Ultra High Relief Gold First Strike
On November 24, 2008 the West Point Mint struck the first of the new 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coins. This historic event was witnessed by numismatic organizations and reporters. The Director of the United States Mint Edmund Moy had the honor of striking the first coin.
The coin fulfills the vision of designer August Saint Gaudens. The high relief design of the coins that he envisioned could not be produced with the technology of his era. Using modern technology, the US Mint was able to recreate what many refer to as one of the most beautiful coins in the world.
Each coin contains one ounce of .9999 fine gold. The diameter of the coins is only 27 millimeters, making the coins have a thickness about 50% greater than other one ounce gold coins. Coins will be issued as business strikes and will not be available in proof.
The designs for the Ultra High Relief Gold Double Eagle were revealed on June 30, 2008 at the ANA World's Fair of Money. The recreations have slight modifications to the original coin's design. This includes changing the date to MMIX (Roman Numerals for 2009), adding four stars to the obverse, and adding "In God We Trust" to the reverse of the coin. The border of the coin was also widened to better define the edge. (View Ultra High Relief Gold Images.)
The first coin struck will be transferred to the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History. The second struck coin will be added to the United States Mint's heritage assets.
Coins are expected to be available for sale to the public in January of 2009. The coins will be struck to demand for only one year. Details on pricing and ordering have not been released. The pricing will be based on the prevailing price of gold plus production, packaging, and related costs.
