2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle

I brought one right before I got laid-off in 2009. Sold it about a month later in June of 2009 for a small profit and wish I had kept it. The presentation materials were really nice.




I believe about 200,000 pieces total were struck and only 115,000 sold so the balance of 85,000 were melted. As I recall they were 27mm in diameter and 1 ounce of .999 fine gold.

Interesting points. The 1995W ASE had a mintage of only 30,125 according to Red Book. I remember when it was selling for over $5,000. Now the retail is down to $3,500. Is the UHR AGE destined to follow? Is the gold market more viable than the silver?

I think the reason I'm not enamored with the coin is the size, even the Peso appears larger. It's smaller than the original UHR "Saint" and the AGE. Maybe it the way the "Rays" extend above the eagle on the reverse. I don't know!

I think I figured it out. It's the luster. A .999 gold coin does not have the luster that the original "Saint" has. Am I wrong? Have been before. I think a little copper or silver really makes a coin look better.

Sel, The 2 links below are from the US Mint and has a good write up. Video is worth watching as well.

Consider moving this topic to the commemoratives section (my 2 cents).

General link
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/ultrahigh/

360 degree view. Good as it gets in capturing the coin.
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs...gh/coin.html


There are dealers buying up this coin in original packaging and paying around 2550 to 2600 right now. This could be situation where the original packaging will hold it's own without any regard to grade as any coin in original packaging (untouched) would grade 69 or 70.

I too am somewhat puzzled at the price jump But I am not surprised. My reasoning is that everyone was looking at this as an "unc chunk of gold" as carmykle so eloquently put it. Now, there is collector demand for a coin that is no longer available which was struck rather well.

A while back on collector's forum there was an interesting discussion about this coin on whether to grade or not / PL vs non PL etc.

Yes the book does sell for around $25 to $30 and the wooden box sells for around $60 (forgot the wood it's made out of).

When I originally researched this coin it cost the US mint around $200 per coin to manufacture (excluding the price of gold) as each coin was inspected one at a time, checked for tolerance / qc etc.. The mint spent a lot of money making this coin and barely made any money / profit on the sales.

Many thanks to you, guys! A very comprehensive answer to my inquiry. I took the time to read all of the links. I am very appreciative.

My guess about the price rise is that more than just being a coin, this particular item seems to have some value as an art piece as well, which is reflected in the extra after market demand. The fact that some were melted would also help.

Not many medals have quite this amount of technology brought to bear in their production.

In my humble opinion, the motto below the eagle on the reverse adds balance to the to the legends at the top on the reverse. Perhaps the U.S. Mint was thinking the same way. Mind you, I do not confess to be an art expert.

Sukria. (That means 'thanks' in Urdu!).

BTW, I have seen a high relief Double Eagle on display at a coin show in Sydney many years ago. Very impressive!

Ceylon62 brings up an interesting point. Where does this coin belong? Is it a tribute commemorating St. Gaudens, the original coin series of the early 1900s, or is it an additional bullion coin for 2009?

Many of us view this work as "just" (I apologise for being in-eloquent and at the risk of being indelicate) another bullion coin. It appears that the multitude of collectors and dealers that decided to pass on the acquisition are now trying to "deify" the minting as the greatest coin ever. I do agree, with most of the press releases, the Mint did an outstanding job producing the coin. I've never seen such numbers in the PCGS "Pop" report in the MS-69 and MS-70 columns. When they want to, they can produce a quality product. While some will disagree, I felt their process in this coins manufacture was flawless.




I wish the mint would have continued the series for a while but completely understand why they didn't. As to all of the comments, I agree that it will probably be an oddity forever; one that we can't quite assign to one category. Unfortunately for me, I'll always view it as a great, modern copy of the most beautiful coin in the world.

Sorry for the long discourse.

There are some who are in the process of trying to get the UHR reclassified into another category in coin publications etc. Not sure of the all technical jargon.

It's the dealers who are bidding it up as they are ones who technically passed up on the coin / have none on hand. The public hold the coins which the dealers want.

If I remember correctly, it originally sold in the mid-800 dollar range. If the mint had produced this coin in 2004 to say...2006, it probably would have sold out.