Foremost among the five coins in the set were, of course, the fifty-dollar “Quintuple Eagle” gold pieces, designed by prominent sculptor and medallist Robert Aiken, of New York, and struck in two distinctive formats, round and octagonal. The obverse depicts Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom, skill, contemplation, spinning, weaving, agriculture and horticulture, facing left and wearing a crested helmet. The edge of a shield at her shoulder bears Roman numerals: MCMXV. On the reverse, an owl symbolizing wisdom is perched upon a branch of western pine, with pinecones and needles in the field. The octagonal style harkens back to the 1850s in California, when octagonal fifty-dollar gold “slugs’ were coined in significant quantities by private minters during the gold rush era. Octagonal examples differ from their round counterparts with the placement of eight dolphins inside the angles on each side, said to convey the idea of an uninterrupted water route made possible by the Panama Canal.

The first coining of the large denomination took place at the Mint on June 15, 1915, using a powerful hydraulic press sent from the Philadelphia Mint and capable of producing 450 tons of pressure, for the express purpose of striking these very special, large gold coins. Only octagonal examples were prepared on that first day in a quantity of 100. Officials and guests struck the first 29, with the remainder being struck by various Mint personnel. Total mintage for the fifty-dollar coins numbered 1510 and 1509, round and octagonal, respectively, with a selling price of $100 each. Of course, in 1915, that was a great deal of money. A total of 483 round and 645 octagonal specimens were actually sold during the course of the event, the remainder being return to the Mint and melted.

Mint engravers Charles Barber and George Morgan prepared the quarter eagle motifs, after a design by Miss Evelyn Beatrice Longman, who could not complete the assignment due to illness. Columbia is represented on the obverse, caduceus in the right hand, seated facing left, seated on a hippocampus, symbolizing the use of the Panama Canal. An American eagle graces the reverse. Pieces to the number of 10,017 were struck in June 1915. However, a total of just 6,749 were sold for $4 each, with the rest being melted.

A gold dollar design was the work of Charles Keck, with dies made by the Medallic Art Company. The obverse depicts a capped laborer, whose efforts made the Panama Canal a reality. On the reverse, two dolphins represent the meeting of two oceans. Total mintage was 25,034 pieces, struck from May to July, of which a hefty 15,000 were sold, the rest being melted. Cost was $2 each.

A half dollar design, also by Mint engravers Charles Barber and George Morgan, is the only silver denomination struck. Columbia is again represented, this time standing, with the golden gate and radiant sun in the background. A nude child holding a cornucopia signifies the boundless resources of the American West. Mintage approached 60,000, though just 27,134 pieces were sold at $1 each. The rest, of course, were melted.

Sales were not limited to single coins, but could be purchased in several ways. Sets of five could be obtained in presentation boxes, or in elaborate copper frames suitable for wall hanging. A few “double” sets in copper frames, showing both sides on each denomination are known. A set of five, in presentation case or displayed in a copper frame sold for $200. Four-piece sets were sold later in the year, giving the purchaser the option of an octagonal or round fifty-dollar denomination for $100, the same price originally charged for a single fifty-dollar gold piece. For the much less affluent, three-piece sets, sans the fifty-dollar coins, were available for $7.

Numismatics was a prominent topic at the Exposition, with an official Coin and Medal Department directed by famed numismatist Farran Zerbe. Mr. Zerbe presented a well-received exhibit of coins, medals and paper items from the earliest origins of coinage to the present, and was the thrust behind Congressional authorization providing for a series of medals, as well as, the Exposition commemorative coinage. Zerbe’s numismatic reputation and political clout was such that he was placed in charge of the Exposition’s Coin and Medal Department, which he incorporated into his own traveling exhibit called "Money of the World." As an energetic promoter of numismatics for several decades, Zerbe did more to popularize coin collecting in this country than any other individual, with the possible exception of B. Max Mehl.