Behind the 2009 UHR Double Eagle Sales Surge

The most recent sales numbers for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin shows a total of 80,700 coins sold. This marks an increase of nearly ten thousand coins over the course of the past three weeks.

The frenzied pace of sales began after the US Mint raised the ordering limit from one coin per household to ten coins per household. I previously examined some other contributing factors to the increase in sales, but missed one of the big ones. Ever since the limit was raised, many coin dealers have been using this as an opportunity to build significant inventories of the 2009 UHR Double Eagle.

This morning on Coin Update News, I posted an article and brief interview with Bob Lecce, the biggest on buyer of 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagles. The full article is republished here for Mint News Blog readers.

Dealer Interview: Robert B. Lecce on 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagles

With the order limit for the US Mint’s 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle recently increased from one coin per household to ten, many dealers have taken the opportunity to build a significant inventory of the coins. This was very apparent at the ANA World’s Fair of Money when the US Mint’s booth was swamped with customers buying the coins ten at a time.

Supporting the steady stream of buyers were a number of dealers willing to pay instant premiums on coins purchased from the Mint and immediately resold. The coins were available at the US Mint’s booth for $1,289 and dealers were repurchasing the coins for $1,310 to $1,350 each. Assuming the maximum premium, an attendee could have earned a $610 bounty for purchasing and immediately reselling ten coins.

There were at least two dealers who purchased about 200 coins each, but the largest buyer was Bob Lecce of Robert B. Lecce Numismatist Inc. (http://rareusgold.com) who purchased more than 500 coins. Bob was willing to answer a few questions about his purchase.

Since the US Mint raised the order limit, total sales of the UHR Double Eagle have risen from about 71,000 to more than 80,000 in the past three weeks. The more coins the US Mint sells, the higher the final mintage of the coin will be. How do you think a higher mintage will impact the long term potential of the coins?

Bob: I believe the final mintage will not exceed 120,000 coins. This is still a relatively low mintage for what I believe is the most popular and beautiful Modern coin the US Mint has produced to date. The mintage could be much lower if the Mint begins to produce Bullion Gold and Proof Gold Eagles for 2009. Time is running out for the production of 2009 coins. Any time now the Mint could increase the price to $1339 if the average price of Gold remains above $950 for a week based on their newly adopted pricing schedule. I strongly believe the price of Gold will be much higher through 2009 and continue into 2010 and insure a higher base value for these little gems.

I feel an additional 20,000 or 30,000 coins will not impact the long term potential of the UHR's. These coins are popular world wide. We are exporting many of the to Germany, China, and Japan.

What are your immediate and long term plans for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagles that you purchased at the World’s Fair of Money?

Bob: I plan to continue creating a two way market in these for the near and long term. These coins are an excellent value now with MS69's trading at $1375-$1400 and MS70's at $1700-$1750.

Do you plan to continue acquiring more UHR Double Eagles before the end of the year?

Bob: I have continued to restock and be the strongest buyer in this market. I plan to increase my position to over 2,000 coins for a major marketing plan that I am developing.

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