1999 American Platinum Eagle

The Platinum American Eagle series entered its third year in 1999. Both coin collectors and precious metals investors were happy to welcome Platinum Eagles as a permanent addition to the bullion program of the United States, which already included Gold Eagle and Silver Eagle coins.

The 1999 American Platinum Eagle was once again produced by the United States Mint across a range or weights to accommodate different investment levels. As in prior years, each different bullion weight carried a different nominal face value. The available sizes and their respective face values included:

• 1 ounce platinum: $100 face value
• 1/2 ounce platinum: $50 face value
• 1/4 ounce platinum: $25 face value
• 1/10 ounce platinum: $10 face value

The 1999 Platinum Eagles were offered in two versions: uncirculated bullion coins and collector proof coins. The bullion versions of the coin were distributed through the Mint’s network of authorized bullion purchasers. These large bullion dealers order the coins in quantity directly from the United States Mint and then resell them to other dealers of the public.

The proof versions of the coin were offered for sale by the US Mint directly to the public. The reverse design for the 1999 Proof Platinum Eagle featured the second new reverse design issued under the “Vistas of Liberty” series. The Native American Alligator and the Bald Eagle are depicted to represent the southeastern region of the United States. The design, which uses a blend of incuse and relief techniques, was created by John Mercanti. The obverse design remained as the familiar rendition of the Statue of Liberty, also designed by John Mercanti.

The proof coins originally went on sale July 23, 1999. Coins were offered in individual one-ounce, half-ounce, quarter-ounce, and tenth ounce sizes, as well as a four coin set containing one of each size. Prices remained the same as in prior years.

The table below provides the final mintage figures for each denomination of the 1999 Proof Platinum Eagle along with the original issue prices.

1999 Proof Platinum Eagle Mintages

The next table provides the mintages for the bullion version of the 1999 Platinum Eagle.

1999 Bullion Platinum Eagle Mintages

During the calendar year of 1999, the spot price of platinum ranged from a low of $325.50 to a high of $457.00. The cumulative average price for all of 1998 was $377.93.