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 »
The US Mint is left with two 2008-W American Eagles gold coins in the uncirculated collector series inventory. The 1 oz option sold out Wednesday. Sales were respectable with an increase of 799, or 9.3 percent.
The biggest jumper in the series was the 1/4 oz option, rising 11.4 percent. The 1/4 oz size settled down with an increase of just 0.6% following last week’s reported surge of 48.1 percent. After the current inventory is exhausted, these two coins will not be sold by the Mint again.
2009 Ultra High Relief $20 Double Eagle gold coins moved nicely, rising by 2,579, or 5.7 percent. Collectors have now purchased 47,999 UHRs since they went on sale Jan. 22. Read the rest of this entry »
The United States Mint released the highly anticipated 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin today at noon (ET). All indications show that early coin sales are blazing, with reports of busy Mint phone lines and online ordering backups where buyers have had to wait an hour or more to place an order.
The coin collector’s excitement for the modern day recreation of the famed Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ designed 1907 $20 Double Eagle gold piece is felt across the Internet — websites, forums, and social groups. On CoinNews itself, thousands of collectors have searched for and viewed recent double eagle articles in a matter of hours, easily ranking interest in this coin at a historical high for any on the site.
The Mint’s opening price for the gold piece is set at $1,189.00, plus $4.95 for shipping and handling. The one-ounce coin is struck in 24-karat, .9999 fine gold and is limited to a single year of issue. Striking is the coin’s more than double thickness when compared to other modern gold coins from the Mint. Read the rest of this entry »
Flying through snail mail are 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin brochures from the US Mint to collectors. The mailer is complete with coin images, design details, coin strike accounts and a historical background touching the 1907 $20 gold piece — the master template for the digitally reproduced and minted 2009 Double Eagle coin.
Without a doubt, the Mint wants these one-year-only gold coins to have an unparalleled impact with collectors. The 4-1/4" by 7" brochure unfolds to ten full panels (five front and back) and is dedicated to describing only the gold piece, making it one of the most comprehensive single product mailers the Mint has ever sent.
The Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ designed 1907 $20 Double Eagle has often been described as "the most beautiful coin ever minted." The 21st century version goes on sale Thursday, January 22, at 12:00 noon (ET).(See Mint Ultra High Relief images.) Read the rest of this entry »
The United States Mint will reveal the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin at the ANA World’s Fair of Money® this week, but excited collectors don’t need to wait to see what the gold piece looks like. The U.S. Mint has provided high resolution images of the coin’s obverse, reverse and edge.
While highlighting the beauty of the 1907 Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ $20 Double Eagle liberty design, the coin photos makes the width of the gold piece immediately apparent. In piedfort like style, the $20 gold coin is about 50% thicker than other US Mint one-ounce gold coins.
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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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Collectors will first see the 2009 Ultra-High-Relief Saint-Gaudens $20 gold coin July 30 at ANA’s World’s Fair of Money® in Baltimore.
The United States Mint announced today that Mint Director Ed Moy will reveal the coin, which is a modern version of the 1907 Augustus Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle — often described as the most beautiful gold piece ever made.
The coin will contain one once of 24-karat gold, have a diameter of 27 millimeters, and will be 50 percent thicker than other U.S. one-ounce coins.
The mintage of the new coin will be unlimited for one year and sold only in 2009, unless inventory remains for 2010. Should proposed coin legislation entitled Original Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle Ultra-High Relief Palladium Bullion Coin Act become law, palladium versions of the coins will continue past 2010.
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The United States Mint announced on Friday that Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson has authorized the issuance of a 2009 version of the 1907 ultra-high relief Augustus Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle coin.
According to the U.S. Mint, the 2009 legal tender Saint-Gaudens’ designed coin will be:
- Made of 24-karate gold,
- have an unlimited mintage for one year,
- released in only a one-ounce version,
- produced with a business-strike finish, and
- minted only in 2009
The 1907 Augustus Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful gold coins made in the history of U.S. coinage.
United States Mint Director Ed Moy has announced plans to bring back the Saint-Gaudens’ design in March of 2008. At the time he commented,
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As precious metal prices fall, United States Mint bullion coin premiums rise. The differences make the proposition of purchasing the latest US Mint American Eagle bullion coins nearly overwhelming.
The United States Mint appears to be happy to accept higher premiums in many of their bullion coin sales.
While the Mint was quick to suspend and then readjust bullion coin prices upward when precious metal prices increased, the same quick but reverse adjustment has not been seen with key Mint bullion coins as precious metals decline.
As one example highlights, the Mint announced the pricing of 2008 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated coins on March 19, 2008. The one ounce eagle coin was set at $1,119.95. The day of that announcement London gold closed at $958.50 an ounce.
Six weeks later London gold on Thursday is at $853 an ounce. The premium differences between the two dates for the one ounce 2008 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated coin are:
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