During January 2011, the United States Mint recorded their highest ever monthly sales of the American Silver Eagle. The total sales of 6,422,000 of the one ounce silver bullion coins broke the previous record set in November of last year by more than 2 million ounces.
The record breaking sales come during a month when the price of silver declined by more than 9%. It was also the same month that the US Mint first made the 2011 Silver Eagle available to authorized purchasers (AP’s). The newly dated coins were launched under the US Mint’s standard allocation, or rationing, program which limits the number of coins that each of the eleven AP’s can order.
Under typical procedures, the AP’s order the American Silver Eagles from the United States Mint based on the price of silver plus a premium of $2 per coin. The coins are then resold to other precious metals dealers, coin dealers, and the public.
January 2011 US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
| January 2011 | |
| American Gold Eagle 1 oz | 130,500 |
| American Gold Eagle 1/2 oz | 1,000 |
| American Gold Eagle 1/4 oz | 2,000 |
| American Gold Eagle 1/10 oz | 20,000 |
| American Silver Eagle 1 oz | 6,422,000 |
| America the Beautiful Silver 5 oz | 0 |
| American Gold Buffalo 1 oz | 0 |
During the month, the US Mint also sold 133,500 ounces worth of gold bullion through the American Gold Eagle offerings. The majority of sales were derived from the one-ounce size, with minor amounts of fractional weight coins also sold. This exceeds the total gold bullion sales of 85,000 achieved during the year ago period. However, this month’s total remains far from the monthly record of 692,000 ounces reached in October 1986 when the coins were first offered to the public.
So far, the US Mint has not released the 2011 American Gold Buffalo coins. Last year, the 24 karat gold bullion coins were not available until April.
Similarly, the 2011-dated America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins have not yet been released, although production has already begun. Last year, this series of 5 ounce silver coins generated controversy due to the low mintages and circumstances of distribution.
6.4 million. WOW. Put in perspective, as recently as 2007 the mintage for the YEAR was 9 million. Silver is HOT for sales right now. Makes you wonder about a potential bubble being formed. If all these coins start hitting the street in a few years as silver loses some luster, it could cause quite the fall in price. Hopefully not, and it goes through the roof from here … but we all know how Americnas jump on the bandwagon late to ALL assets. Everyone was BUYING real estate in 2005 and 2006. Now everyone is buying silver. yeah, yeah “it is different this time”. But I’ve always been a contrarian. I SOLD 21 houses of real estate in 2005, and I’m buying real estate right now. (back up to 82 houses!) I;m also holding a LOT of silver, but wondering when it may peak. (I said I’m still holding. Not selling. But I’m looking for anything in the future that says it may peak.)
JMHO.
Thanks for the update. I do hope the silver price falls back to $10, this would be a gigantic buy opportunity.
The bubble we have here is that of fiat currencies and they are in the process of popping because they intrinsically have no value.
Silver is going to $100.00 in the next two years. Fiat currency is doomed…… Inflation is killing our currency
I think currency bubble was popping a long time ago before any of us were born. Currency has fallen 95% since 1913.
I expect another stock market collapse late spring or summer as bank stocks get hammered again by the second tidal wave of mortgage defaults. This time from Alt-A’s and Option ARMS’s.
When that happens, precious metal prices will dip along with the market – with silver taking the biggest hit. However, people will not sit on sidelines in cash for very long because Helicopter Ben will initiate the mother of all QE’s and do a Hindenburg cash drop. That will scare everyone out of the dollar and set off a dollar dumping chain reaction around the world. But people won’t be fleeing back into the market this time as Bernanke hopes. Get ready to load up on gold and silver as soon as the market crashes. If you wait until the FED does the ultra-massive QE, you’ll probably be to late.
When that smoke clears you’ll be able to buy real estate for an insanely small amount of gold or silver. Take some (but not all) of your metal and buy some real estate properties. Keep a substantial portion of your metal in order to buy food. You’ll need it because food prices in fiat dollars will be astronomical.