2009 $20 Ultra High Relief Gold Double Eagle sales exploded with a sizzling 28,183 purchased by the end of its Jan. 22 launch day. Action continued to be strong despite the initial $1,189.00 price, which is now considered a dreamy bargain for buyers in today’s market. By the following Tuesday, Jan. 27, the number jumped to 41,664. How have they done since? A week-by-week analysis paints the picture.
After Jan., orders settled. As spring started, summer began and then July ended, there were only four times when UHR orders rose above 1,000 a week. In fact, average weekly sales were hitting 875 — a far cry from the early days.
A higher price for the coin — up $100 by now — and the US Mint’s mandated one order limit per household was stifling sales. The former was a result of surging gold prices. The latter was proven true on July 27 when the Mint increased household limits from one to ten. Following the change, sales shot up another 3,800 in less than a week. The numbers later moved with several peaks and valleys, but weekly gains easily topped 2,000 until the final days in Sept., or for nearly two months. (In between, the Mint increased order limits to 25 on Aug. 31 and lifted them entirely on Sept. 21.)
Ultra High Relief Gold Coin Weekly Sales Increases
US Mint weekly sales figures for UHR coins between Feb. 1 and Oct. 4
Back to present day, the price tag for UHRs went up on Wednesday to $1,389.00, matching their highest point of the year and $200 more than their original issue price. While the intrinsic value of the gold within the UHRs is also rising, the latest sales trend shows a declining pattern of interest. As of Sunday, Oct. 4, the weekly increase dropped to 1,172. That is still better than summer numbers, but more telling, it represents a fifth straight week of losses.
Before everything is said and done, what could help in maintaining or increasing sales is the holiday season, and a coin market that is generally more active during the final weeks and months of a year. Also, the recent Mint announcement to cancel Gold Eagles for collectors could influence the numbers. That may drive dollars that had been committed for the coins toward the UHRs. Finally, secondary market prices for graded samples remain at several hundred over issue price. (See 2009 UHR $20 Gold Coins on eBay.) As long as that continues, there will be demand.
The 2009 Ultra High Relief Gold Coin weighs 1.001 Troy ounces (31.109g) and is struck from 24-karat, .9999 fine gold. Its condition is listed as "Business Strike" with a 27-millimeter diameter and 4-millimeter thickness. The piedfort style design makes them more than 50 percent thicker than other United States Mint one-ounce 24-karat gold coins. They will be minted only in 2009.
For more information or to place an order, visit the US Mint’s 2009 Ultra High Relief Coin page.
