An earlier year Senate bill calling for .995 pure palladium one-ounce UHR $20 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle coins was joined by a House version introduced Thursday, July 30, by Rep. Dennis Rehberg [R-MT]. Both bills seek to produce "coins in palladium to provide affordable opportunities for investments in precious metals."
House Resolution 3405, the Original Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle Ultra-High Relief Bullion Coin Act of 2009, is nearly identical to the same named Senate bill, S. 758, brought forward by Sen. Max Baucus [D-MT] on April 1.
The legislation states the coins must "bear exact replicas of the original obverse and reverse designs by Augustus Saint-Gaudens which appear on the famous 27-millimeter version of the 1907 Double Eagle ultra-high relief gold piece and the edge of the coin shall have all appropriate raised lettering in the same manner as the original coin."
H.R. 3405 would have the Mint strike up to 15,000 of the $20 gold coins in both proof an uncirculated options. The legislation mandates that these collector coin may: Read the rest of this entry »
Legislation has been reintroduced in the Senate that would authorize the United States Mint to produce Saint-Gaudens Ultra High Relief bullion coins in palladium.
Details are sparse since the legislation has yet to be published by the Government Printing Office (GPO). The bill, S. 758, was only introduced Wednesday.
History, however, provides insights. Senators Max Baucus [D-MT] and Jon Tester [D-MT] sponsored S. 758 and they also introduced S. 2924 for the same purpose last year. That bill was similar to an earlier and unanimously passed House version, H.R. 5614. The Senate failed to take action on either before the new year, and both died with the end of the 110th congress.
The previous bills would have authorized one-ounce proof and uncirculated palladium coins that were digital reproductions of the famed Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ designed 1907 $20 Double Eagle — often described as the most beautiful coin ever minted in the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »
On May 15, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5614, an act “To authorize the production in palladium of Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle coins as ultra-high relief numismatic coins and bullion investment coins in order to provide affordable opportunities for investments in precious metals, and for other purposes.”
Palladium is a silver-white precious metal that is directly above platinum and to the left of silver in the Periodic Table of Elements. Generally speaking, the price of palladium is half that of gold.
The template for the coins is that of the 1907 ultra-high relief Augustus Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful gold coins made in the history of U.S. coinage. The Treasury authorized issuance of a one-ounce gold version of this coin in 2009.
The passage of the bill occurred without public contention and with full bipartisan support — voting by roll call for H.R. 5614 were 225 Democrats and 188 Republicans. An easy majority with only 18 House members not voting. In short, a unanimous decision.
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Last month U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy announced plans to recreate the famed Saint-Gaudens coin in 24-karat gold for 2009. That gold coin could potentially be supplemented or even replaced by the creation of a less expensive palladium version.
There is new legislation on the table to recreate the coin in palladium—a silver-white precious metal that is directly above platinum and to the left of silver in the Periodic Table of Elements.
The Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ designed coins are thought by many to be the most beautiful ever minted in the U.S. At the time of the announcement for the planned gold recreation of the coin, Mint Director Moy commented,
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