Today, Nov. 5, the United States Mint will begin selling 2020-W Proof American Eagle Gold and Silver Coins celebrating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Available at noon EST, both are issued in very limited mintages and both feature a symbolic "V75" privy mark.
The proof American Gold Eagle is restricted to just 1,945 units. The corresponding proof American Silver Eagle, meanwhile, is capped at a mintage of 75,000.
The coins carry the same obverse (heads side) and reverse (tails side) designs as their traditional counterparts. For the Gold Eagle, this includes Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ full-length figure of Liberty on the obverse and Miley Busiek’s depiction of a family of eagles on the reverse. On the Silver Eagle, we find Adolph A. Weinman’s "Walking Liberty" on the obverse and John Mercanti’s heraldic eagle with shield design on the reverse.
The V75 privy mark appears on coin obverses.
"The design outline of the privy mark represents the aerial view shape of the Rainbow Pool located at West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., which is now an integral part of the World War II Memorial," the U.S. Mint describes.
Both coins were struck at the U.S. Mint’s facility in West Point.
Ordering and Prices
Upon their release, the 2020-W End of World War II 75th Anniversary American Eagle Coins may be ordered directly from the Mint’s online catalog for American Eagle products.
The proof Gold Eagle is $2,600 and the proof Silver Eagle is $83.00. In addition to their mintage limits, each has a household order limit of one coin.
The two coins launch a few days before another couple of related U.S. Mint products — a 2020 End of World War II 75th Anniversary 24-Karat Gold Coin and an associated 2020 End of World War II 75th Anniversary Silver Medal. These two products are scheduled to debut Nov. 9 and will feature nearly identical imagery.
Update (Nov. 5 at 12:30 pm EST): The U.S. Mint sent numismatic news editors the following message about ordering: "The United States Mint is aware of website issues impacting customers’ ability to purchase Mint products. We are working to correct the problem. Thank you for your patience."
Update 2 (Nov. 5 at 3:10 pm EST): The U.S. Mint sent numismatic news editors the following statement about sales of coins:
Statement Regarding Sales of End of World War II 75th Anniversary American Eagle Gold Proof Coin (20XE) & End of World War II 75th Anniversary American Eagle Silver Proof Coin (20XF).
"The 2020 End of WWII 75th Anniversary American Eagle One Ounce Gold Proof Coin and the End of World War II 75th Anniversary American Eagle Silver Proof Coin were released for sale at noon ET on November 5. Release of these coins resulted in the highest website traffic we have ever experienced, which greatly exceeded our expected capacity. This high volume caused website instability, and customers encountered error messages and in some cases were unable to purchase their desired product. Due to extremely high demand, the American Eagle Gold Proof Coin became unavailable by 12:07 p.m. We are pleased with the initial demand, but are also in the process of evaluating the various customer concerns and system constraints and/or failures we experienced.
We want to assure you that the United States Mint remains committed to providing the highest possible level of customer service, and regret any inconvenience or frustration this buying experience caused."
