Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin- Six to Nine Months For Delivery?

The start of sales for the US Mint's 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin is fast approaching, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will receive your coin any time soon.

While poking around the US Mint's website, I managed to find the unreleased product page for the Ultra High Relief, which includes this statement:

The United States Mint will accept orders beginning on January 22, 2009 at 12:00 noon (ET). Orders will be processed on a first-in, first-out basis, and could potentially take up to six to nine months to complete based on gold blank availability.

When I previewed the Ultra High Relief back in mid-December, I had mentioned the possibility that the US Mint might be having trouble obtaining gold blanks, which could lead to a delayed launch and/or household ordering limit. It appears that rather than delaying the launch, the US Mint will simply delay shipping some orders for six to nine months. I think many would have preferred a delayed launch.

In addition to the delayed shipping, the US Mint will be implementing a household ordering limit of one per customer.


You can view the US Mint's product page here, which also includes a price for the coin of $1,189.00. Under the new pricing policy this is based on the $800.00 to $849.99 gold price tier.

The delayed shipping combined with the household limit will complicate the launch and may leave many frustrated. Waiting six to nine months for an order to arrive might be more than some customers are willing to endure.

Coin dealers may also face a complicated situation. Some dealers have offered to purchase coins from individuals for a small premium in order to side-step the household ordering limit and fulfill pre-orders. The potential for a multi-month shipping delay for coins adds a new layer of complication to their purchasing and pre-order fulfillment process.

I hope that the US Mint is simply including this statement to be conservative, but the US Mint's recent track record doesn't leave me too optimistic. Time will tell...