Another reason to attend the World’s Fair of Money® at the end of July in Baltimore is to be there for the unveiling of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin.
The US Mint announced that US Mint Director Ed Moy will participate in the show’s opening ceremony and then officially open the Mint exhibit that will feature the one ounce gold coin that will go on sale in 2009.
The coin&rsqou;s design will be a high-relief $20 gold piece on a double-thick, 24-karat gold planchet (sometimes called a piefort) 27 millimeters in diameter. The design will feature Augustus Saint-Gaudens original 1907 design where the date will be in roman numerals (MMIX). The inspiration for this coin came from 1907 when the Mint tried to strike an experimental double eagle using two stacked $10 eagle planchets. When it was realized that congress would have to approve the striking of the coin for circulation, the project was abandoned and the test pieces were melted.
Aside from the date, the only difference between the 1907 test pieces and the 2009 bullion issue is that the the motto “In God We Trust” will be added over the rising sun as it appeared in 1908.