The United States Mint peaked curiosity further for the ANA World’s Fair of Money® convention by announcing their unveiling of the 2009 Saint-Gaudens double eagle designed gold coin and adding a display of six real gold bars that were refined at West Point.

The Mint previously announced they would show the modern $20 gold coin, but the latest announcement adds that their exhibit will:

Show the development of this modern masterpiece-from its origin as gold bars-through test strikes-to the finished, one-ounce 24-karat (.9999 pure) 2009 United States Mint Ultra High Relief Gold Coin.

For sure, an extra element of interest is added to the much awaited revelation of the 2009 Ultra High Relief, which is a modern version of the 1907 Augustus Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle often described as the most beautiful gold piece ever made.

Weighing in at 27.5 pounds each with 400 ounces of gold, the six gold bars for the exhibit are worth about $2.3 million dollars based on yesterday’s London gold closing of $959.75 an ounce.

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The United States Mint has announced that Director Moy will host a public forum at the Baltimore 2008 ANA World’s Fair of Money® on Friday, August 1.

The meet and greet event offers coin collectors the opportunity to ask questions, and receive answers directly from the head of the U.S. Mint. Directory Moy has held public coin forums for appreciative collectors several times this year. This latest one is sure to be a highlight of the convention for many.

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Gold settled, remaining largely unchanged for the week after Iranian tensions appeared to ease and financial markets stabilized. Weaker crude oil prices also weighed in to help keep gold in check. Platinum experienced five pounding days of losses as lowering supply fears slammed prices down.

London silver closed to $18.55 an ounce — a loss of 17 cents compared to last Friday’s close and a drop of 14 cents for the week.

London platinum closed the week to $1,849, a staggering loss of $181 compared to its previous Friday close and a drop of $172 for the week.

London gold closed Friday to $960 an ounce, losing $3 from last Friday, but managed to squeak in a small gain of $2 for the week.

"Oil and dollar fluctuation will continue to lend direction to the precious metal in the coming sessions, with the metal vulnerable to bouts of profit-taking," said analyst James Moore from TheBullionDesk.com.

"The background noise of inflation/recession and nervous financial markets still paints a bullish picture for gold in the mid-to-longer term. "

In regards to the Iranian situation, senior Kitco analyst Jon Nadler was quoted on MarketWatch as saying,

"Improvements in the geopolitical climate ahead of upcoming negotiations between the West and Iran also played into the easing of gold prices today At the end of a very turbulent week, few participants were willing to do much more than square books

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. The weekly business recap video from Reuters and three related precious metal articles are listed as well.

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