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.
Labels: Ultra High Relief
posted by Mint News Blog @ 9:02 AM
26 Comments:
The goofy part is that the mint online store still shows that it is available for shipment on Feb. 13th for even new orders.
Also, it appears that the W 4-coin set is gone.
My ship date was 2/20 per the e-mail. The website now says in is in stock and reserved w/ the book ship date as 2/20.
I ordered around 1 PM on the 22nd and had an initial date of 2/6. So the Mint is on target - now if they'll just lift the 1 per household to combat the price increase.
I went form 1/28 to 2/06 to 2/17. some of it might be problems with the new sub-contractor handling the shipping end. my stuff used to come from Memphis via fedex, my last order arrived last week from Plainfield, Indiana via UPS. I felt from the start that this UHR thing would be like a trip to the dentist. I read in other forums & blogs that sales dropped like a stone after the first 4 days. Looks like the only winners so far are the Mint and the sellers on ebay that have gotten as much as 1500 in the bank already for this vaporcoin. Good Luck to all.
My ship date was 2/6 then it went to 2/9 then back to 2/6 last week. today my order says in stock and reserved with a ship date of 2/6 for book i placed order on 22nd at 1:30est. now we wait and see what REALLY HAPPENS!!!!!!!!!!
BWAHAHAHA
My order goes...
Exp Ship: 2/20/09
then...
Exp Ship: 2/06/09
now...
Order Status: Your order request is on hold.
Item Status: In stock and reserved (no date shown)
I got another notice of back order today that moves ship to 2/18. The new purchase date on the coin site says 2/20 for ship. Other forums I visit have this issue as a topic. I'm reading info that suggests that the Mints first to order is first to ship basis is not a reality. It seems the Mint may be selecting orders that occurred after another for shipment before the earlier order. The Mint is a mess. Sure.
I suspect there is a "buddy" system. By that I mean that "buddies" of the mint or mint employees friends get first crack at any order no matter when it is placed. There are most likely policies against that but it is human nature. "Buddies" are always taken care of first. Most of us have been in that situation somewhere. This is just my opinion based on human nature.
There is also the distinct possiblity that the mint is so screwed up like most gov't agencies that anything can happen.
As one that uses mathematics regularly in my job, I recognize the need for a pure random number generator (nerdy, I know, but there are real world applications where it is very useful). Anyway, I think that the US Mint may have stumbled upon a truly pure random number generator via their order system. Every day my order moves out and then moves back in. Sometimes I get emails to the fact and sometimes not. I seem to remember MSDOS (the likely operating system for the Mint) being more stable than that. Perhaps they have now moved up to Windows ME.
the mint defenitly picks and chooses order. they are not on a first come first serve basis. i ordered a 1/10th gold eagle proof on 1/5. item went to backorder then to in stock and reserved for over a month. and i still have not gotten it yet. then on 1/13 i order the same coin and received this one 4 days later, on the 17th. after 15 phone calls and speaking to no less than 7 supervisors and 2 weeks later i still don't have a answer to why i received a coin i ordered 8 days later that is exactly the same item, and i still don't have the one ordered on the 5th. every time i call i have to explain the problem over and over again, someone takes my name and # and never calls back. THE U.S MINT IS A JOKE!!!!!!!!!
I decided at the end of 2008 not to order this coin "mainly" because of the lack of current confidence I have in the mint being able to be consistent and reliable in it's communication and actions. Once this improves I'd "consider" buying this coin but most likely not. I'm sticking to the tradition American Eagle/Buffalo/Silver coins IF the mint can decide on when to even offer these for 2009.
Does anyone know if any orders placed after 1/20/09 for Uncirculated gold eagles were changed from hold to in process or even shipped? Did ANY orders placed after 1/20/09 were shipped?
Received email yesterday with another delay in my backorder. New ship date 3/06/09.
Our US Mint...What a major disappointment!
I'm curious as to what the charges will be once the Saints do start shipping. The Mint charges for your order "when" it ships not when you place your order. I find it hard to believe that the processing center is going to look at the dates (say a month ago) & then figure out what the cost was a month ago for your coins. I could be wrong, but the Mint went up on my 08' Silver Eagle after I ordered it because the cost of silver went up before it shipped.
It's nice that the Mint has a new pricing grid, however, it says nothing anywhere on the Mints' site (that I can find) as to when that price will be charged. This could equate into a much larger expense, it could also (if your lucky) be much less.
In their FAQ section this is what I found...
Question: When will my credit card be charged for purchases?
Answer: The United States Mint will charge your credit card as items are shipped from our distribution center. Charges will include only those items in the package being shipped, and for shipping and handling. You will only be charged for shipping and handling once per order for destinations within the United States of America and its territories.
Please ensure at the time you submit your order, your credit card does not expire before any product is shipped. If your credit card becomes invalid for any reason before any item is shipped, your order may not be fulfilled.
So I guess we'll soon see how that new pricing grid works.
Good Luck Everyone!
There has been some confusion about the pricing under the new system.
Although there is not any explicit explanation in their policy or website, the US Mint has confirmed that you will be charged the price in effect when the coin was ordered. The charge will be made when the coin ships.
there is a blog post from someone who spoke with the head of the Mint that states the Mint had 29,000 of these coins ready on 1/22. It has been 2 weeks. I read a lot of forums and blogs and have heard of no one receiving. These are people who got in very early and were confirmed with low order numbers. Of course to say they are waiting on the books which were from the start stated to arrive on 2/6 is a possible factor. In any event a very poor product start as far as I'm concerned.
Ordered mine on 1/28. Original ship date was to be 2/13. Just received a backorder email moving the ship date to 3/13.
My latest status from the mint website...
Order Status: Your order request is on hold.
Item Status: 1 unit backordered. Expected to ship on 02/20/2009.
My order was eventually backordered to Feb. 18 after a first-day purchase. If they push it out just a little further I'll miss a whole billing cycle on my credit card. whee!
Coin ordered on first day of release with expected ship date of Feb 6, later bumped to Feb 20, and just this morning bumped to March 6.
Me and a friend both ordered ours about 45 minutes into the sale. Both are finally showing "In Stock and Reserved" as of this morning with an expected ship date of Feb 6...oh...that's today.
I don't see it happening. I'll watch the cc and post when it does ship.
~angry in the south
I ordered mine withing 1 1/2 hour of trying. After a while it said shipping on 02/06/09 & I even got an email stating that. Now, today, 02/06/09 I get an email stating 02/20/09 as a shipping date.
Shock of shocks...both my UHR AND the book now show to be in stock and reserved. I checked with a friend who also ordered one, and his shows the same. I guess we shall see if it actually ships.
Ooops...looks like I spoke too soon. They moved the UHR book out to February 24th. Talk about the mint being the proverbial Chinese fire drill.
I placed an order within the first hour of going on sale and have gone through the rollercoaster ride with ship dates as well. I called the mint 2/24 to check the status since I had been told I should receive it by 2/25 by the mint the previous week. The rep informed me the date had changed to 4/24. I called later that night to the automated system and it said my order had shipped!!! Checked the automated system this morning to confirm, and back to "your order is being processed" What a JOKE - Wouldn't it be great to send the Mint a message if everyone cancelled their order!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home