In celebration of the opening of the Panamá Canal, the City of San Francisco hosted the Panamá-Pacific Exposition. In commemoration of the event, the United States Mint struck a variety of both silver and gold coins which included a $50 round and $50 octagonal. Apart from Patterns and semi-official Territorial gold coins, the United States had never issued a $50 gold piece.

Contains 2 oz. Troy of .999 Fine Silver

Obverse: Left-Facing bust of Minerva, the Roman goddess wearing a crested helmet, the date appears in Roman numerals at the top of Minerva’s shield. “IN GOD WE TRUST” is seen above Minerva’s head, with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” around the upper circumference of the coin and “TWO TROY OUNCES” around the bottom.

Reverse: A depiction of an Owl perched on a Ponderosa Pine, surrounded by cones. The beaded border is repeated again on the reverse, separating the central design from the legends, “PANAMA PACIFIC EXPOSITION” and “SAN FRANCISCO” on around the periphery. “E PLURIBUS UNUM” can be seen to the right of the Owl, with “.999 FINE AG” below. The “S” mintmark is just right of the cone below.