The U.S. Mint released the 2026-W Palladium American Eagle Uncirculated on September 3 at noon ET, priced at $1,895. The mintage is capped at 5,000 coins with a limit of one per household. That price is subject to weekly adjustments under the Mint’s precious metals pricing matrix, tied to the palladium spot price.
This is the only palladium coin in the Mint’s semiquincentennial lineup, carrying the 1776~2026 dual date and Liberty Bell “250” privy mark that appear across the 250th anniversary series. It is also the lowest announced mintage cap in the program’s 10-year history.
Design
The Palladium Eagle features two Adolph Weinman designs, both rendered in high relief. The obverse is his Winged Liberty from the 1916 Mercury Dime, adapted to the larger 34mm format. The winged cap represents liberty of thought, not the Roman god Mercury, though the dime’s popular nickname has stuck for over a century. This same design anchored the first Best of the Mint set earlier this year, a sign of how well Weinman’s work has aged.
The reverse uses Weinman’s 1907 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal design: an eagle clutching an oak branch. The high-relief execution on both sides is one of the defining characteristics of the series and gives the coin a sculptural quality that flat-struck bullion coins do not have.
The 2026 edition adds the semiquincentennial elements: “1776 ~ 2026” on the obverse replaces the single year, and a Liberty Bell privy mark with “250” appears on the reverse. These are one-year-only features. The coin is struck at West Point and carries the W mint mark.
Specifications
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Composition | .9995 fine palladium |
| Weight | 1 troy oz |
| Diameter | 34.0 mm (1.340 in) |
| Finish | Uncirculated |
| Mint | West Point |
| Mint mark | W |
| Dual date | 1776 ~ 2026 |
| Privy mark | Liberty Bell “250” |
| Face value | $25 |
| Price | $1,895 (subject to adjustment) |
| Mintage limit | 5,000 |
| Household order limit | 1 |
Mintage History: A Shrinking Series
The Palladium Eagle launched in 2017 with a 15,000-coin bullion run. Since then, the production numbers have declined in most years. The series rotates finishes annually through bullion, proof, reverse proof, and uncirculated, and the finish rotation is now in its third cycle.
| Year | Finish | Sales | Price at Launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Bullion | 15,000 | Varied |
| 2018-W | Proof | 14,986 | $1,387.50 |
| 2019-W | Reverse Proof | 18,839 | $1,487.50 |
| 2020-W | Uncirculated | 9,746 | $2,337.50 |
| 2021-W | Proof | 5,170 | $2,587.50 |
| 2021 | Bullion | 8,700 | Varied |
| 2022-W | Reverse Proof | 7,439 | $2,187.50 |
| 2023-W | Uncirculated | 5,784 | $1,237.50 |
| 2024-W | Proof | 5,961 | $1,295.00 |
| 2025-W | Reverse Proof | 3,991 | $1,695.00 |
| 2026-W | Uncirculated | 5,000 (cap) | $1,895.00 |
The 5,000-coin cap for 2026 is lower than the final sales total of every previous Palladium Eagle except last year’s Reverse Proof, which the Mint pulled after just 3,991 sold. Pricing has swung dramatically over the series, from $1,237.50 in 2023 to $2,587.50 in 2021, depending entirely on where palladium was trading at the time of sale.
For the full mintage breakdown by year and finish, see our Palladium Eagle mintage chart.
Why the Palladium Eagle Stays Under the Radar
The Palladium Eagle does not get the same attention as the Gold or Silver Eagle. At $1,895, the buyer pool is a fraction of what a $164 silver medal or a $169 Silver Eagle draws. The Mint also stopped selling bullion-finish Palladium Eagles to authorized purchasers after 2021, which removed them from the dealer inventory that drives everyday awareness.
Palladium itself is less familiar to most precious metals buyers. It trades below gold but well above silver, and its market is driven more by industrial demand (primarily catalytic converters and electronics) than by investment flows. The palladium spot price does not move in lockstep with gold or silver, which makes these coins harder to evaluate for people used to thinking in terms of gold premiums.
For collectors, that relative obscurity is part of the appeal. The combination of small mintages, high-relief design, and annual finish rotation makes the Palladium Eagle one of the most collectible modern U.S. coin series. The 2026 edition, with its semiquincentennial elements and lowest-ever announced cap, is the variety most likely to stand out in the long run.
For Palladium Bullion Buyers
This is a numismatic purchase, not a bullion play. The premium over metal content is substantial. Collectors are paying for the mintage limit, the high-relief finish, the semiquincentennial design, and the series’ track record of secondary market appreciation.
For readers interested in palladium as an investment, our closest-to-spot palladium page tracks dealer pricing on palladium bars and rounds closer to metal value. For palladium bar options specifically, see our Valcambi palladium bars guide. Browse current palladium bullion prices across dealers or check the live spot price page.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not financial or investment advice. FindBullionPrices.com is a price comparison platform and does not sell bullion or coins.
