Three years after the U.S. Mint first struck the American Gold Eagle, the Austrian Mint in 1989 introduced its own gold coin, the Philharmonic. It quickly became the most popular gold coin in Europe.
While both the Gold Eagle and Philharmonic are sought-after bullion coins, there are important differences. The Philharmonic is a 24-karat coin, 99.99 percent pure gold, and thus the one-ounce coin weighs precisely one troy ounce. Not so for the American Gold Eagle, which is a 22-karat coin, comprised of 91.67 percent gold, 3 percent silver, and 5.33 percent copper. With the alloys added to one ounce of gold, the American Gold Eagle is a heavier coin at 1.09 troy ounces.
The American Gold Eagle is also a far more durable and scratch-resistant coin because of the addition of the copper/silver alloy. Since gold is highly malleable, the Australian Gold Philharmonic coin is prone to scratching and wear, so collectors should display or store the coin but handle it as little as possible.
Both coins have a symbolic face value: 100 euros for the Philharmonic and $50 for the American Gold Eagle.
Of course, the most obvious difference between the coins is their design. The Austrian coin’s obverse displays the great pipe organ that overlooks the Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein concert hall. On the reverse is an array of orchestral instruments, featuring a cello, violins, a Vienna horn, a bassoon, and a harp. These images are a significant contrast to Augustus Saint-Gauden’s iconic images of Lady Liberty on the obverse and a majestic bald eagle on the reverse.
