Only 5,000: U.S. Mint’s 2026 Palladium Eagle Marks America’s 250th
The United States Mint will open sales for one of its lowest-mintage 2026 American Eagle collector coins on Thursday, September 3.
At noon EDT, collectors can order the 2026 American Eagle One Ounce Palladium Uncirculated Coin. The West Point Mint will produce no more than 5,000 coins. In addition, the Mint will limit orders to one coin per household during the first 24 hours.
However, the small mintage tells only part of the story.
This special one-year issue celebrates the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. It carries the dual dates “1776 ~ 2026” and a new Liberty Bell privy mark containing the numeral “250.”
For collectors of the American Eagle series, that combination gives the 2026 Palladium Eagle an identity unlike any earlier coin in the series.
A One-Year Palladium Eagle for America’s 250th
The Mint designed the 2026 issue specifically for the nation’s semiquincentennial.
Unlike a standard-date Palladium Eagle, the coin carries both 1776 and 2026. Moreover, the Liberty Bell privy links the issue directly to the anniversary.
The Mint describes the coin as a special one-year issue. Therefore, the anniversary elements will separate it from the regular Palladium Eagles that came before it.
The coin also carries an Uncirculated collector finish.
Each piece contains one full troy ounce of .9995 fine palladium and carries a legal-tender face value of $25.
Adolph A. Weinman’s Winged Liberty Returns
The Palladium Eagle stands apart from other American Eagles because one legendary American sculptor created the artwork that inspired both sides.
The obverse features a high-relief adaptation of Adolph A. Weinman’s Winged Liberty, which first appeared on the 1916 dime. Collectors commonly call that coin the Mercury Dime.
Liberty wears a winged cap, a symbol that Weinman intended to evoke freedom of thought.
For 2026, the obverse carries the inscriptions:
LIBERTY • IN GOD WE TRUST • 1776 ~ 2026
Weinman’s distinctive initials also appear on the design.
The result connects a major 21st-century precious-metal coin with one of the most recognizable designs of the early 20th-century American coinage renaissance.
A Weinman Eagle That Took More Than a Century to Reach U.S. Coinage
The reverse adds another important chapter to the story.
It adapts Weinman’s eagle from the 1907 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. The design shows an eagle with a branch.
When the Mint developed the first Palladium Eagle, it used Weinman’s original AIA medal reverse plaster to help recreate the design. More importantly, the 2017 Palladium Eagle marked the first appearance of Weinman’s AIA eagle design on a United States coin.
The 2026 reverse carries:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA • $25 • 1 OZ. Pd • .9995 FINE • E PLURIBUS UNUM
Here, “Pd” represents the chemical symbol for palladium.
Why the American Palladium Eagle Series Matters
The American Palladium Eagle remains the newest major precious-metal branch of the American Eagle family.
Congress authorized the Palladium Eagle program in 2010. The Mint finally launched the bullion coin in 2017, more than three decades after it introduced the first American Gold and Silver Eagles in 1986.
The debut made history.
West Point struck America’s first Palladium Eagle coins in 2017. The Mint offered 15,000 bullion coins, and authorized purchasers bought the entire inventory on the first day. The Mint then introduced the first collector Proof Palladium Eagle in 2018.
The series also follows an unusual format. Unlike the Gold and Silver Eagles, which regularly appear in multiple collector finishes, the Mint rotates the collector finish of the Palladium Eagle from year to year.
That structure gives individual issues more distinct identities.
Moreover, palladium itself gives the series a unique place in modern U.S. coinage. The American Palladium Eagle remains the United States Government’s official investment-grade palladium coin. The government guarantees its one-ounce weight, palladium content, and .9995 fineness.
For numismatists, however, the attraction goes beyond metal content.
The series brings together palladium, West Point production, limited collector issues, high-relief coinage, and two important Weinman designs. The 2026 coin adds another layer by tying all of those elements to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Just 5,000 Coins
The Mint has established both a mintage limit and product limit of 5,000 coins for the 2026 American Eagle Palladium Uncirculated Coin.
The household order limit stands at one coin when sales begin. According to the Mint’s September 1 announcement, that restriction will apply during the first 24 hours after launch.
That 5,000-piece ceiling gives collectors an important number to watch. Still, a low authorized mintage does not guarantee future market performance or secondary-market premiums.
Instead, the coin’s numismatic importance rests on a broader combination: a one-year anniversary treatment, a major American Eagle series, Weinman’s historic artwork, one ounce of palladium, and a tightly limited production run.
Presentation and Packaging
The Mint will encapsulate each coin.
According to the Mint’s product page, the encapsulated coin comes in a satin-lined black velvet presentation case with a certificate of authenticity.
The Mint’s September 1 press release also describes black packaging bearing the United States Mint seal and an outer sleeve featuring an image of the coin’s obverse.
2026 American Eagle Palladium Coin Specifications
- Denomination: $25
- Finish: Uncirculated
- Composition: 99.95% palladium (.9995 fine)
- Palladium Fine Weight: 1.000 troy ounce
- Diameter: 1.340 inches (34.03 mm)
- Edge: Reeded
- Mint: West Point
- Mint Mark: W
- Privy Mark: Liberty Bell with “250”
- Mintage Limit: 5,000
- Product Limit: 5,000
- Initial Household Order Limit: 1
- U.S. Mint Product Code: 26EK
When Does the 2026 Palladium Eagle Go on Sale?
Sales begin at noon EDT on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
As of September 2, the Mint lists the price as TBD on its product page. The Mint will determine the selling price according to the applicable range on its precious-metal Pricing Range Table.
Collectors should therefore check the Mint’s product page before the noon launch for the final price.
A Modern Eagle With Deep Numismatic Roots
The 2026 Palladium Eagle compresses more than a century of American coinage history into a single modern issue.
Weinman created the Winged Liberty dime design in the era that produced some of America’s greatest coins. His AIA eagle came from that same artistic world. Yet that eagle waited until 2017 before appearing on official U.S. coinage.
Now, in 2026, those designs mark the 250th anniversary of the United States.
That gives the coin more than a low mintage. It gives it a clear place within the history of the American Eagle program and the broader story of modern United States numismatics.
