Today, Jan. 30, the United States Mint started accepting orders for its 2020-W Proof American Platinum Eagle — Pursuit of Happiness coin, the final of three issues from the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence design series.
Struck in 1-ounce .9995 platinum, coins in the themed program feature unique obverse (head side) designs that are paired with a common reverse (tails side) design. Obverses celebrate the three tenets in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence — Life, Liberty and Happiness.
This year’s obverse design is emblematic of the "Pursuit of Happiness." As described by the U.S. Mint, it depicts:
"Lady Liberty harvesting the fruits of her labor with a young girl at play nearby. The overflowing cornucopia she carries is a symbol of the physical, intellectual, and spiritual bounty only liberty makes possible – the good things that nourish the body, enliven the mind, and satisfy the soul. The home, orchard, and silo represent American hopes, values, and aspirations and bring to a close the narrative told throughout the backgrounds of the series – from furrowed earth, to prairies and mountains, and finally to an agrarian field. The stubble field alludes to the ingenuity and exertion required to claim liberty’s promise."
The inscription "Happiness," a facsimile of the handwritten word from the Declaration of Independence, includes the long "s," a letterform which was typical of its time but is no longer in common use. Other inscriptions include "IN GOD WE TRUST," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," "2020," "LIBERTY" and the artists’ initials of "JK and "MG."
Justin Kunz created all three 2018-2020 obverse designs. Michael Gaudioso executed the sculpting for the 2020 obverse.
The coins’ shared reverse depicts an eagle in flight with an olive branch in its talons. Patricia Lucas-Morris created the design and Don Everhart sculpted it.
Reverse inscriptions include "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "1 OZ.," ".9995 PLATINUM," "$100," and the artists’ initials of "PLM" and "DE."
U.S. Mint-provided specifications for the program coins follow.
Specifications of Proof American Platinum Eagle Coins
| Denomination: | $100 |
|---|---|
| Finish: | Proof |
| Composition: | 99.95% Platinum |
| Diameter: | 1.287 inches (32.70 mm) |
| Weight: | 1.0005 troy oz. (31.120 grams) |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Mint and Mint Mark: | West Point – W |
These coins are produced at the U.S. Mint’s facility in West Point. As such, the West Point’s mintmark of "W" is also found on the reverse.
Price, Ordering and Limits
The latest 2020 as well as the 2018- and 2019-dated proof American Platinum Eagles are $1,545 apiece.
Pricing is subject to change weekly based on the U.S. Mint’s precious metal coin pricing policy. As a perspective, last year’s coin initially sold for $1,220 when platinum was at $821 an ounce while the coin from 2018 launched at $1,420 when platinum was at $1,020 an ounce. Platinum is currently hovering around $976 an ounce.
Order the collectibles from the Mint’s catalog of platinum coins or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).
This year’s issue has a mintage limit of 13,000 — compared to 15,000 for last year’s release and 20,000 for the coin from 2018. It also has an order limit of one coin per household for the first 24 hours of sales.
Let me see…take $900 worth of platinum… put a design on it that looks like the people are Doctor Who robots, wearing creepy ceramic masks…charge an additional 2/3rds above the price of the metal and expect me to buy it? I bought the first couple. I cannot find a way to justify this one. If I’m going to burn that kind of money, I might as well just buy gold. Hell, with that level of immediate depreciation, I might as well put a deposit on a car and then watch it rust. Sure, add 25% on top of base, to… Read more »
Also note the across the board price increase implemented about a week ago for the Platinum Proof 1-oz coins, reflected in the Mint’s pricing range table and applied to the new 2020 release as well as the previous 2019 and 2018 coins still being sold by the Mint.
with you here. the design just seems lopsided. could work in a MOMA exhibit.
It’s an ugly coin !!
Thanks for making me look twice at this . I would never buy this coin.
I hear the Mint is officially changing its nomenclature. “Reverse” is insulting to someone or other. From now on, it will be the “obverse” and the “diverse”. /sarc
That’s hilarious!!! Are you sure it’s not the “Obverse” and the “Transverse”!!! 😉
$550 above platinum price??? Seems quite excessive. I’m surprised they didn’t put Trump’s face in there somewhere too!
Wait Wait!! Here comes “SHIFTY SCHIFF” Brain Trust!!!!! Yikes!!!
Better yet how about a Pelosi Schumer Nadler coin. That would be a very “HOLY” coin for sure….!!!! Lots of prayers there if they all can stay awake long enough!!
Could you imagine a coin with these three faces transposed on MT.Rushmore?LOL.
FYI, you can buy the 2018 coin (graded a perfect proof 70) on eBay for $300 less than the mint is selling the ungraded version for today. I guess the mint should just melt their remaining 2018 and 2019 coin inventory down for 2021! I guess I should just wait a couple years to by the $1545 2020 edition for less.
FUGULY coin, overpriced, and artwork akin to a milk carton. Pass, as a matter of fact I’ve passed on all the mint’s offerings for ’19 & now ’20 seems to be a wasteland. To save the mint they need to sell buillion coins & Au bars, dates say 5 & 10z direct to the people. The Authorized dealers are an uneeded level of costs WE pay for the mint cold sell direct but prefers to allow profiteers & TV shysters to make $$$
extremely overpriced and not a beautiful coin. i have a feeling the mint will not sell a bunch of these. $570 over the spot price of platinum. the u.s.mint might as well cancel the platinum coins.
lonnie,
Seems Rich answered your question about the increase in price (Pricing range table change. Thanks Rich I had not noticed that change)
Another strike out by mint. Another reason to stop buying from them, especially a several year series. Guess they think those that collected the first two years of this series will buy this one even though spot platinum was higher a year ago and the coin much less.
Not much common sense to destroy your customer base.
chuck, indeed! The Mint recently raised the price for the Platinum Proof 1-oz coins by $175 to coincide with the new release of the 2020 Proof coin. This coin should still be selling for $1.370 instead of the $1,545 price they set. On top of that they also applied this price increase to the 2019 and 2018 coins minted 1-2 years ago. Unlike the 2020 Silver Proof 1-oz coin which $8.55 price increase was advertised by the Mint and not applied to the earlier 2019 Silver Proof coin still be sold, this Platinum price increase was an under-the-radar surprise and… Read more »
Has anyone observed the “Buy It Now” prices for this coin on Ebay!!! Anywhere between $3,750 and $10,000.
If so.. that’s funny because even with the low mintage the past 3 years with the platinum coins, they never sold out! So why would anyone pay those prices? The mint lowered to13,000 mintage this time, in hopes to be able to sell all/most of them, but I doubt it. No one seems to want the platinum.. Spot prices just haven’t really moved much for years now..
the mint is $589 above the current spot price. i agree this is funny.
I bought the first 2 but decided against the third and that was before the price hike. The mint is going to start losing customers at an alarming rate.
The U.S. Mint has raised prices in spite of a major reduction in it’s customer base from 1.2 million people in FY 2014 down to just 500,000 people in FY 2018. The Mint Director David J. Ryder is in crisis mode trying to keep the U.S.S. Mint ship from sinking altogether! Raising prices & pissing off long-time collectors/customers & thinking with a “if you build it they will come” attitude. He needs to think even more outside the box & offer U.S. Mint-branded silver bars/ingots like the Perth Mint Australia has & other novel ideas. If not, sales will continue… Read more »
seth, i agree with you totally. australia is putting out some fantastic coins. this price increase is offensive to all coin collectors.
With spot prices on the rise these past two years bouncing relatively close to lows not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, I don’t know why people are questioning a price increase. The same year as the crisis before plumiting, platinum topped out at $2273 an ounce. I think the mint offers a variety of premium collector items and novelty collector items. Reading from the comments people make it seem like a novelty item, but I think this series is an instant premium collector item. The first coin in the series debuted at over $1400 with spot near what it… Read more »
Pricing aside, these designs lack realistic accuracy and integrity. It is unfortunate because the reverse eagle design and its frosted areas seem to be exceptional.
Regardless of the precious metal, if the formula used to justify the theme excludes factors, such as aesthetics, accuracy, and practicality, then no mintage limit, or price, can justify its collectibility.
The USMint seems to be buried in a culture of disregarding its customer base, in regards to what they think or want. Yes, it’s Congress that legislates programs, but that’s no excuse for such horrid design renditions.