It took collectors four minutes Nov. 14 to place sufficient orders with the United States Mint to exhaust the bureau’s authorized issue of over 17,000 Proof 2024 230th Anniversary, Flowing Hair, High Relief, .9999 fine gold dollars at $3,640 per coin.

The price of the sold coins quickly escalated for resale on the secondary market at hundreds of dollars above issue price.

Orders for the gold dollars were limited to one per household. As the number of potential buyers increased exponentially online, those trying to place orders were routed to a “waiting room” in the order in which they tried to place their order. Potential buyers were subsequently moved into the buying queue after the waiting period expired.

The Mint sold 500 of the Proof gold dollars Nov. 14 at the Whitman Baltimore Expo.

U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White said Nov. 18 that 2,000 of the Proof gold dollars were reserved for direct sale to the 18 unnamed dealers that comprise the Authorized Bulk Purchase Program. The ABPP dealers are able to place orders for the coins for pickup a week before the launch of sales to the general public.

The ABPP dealers acquire the coins at a 5 percent premium above the retail price charged to the general public. Of the 2,000 Proof gold dollars reserved for the ABPP dealers, the dealers placed orders for 1,994 of the allotment.

The bureau also previously recorded a sellout for the Matte Finish .999 fine silver 2024 silver medal. The medals, limited to a product release of 50,000 units at $104 per unit when it went on sale Oct. 15, had a sales total online of 49,996 medals as of Oct. 24. Secondary market resale for silver medals habve been recorded at multiples of the issue price.

The gold dollars were struck at the West Point Mint while the silver medals were produced at the Philadelphia Mint. The numismatic products were produced in recognition of the nation’s first .900 fine silver dollars in 1794 designed and engraved by Chief Engraver Robert Scot. Neither the gold dollar nor silver medals bear the Mint mark of the production facility where the numismatic products were executed.

For the Proof Flowing Hair, High Relief gold dollars, 230 of the gold coin’s mintage were scheduled to be offered at auction Dec. 12 through Stack’s Bowers Galleries. Complete details of the auction had not been explained as of Nov. 18.

Striking details

The Flowing Hair, High Relief gold dollars were struck at the West Point Mint between Aug. 29, 2024 and Oct. 23, 2024, according to U.S. Mint officials.

The coin’s edge exhibits the denomination incused as HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT along with 13 six-pointed stars.

The collar die used to execute the gold dollar’s edge device exhibits incuse lettering that upon striking results in the edge lettering appearing raised on the finished coin.

The gold coins were struck on a GMP 360 coinage press made by Gräbener Pressensysteme GmbH & Co. KG, with the obverse and reverse dies oriented vertically. The obverse die served as the upper hammer die with the reverse die as the lower anvil die.

The planchets received three strikes from the dies exerting 100 to 110 metric tons per strike.

According to White, four obverse and four reverse dies bearing the 230 privy mark were used to strike the privy-marked gold pieces. The average die life for the obverse dies was 118 and for the reverse, 203 coins.

For the non-privy mark gold coins, 34 obverse dies and 31 reverse dies were used, with the average die life for the obverse at 366 coins and the reverse dies at 372 coins before retirement. Five edge collar dies were employed overall for the gold dollar output, with the average life per collar die at 2,525 coins.

White said the first-struck, privy-marked Proof gold dollar, was produced with its own die set.

Secondary market

The online collectibles auction and direct sales market eBay reports the completion of multiple resales for the gold Flowing Hair, High Relief dollars.

An example of the gold dollar graded and encapsulated Proof 70 by Certified Acceptance Corporation Grading was recorded sold on ebay Oct. 16 for $6,695.

A gold dollar in Mint packaging resold Nov. 14 for $4,600. A similar example in Mint packaging sold the same day on eBay for $4,950. A third example from a different seller sold Nov. 14 in Mint packaging for $4,539.99.

On Nov. 15, another gold dollar in Mint packaging sold for $4,600. Another example in Mint packaging sold Nov. 15 for $4,599.99.

A CAC Proof 70 gold dollar realized $4,975 in a Nov. 15 eBay auction. A Professional Coin Grading Service Proof 70 deep cameo gold dollar sold on ebay Nov. 17 for $4,998.99.

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