The United States Mint on Thursday increased the prices of its numismatic gold coin offerings, bringing them to their highest level of the year.
The new prices were implemented in response to the latest several day rally in bullion prices, which brought the yellow metal to an all-time high Thursday morning of $1,123.40 an ounce. The coins affected include:
- 2009 UHR Double Eagle Gold Coin - Up $50 to $1,489.00
- 2009 Buffalo Proof Gold Coin - Up $50 to $1,410.00
- 2008 and 2009 First Spouse Gold Coins - Up $25; proofs to $729.99 and uncirculated coins to $716.00
The US Mint implemented its latest pricing policy for numismatic gold and platinum coins on Jan. 12, 2009.
"Transparency, agility, and customer service are the catalysts for our new pricing method," said United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart at the time. "The volatile precious metals market prompted our customers to suggest that we re-vamp our process, and we listened."
The prices are directly related to the average weekly London Fix prices for these metals -- from Thursday AM to Wednesday AM. If the market value of gold moves to a higher or lower range, the price of each product is increased or decreased in corresponding increments. Those increments are listed above.
In ironic fashion, as described on sister site CoinNews, one penny was responsible for pushing prices higher. The weekly London Fix average for gold came in at exactly $1,100, which was the tier to trigger higher coin prices.
The following figures were used by the US Mint to arrive at the average:
|
London Fix Gold Prices
|
||
| AM | PM | |
| 11/11/2009 - Wednesday | 1114.75 | - |
| 11/10/2009 - Tuesday | 1099.75 | 1101.50 |
| 11/9/2009 - Monday | 1108.50 | 1106.75 |
| 11/6/2009 - Friday | 1095.00 | 1096.75 |
| 11/5/2009 - Thursday | 1088.00 | 1089.00 |
Had any of the AM or PM prices been a single penny lower, the average would have come in at $1099.99 and prices would have remained unchanged.
For most of the year, the US Mint has adjusted prices, if necessary, prior to noon ET on Wednesday. However, this Wednesday was a US federal holiday. The prices were therefore raised prior to noon on Thursday.
As an example of how gold has raised US Mint prices, in 2007 the First Spouse Gold coin series was launched with the proof and uncirculated Martha Washington's priced at only $429.95 and $410.95, respectively. More recently, the $20 UHR Double Eagle Gold Coin was launched on Jan. 22, 2009, at the price of $1,189.00 -- $300 cheaper than now.
