This week’s precious-metals bullion sales report includes a couple of backdated adjustments to the Mint’s figures. The total number of American Buffalo gold bullion coins sold in March has been adjusted from 7,000 to 8,500. The 2016 sales figures for the America the Beautiful 5-ounce silver bullion coins have also received two small adjustments: Harper’s Ferry has been bumped up from 38,600 to 38,700, and Ft. Moultrie from 27,900 to 28,300. This brings the total number of ATB bullion coins sold in 2016 to 287,000, for a final volume of 1,435,000 ounces.
Silver
As of May 1, 2017, the U.S. Mint’s authorized purchasers (APs) have bought 9,322,500 American Eagle silver bullion coins. Of these, 530,000 were sold during the past week, which is well up from the average of 208,750 over the past four weeks. For the remaining 34 weeks left in 2017, ASE sales would need to average 834,676 per week to reach last year’s figure of 37,701,500.
Also during the past week, the Mint reports sales of 800 America the Beautiful Frederick Douglass National Historic Site 5-ounce bullion coins, along with 100 Effigy Mounds National Monument 5-ounce bullion coins. The two sites together account for 4,500 ounces of silver on the week.
The total volume of silver bullion sold by the Mint during this period comes to 534,500 ounces, with the year-to-date total reaching 9,518,000 ounces.
| Past Week | Year to Date | |||
| Coins | Ounces | Coins | Ounces | |
| American Eagle 1-oz. silver coins | 530,000 | 530,000 | 9,322,500 | 9,322,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5-oz. silver coins (all) | 900 | 4,500 | 39,100 | 195,500 |
| Effigy Mounds National Monument | 100 | 500 | 20,700 | 103,500 |
| F. Douglass National Historic Site | 800 | 4,000 | 18,400 | 92,000 |
| Total silver | 530,900 | 534,500 | 9,361,600 | 9,518,000 |
The value of an ounce of silver ended the day on Friday, April 28, at $17.41 according to the London Bullion Market Association. (Today is a bank holiday in the U.K.) This represents the metal’s lowest point since March 21, when it rang in at $17.31 per ounce. Silver’s average last week, Monday through Friday, was $17.62 per ounce, almost a 60-cent drop from the previous week’s average of $18.20.
Gold
Over the course of the past week, 1-ounce American Eagle gold bullion coins sold a reported 2,500 ounces; no sales are reported for fractional AGE coins for the period. This brings the Mint’s year-to-date total for American Eagle gold coins to 174,000 ounces. American Buffalo 1-ounce gold bullion coins sold 1,500 units for the period, bringing the coins’ 2017 total to 60,000 ounces of gold. For AGE and AGB coins together, the Mint’s year-to-date figure is 234,000 ounces.
| Past Week | Year to Date | |||
| Coins | Ounces | Coins | Ounces | |
| American Eagle gold coins (all) | 2,500 | 2,500 | 410,000 | 174,000 |
| 1/10-oz. | 0 | 0 | 210,000 | 21,000 |
| 1/4-oz. | 0 | 0 | 46,000 | 11,500 |
| 1/2-oz. | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 12,500 |
| 1-oz. | 2,500 | 2,500 | 129,000 | 129,000 |
| American Buffalo 1-oz. gold coins | 1,500 | 1,500 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| Total gold | 4,000 | 4,000 | 470,000 | 234,000 |
The value of an ounce of gold is down by a slight $12.95 since last Monday, closing Friday evening at $1,266.45. Gold’s average last week, Monday through Friday, was $1,265.66, down from the previous week’s average of $1,280.49.
Platinum
The sales total for the 2017 American Eagle one-ounce platinum bullion coins is 20,000 units. The value of an ounce of platinum dropped by $9.00 since last Monday, and is now at $946.00. The metal’s average last week, Monday through Friday, was $949.60, also down from the previous week, when it averaged $979.75.
Palladium
In anticipation of the U.S. Mint’s first-ever palladium bullion coin, Coin Update is now tracking palladium values in this report. The metal is currently at $824.00 per ounce according to the London Bullion Market Association, up $29.00 from last week’s value of $795.00. The average value of an ounce of palladium last week was $804.60, up a bit from the previous week’s average of $791.25. ❑
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