Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Update

The highly awaited 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin has now been on sale for about a week and a half. The US Mint was flooded with orders on the first day of sales. Now collectors are left waiting the day when they will have their coins in hand. This post will provide some updated information on shipping, sales figures, and pricing.

Shipping Dates

This morning I received a second back order notification email from the US Mint, listing the expected shipping date as February 17, 2009. Mint News Blog readers and other collectors are reporting similar emails. Last week, the expected shipping date provided in my first back order email was February 6, 2009. When I first placed my order, the expected shipping date provided was January 28, 2009.

Ironically, as each day passes, the day when collectors might actually receive their coins seems to get farther away.



Sales Figures

Since my last update on the Ultra High Relief, some US Mint sales data for the coin has started to surface. Susan Headley of About.com:Coins reported that the US mint sold 28,173 coins in the first day of sales. By January 27, 2009 at 11:59 PM ET, the US Mint had sold 41,664 coins.

Separately, Numismaster reported sales of 40,727 coins as of January 26 at 12:00 Noon. Putting this data together with Susan Headley's numbers, suggests that the pace of sales has declined significantly following the initial rush to place orders. In the day and a half between January 26 at Noon and January 27 at 11:59 PM only 937 coins were sold.

I suspect that the pace of sales dropped off even more following the US Mint's price adjustment on January 29, when the price of the coin was increased by $50.

Another Price Adjustment?

A second pricing adjustment for the 2009 Ultra High Relief might be coming later this week. Under the US Mint's new pricing policy, prices can be adjusted as frequently as once a week if the price of gold moves beyond certain thresholds. In this case, if the average London Fix price of gold from Thursday January 29 to Wednesday, March 4 is above $900, then the price of the coin will be raised by another $50.

Last week, the US Mint suspended sales around mid-day Wednesday and resumed sales Thursday morning at 8:00 AM ET. If you think the price is going to increase again this week, be sure to place your order early Wednesday to avoid the price increase.