American Eagle will fly Oct 20

The Eagle, the first gold coin minted by the U.S. government in 54 years, will go on sale Oct 20.

Sales of the legal tender, 92% pure-gold coin are expected to reach as high as 2.2 million oz of gold in the first year. By comparison, Canada’s Maple Leaf coin — the purest gold coin on the market at 99.99% — was the world’s best seller in 1985 at 1.9 million oz. South Africa’s Krugerand, which is 92% pure gold like the American coin, sold 1.1 million oz.

A Japanese gold coin could outsell them both, however. Some 10 million coins using 6.4 million oz of gold are being minted to honor Emperor Hirohito’s 60th anniversary as head of state. With gold demand in Japan running high and the considerable amount of publicity generated by preparations for minting the Japanese coin, all 10 million could be sold in one year.