The US Mint will increase prices of Ultra High Relief $20 Gold and First Spouse Gold Coins by Thursday morning, as a result of a higher weekly average of London spot gold prices. UHR and First Spouse Coin prices will climb by $50 and $25, respectively.
The Mint pricing methodology is to average recent gold prices and compare the result against a coin pricing grid. (See the First Spouse Gold Coins Price Grid). The average is used as a slider. As it moves into a new threshold, coin prices move up or down accordingly.
The Mint most recently adjusted prices on Wed., April 8, when the average price of gold fell below $900 an ounce. Since Thursday, gold has been above the $900 threshold. The following are the gold prices the Mint will use to arrive at an average:
|
London Fix Gold |
||
| AM | PM | |
| 5/13/2009 – Wednesday | not yet set | n/a |
| 5/12/2009 – Tuesday | 920.000 | 917.00 |
| 5/11/2009 – Monday | 912.50 | 913.00 |
| 5/8/2009 – Friday | 917.50 | 907.00 |
| 5/7/2009 – Thursday | 912.75 | 912.25 |
The London gold-fixing is a benchmark for gold traded directly between big institutions.
While in the past the Mint has frozen the ability to place gold coin orders by Wednesday afternoon so prices could be changed by Thursday morning, the latest trend has been to adjust prices on Wednesday around noon with no or little ordering downtime.
