Overview of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin

The 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle is a modern commemorative gold coin issued by the United States Mint, struck in 24-karat gold with a purity of .9999 fine and a weight of one troy ounce. It carries a face value of twenty dollars and represents one of the most technically ambitious coins the United States Mint has produced in the modern era. This particular example has been certified by the Professional Coin Grading Service at MS70, the highest grade on the Sheldon scale, and carries the First Strike designation, indicating it was submitted to PCGS within the first 30 days of the coin's release. We carry this coin as part of our broader offering of certified United States numismatic gold, where grade, provenance, and authentication status are central to how a coin is priced and traded.

History and Background

The 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle draws its design directly from Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the sculptor commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s to elevate the artistic standard of American coinage. Saint-Gaudens originally produced his high relief design for the 1907 Double Eagle, but technical limitations of the era required the relief to be flattened for mass production. The design was never realized at its full intended depth during that period, making it one of the most celebrated unfinished artistic ambitions in American numismatic history. In 2009, the United States Mint revisited that legacy and struck the coin as Saint-Gaudens originally intended, using modern minting technology to achieve the dramatic relief that was impossible to produce at scale a century earlier. Rather than issuing it as a mass-circulation coin, the Mint produced it as a collectible single-year-of-issue piece with no stated mintage cap, though production was naturally limited by demand and the coin's complexity. Each coin required multiple strikes to bring the design fully up from the planchet, a process that distinguishes it from standard bullion coins.

Design and Aesthetics

The obverse features Lady Liberty striding forward with a torch raised in her right hand and an olive branch in her left, set against a radiant sunburst background with the Capitol building visible in the lower right. The image conveys movement and depth in a way that flat-relief coins simply cannot replicate, and at MS70, the coin's surfaces reflect that precision without any interruption from contact marks or imperfections. The inscriptions "LIBERTY" and the date appear in the field, maintaining the classical composition Saint-Gaudens intended. The reverse depicts a powerful American eagle in flight, wings spread, with the sun's rays breaking across the lower portion of the design. "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," "IN GOD WE TRUST," and the face value are all present, consistent with the original design intent. The edge of the coin is lettered with "E PLURIBUS UNUM" and a series of stars, a detail that adds another layer of visual and tactile complexity to the overall presentation. The coin is struck on a slightly concave planchet, which contributes to the sculptural quality of the design and creates a visual depth that distinguishes it from virtually any other modern United States gold coin. At the MS70 level, every element of this design is fully struck, with no weakness in the high points, no breaks in luster, and no surface flaws under magnification.

Authenticity and Product Integrity

The PCGS MS70 grade assigned to this coin is the result of rigorous third-party examination by one of the two most respected grading services in the numismatic industry. PCGS evaluates coins against standardized criteria covering strike quality, surface preservation, luster, and eye appeal, and MS70 represents a coin with no post-production imperfections detectable under five-times magnification. The First Strike designation adds a provenance layer, confirming the coin was certified from early production inventory. We are an authorized dealer for both PCGS and NGC, which means we work directly within the framework these services have established for buying and selling certified coins. Every coin we handle is verified for authenticity and grade consistency before it is listed, and the PCGS holder itself provides tamper-evident protection that preserves the coin's certified status. The .9999 fine gold content is guaranteed by the United States Mint, and the combination of sovereign issuance and third-party certification eliminates meaningful authentication risk for the buyer.

Condition and Packaging

MS70 is the pinnacle of the Sheldon grading scale and indicates a coin that is, by PCGS standards, perfectly struck with full, unblemished luster and no contact marks, hairlines, or surface flaws of any kind visible under magnification. For a coin of this design complexity and relief depth, achieving MS70 is a meaningful distinction, as the high points of the Saint-Gaudens design are particularly vulnerable to imperfections during the striking and handling process. This coin is encapsulated in a PCGS sonically sealed holder that bears the coin's grade, designation, and a unique certification number that can be verified directly through the PCGS registry. The holder protects the coin from handling, environmental exposure, and tampering while keeping the coin fully visible from both sides. When we ship certified coins, they are packaged securely to prevent movement within the shipment, ensuring the holder arrives in the same condition it leaves our facility.

Pricing and Market Factors

The base price of this coin reflects the current spot price of gold, multiplied by its one troy ounce weight in .9999 fine gold. Above that baseline, the premium accounts for several compounding factors: the coin's status as a United States Mint issue, the complexity of its production process, the single-year release structure, and critically, the PCGS MS70 First Strike certification. Certified coins at the top grade carry a premium above raw examples of the same coin, and that premium tends to be influenced by the size of the MS70 population and the relative scarcity of first-submission examples. Our pricing reflects real-time market conditions and is structured for transparency. The bid and ask spread displayed on our product page provides a direct view into the current cost of ownership for this coin, factoring in both acquisition cost and estimated resale value under current market conditions.

Selling and Liquidity

The 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle has remained one of the more actively traded modern United States numismatic gold coins since its release, and the MS70 First Strike population represents a subset of that market with its own distinct pricing dynamics. PCGS-certified coins trade in an environment where grade and population data are transparent and publicly accessible, which supports more efficient price discovery than the raw coin market allows. Buyers and sellers on both sides of a transaction can evaluate relative value using the same population data, which reduces ambiguity at resale. We operate a two-way market that allows customers to both purchase and sell coins within the same platform. For a certified coin like this one, we price our buyback offer based on current wholesale market conditions and the coin's PCGS certification status, providing a structured liquidity option that does not require the seller to navigate the auction market independently.

Why Buy the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle PCGS MS70 (First Strike)?

Few modern United States gold coins combine the artistic significance, production complexity, and collector recognition that this coin carries. The Saint-Gaudens design is widely regarded as the finest ever applied to an American coin, and the 2009 release is the only version in history to have been struck at the full relief depth the sculptor originally intended. That distinction is not marketing language; it is a documented part of the coin's production history that separates it from every other twentieth and twenty-first century American gold issue. At MS70 with First Strike designation, this coin represents the highest achievable standard within its certification tier. For buyers focused on condition-rarity, the MS70 population is finite and not growing, which is a straightforward structural characteristic worth understanding before making a purchase decision. The combination of government issuance, .9999 fine gold content, artistic pedigree, and top-tier certification makes this one of the most self-contained cases for a single coin in the modern American numismatic market.

Why Buy from Bullion Standard?

We have been operating as a precious metals dealer since 2010, and our approach has always been grounded in transparency rather than pressure. Our A rating with the Better Business Bureau and active memberships in the American Numismatic Association and the National Coin and Bullion Association reflect a long-term commitment to operating with integrity across both the bullion and numismatic sides of the market. As authorized dealers for PCGS and NGC, we work directly within the certification ecosystem that governs certified coins like this one, which means we understand how graded coins are priced, traded, and verified at the wholesale level. Every certified coin we carry is confirmed against the issuing registry before listing, and our pricing reflects actual market conditions rather than arbitrary retail markups. Our two-way market structure means you can buy and sell within the same platform, with buyback pricing that is competitive and grounded in real-time wholesale data.

Get Near-Spot Pricing with Bullion Standard Pro

Bullion Standard Pro gives members access to live, executable wholesale bid and ask pricing across our catalog, including certified numismatic coins where premium dynamics can shift meaningfully based on changes in supply, demand, and population data. For a coin like the 2009 Ultra High Relief MS70 First Strike, understanding how the premium has moved over time relative to spot gold provides context that a simple listing price does not. Pro members can access historical premium data, spread analysis, and real-time portfolio valuation using current wholesale bid prices, which gives a more accurate picture of what holdings are actually worth at any given moment. The platform is built around the principle that better market data leads to better decisions. Rather than evaluating this coin in isolation, Pro tools allow members to compare it against other certified gold coins across metrics including premium levels, bid/ask spread tightness, and liquidity characteristics, so purchases are informed by objective market data rather than assumptions.

Flexible and Secure Payment Options

We support a wide range of payment methods to make the purchasing process straightforward and secure. Customers can complete transactions using Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover credit cards, as well as PayPal, bank-connected payments through Plaid, wire transfer, paper check, and cryptocurrency payments processed through BitPay. Each method is integrated with secure transaction protocols designed to protect both the buyer and the integrity of the order. Whether you are purchasing a single certified coin or building a larger position, the checkout process is built to be simple, flexible, and reliable from start to finish.