2009 Gold Eagles
Gold Coin Information
The 2009 American Gold Eagle was released during a time of increased demand for gold bullion coins and limited supply of precious metals blanks for the United States Mint's suppliers. This had implications for the Gold Eagles that the US Mint was able to produce and offer during the year, most notably resulting in the cancellation of the collectible versions of the coins.
The 2009 Gold Eagle bullion coins were only available in one ounce version for the majority of the year. For the first six months, the coins remained subject to an allocation program, which limited the number available. This allocation program would eventually be reimplemented near the end of the year following a sales suspension.
Fractional weight versions of the 2009 Gold Eagle were only available from the US Mint for a brief period of time. Typically, these coins are sold along side the one ounce coins throughout the year. The 1/10 ounce, 1/4 ounce, and 1/2 ounce 2009 Gold Eagles were offered to authorized purchasers in December and quickly sold out of the two batches offered.
Amidst the steady, elevated demand for Gold Eagle bullion coins, in October the US Mint announced the cancellation of the expected collectible coin offerings. It had been expected that the US Mint would produce 2009 Proof Gold Eagles in a full range of denominations and the 2009-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle in one ounce version. The Mint cited their legal obligation to produce the bullion versions of the coin in quantities sufficient to meet public demand. There was no such requirement for the collectible versions of the coins.
Coin Mintages
The 2009 Gold Eagle bullion coins experienced elevated mintages compared to prior years. Unlike the 2009 Silver Eagle bullion coins, no records were broken. However, the total number of ounces of gold sold through the bullion coin program ranks as the fourth highest on record since the series began in 1986.
The table below presents the sales figures for the fractional and one ounce 2009 Gold Eagle bullion coins. As mentioned, proof and uncirculated versions were not produced.
| 2009 Gold Eagle Mintages | ||||
| 1 oz. | 1/2 oz. | 1/4 oz. | 1/10 oz. | |
| Bullion | 1,193,500 | 110,000 | 110,000 | 270,000 |
| Proof | not issued | |||
| Uncirculated | not issued | |||
Coin Specifications
Designer: Adolph A. Weinman (obverse), John Mercanti (reverse)
Date: 2009
Mint Mark: none (bullion)
Weight: 1.0909 troy oz (33.930 grams)
Composition: 91.67% gold, 3% silver, 5.33% copper
Diameter: 1.287 inches (32.7 mm)
Thickness: 0.113 inches (2.87 mm)
More Information: American Gold Eagles
