Released in April 2013, all four sizes of 2013 Proof American Gold Eagles sold out in January 2014 with two of them at mintage lows.

2013-W Proof American Gold Eagles – All sizes, the 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz, sold out. Two of them at mintage lows

As it happens, the final two to sell out — the one-half ounce, or $25-denominated coin, and the one-quarter ounce, or $10-denominated coin — are the ones now sporting the lowest mintages of their size within the Gold Eagle series.

The question is, will the two 2013 coins keep their mintage low titles for long? Collectors like low mintage coins as they tend to be more valuable. But the 22-karat proof American Gold Eagles, introduced in 1986 as an annually issued coin series, has experienced lower trending sales in recent years. Continually declining mintages year after year will tend not to support higher values.

In 2012, all sizes of American Gold Eagles scored a mintage low. Two of those coins have now been replaced with releases from 2013, as described above.

The following table offers a breakdown of 2012- and 2013-dated coins based on available U.S. Mint sales data. These are the "scarcest" of the series to date. For easier reading, an asterisk (*) has been placed by the coins that have the lowest mintage for their size.

It is possible that final sales for the 2013 coins may change slightly. If that happens, this Coin News Extra article will get updated. (The sales figures above were last updated on April 1, 2014. No further changes are expected until final audited sales are published by the U.S. Mint in late 2014 or early 2015.)