carries "LIBERTY," the date, and "IN GOD WE TRUST."

The reverse displays an eagle with wings spread grasping an olive branch, together with "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," the "$25" face value, and the metal statement "1 OZ. PD. .9995 FINE PALLADIUM." The presence of the "PD" and ".9995" markings is the quickest way to confirm the coin is palladium rather than platinum or silver.

The coin is one troy ounce, roughly 32.7 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Palladium has a bright silvery-white color similar to platinum but is noticeably lighter in hand for its size, since palladium is far less dense than platinum or gold.

As a bullion coin, the American Palladium Eagle trades primarily on its one-ounce palladium content plus a dealer premium. Its melt value moves directly with the volatile spot price of palladium, which has swung widely from year to year, so quoted prices should always be checked against the current market.

Standard bullion-strike coins usually carry a modest premium over spot metal. Numbered proof and reverse-proof issues, and any dates with lower mintages, can command higher premiums from collectors, particularly in original Mint packaging with certificates or in high certified grades.

Because the series is new and mintages are relatively small, condition and eye appeal matter; investors focused purely on metal often prefer the plain bullion strikes, while collectors pay more for the special finishes.