The Ultra-high Relief St. Gaudens Double-Eagle Coins Have Shipped
Though Augustus St. Gaudens once had to give up his vision of an ultra-high relief coin, the US Mint has reissued this as a collector's item for those who buy gold bullion coins as an aesthetic and numismatic investment.
Though the 1906 design for the Double Eagle gold coins (also called the Walking Liberty $20 coins) proved unsuitable for mass production and use, it has been reissued in its full glory, over a century later, just as Augustus St. Gaudens had imagined. For those who've waited for years to buy gold bullion coins with this innovative design, they are finally available at prices less than 25% over the spot price of gold.
In May of 2008, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5614, a bill creating a new palladium coin in the design of the 1907 Double Eagle coin, in an attempt to create a more affordable alternative to what was then a largely un-affordable 1-ounce platinum coin. It also allowed for a single run of gold ultra-high relief Double Eagle coins before production in palladium commences. A small number of proof palladium coins will be sold as sets along with the gold coins.
Mintages of palladium in 2010 and beyond are not specified except as to meet consumer demand. Given the very high price for those who buy gold coins, and the way that the price of gold is driving up costs for other metals, a restructuring of what passes as a $20 coin is suitable, especially since the 1-ounce American buffalo provides another route to buy gold bullion coins at 24-k and is valued at $50. It is expected that consumers who invest in gold coins will exhibit higher than expected demand since supplies of current-year, domestic gold become have become somewhat restricted in the US.
In order to accommodate all the extra relief that is required for the original 1907 design to really stand out, the diameter of the re-issue Double Eagle coin was reduced from the 34mm seen on the American Eagle gold bullion coins, to just 27mm. This allowed minters to use an extra thick (4mm) planchet to accommodate stronger, modern equipment. These planchets are unusual in that they have a collar, that is stamped out and then fitted around the coin for a raised edge design.
The resultant coins are exactly 1-ounce of pure, 24-karat gold. Coin investments in more than one of these coins will have to be done in the after-market – only one is allowed into consumer hands, per household. The limit on these coins is, by law, set at 25,000 pieces.
First exhibited at the 2008 World's Fair of Money in Baltimore, Maryland, the booth featured items used to create a henceforth impossible coin. From St. Gaudens' original plaster designs, a precision digital image was taken and digitized. After modifications for year, purity and the inclusion of the post 1908 motto, new dies were cast. In addition to these artifact, an entire set of coins that were progressively struck harder were on display, too.
The coins will now have their price adjusted on a weekly basis to keep up with the quickly rising price of gold. As such, the expected price of Double Eagle certified gold coins has already risen by several hundred dollars since autumn of 2008. Shipment was delayed a week until 29 January 2009.
Within days, the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) received its first coin to grade from a private investor. The coin received a perfect, MS-70 rating and was placed in a protective case (slabbed), as is most often done with very soft, pure gold bullion kept for numismatic value, which these coins have, in spades, ready to invest in. Gold coins from the US Mint's other programs such as the American Buffalo and the 22k American Eagle are rumored to be starting up again for significant sales later in 2009.
Arthur McGuire
March 17, 2009
