For the month of October 2011, sales of the United States Mint’s gold bullion coins fell to their lowest monthly level of the year. Meanwhile, silver bullion sales remained at elevated levels, but marked a decline from the strong numbers of the previous month.
The United States Mint offers 22 karat American Gold Eagles in one ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce, and tenth ounce sizes. Their other gold bullion option is the 24 karat American Gold Buffalo coins available in one ounce size only. For the month, total sales across all options reached 62,500 ounces. This was comprised of 46,000 one ounce Gold Eagles, 12,500 one ounce Gold Buffaloes, and the balance in fractional Gold Eagles.
The monthly total represents a decline from the prior month sales of 104,000 ounces. It is also a decline from the year ago period when 94,000 ounces were sold.
October 2011 US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
| Oct 2011 | YTD 2011 | |
| American Gold Eagle 1 oz | 46,000 | 806,000 |
| American Gold Eagle 1/2 oz | 3,000 | 65,000 |
| American Gold Eagle 1/4 oz | 6,000 | 78,000 |
| American Gold Eagle 1/10 oz | 10,000 | 355,000 |
| American Gold Buffalo 1 oz | 12,500 | 145,000 |
| American Silver Eagle 1 oz | 3,064,000 | 36,475,500 |
| America the Beautiful Silver 5 oz | 6,200 | 390,000 |
Silver bullion coin options include the one ounce American Silver Eagle and five ounce America the Beautiful Silver Coins. The sales total across both options was 3,095,000. This was comprised predominantly of the one ounce Silver Eagles.
The monthly total is down from the prior month when 4,475,000 ounces were sold, and relatively flat from the year ago period when sales reached 3,150,000 ounces.
For the year to date American Silver Eagle sales are in record territory at 36,475,000. Record breaking annual sales have now been achieved for four years running. In 2008, the US Mint sold 19,583,500 coins, followed by 28,766,500 in 2009, and 34,662,500 in 2010.
I think as time goes on we’re going to see decreasing sales of gold products, excepting during periods of rapid price appreciation as “panic buyers” try to get in before the Mint raises the products on its numismatic pieces. The price of gold is becoming too expensive for a lot of average collectors to afford. I bought most of my gold in 2009 when I began getting into numismatics, and I have not bought any gold coin over a quarter ounce since early 2010. It’s just gotten too expensive for me to afford anything larger. I imagine a lot of others have the same problem.
Silver markets and sales seem more volatile. It seems like sales of silver coins tend to go up along with rising silver prices. When prices drop, sales (generally) seem to cool down, excepting obviously the numismatic AtBs. I’m not sure about the psychology going on here (is it investors we need to be looking at?) Maybe the correct way to view sales of silver products is “A rising tide lifts all boats?”
That is a spot on observation Captain!
Just as the platinum american eagle series became too pricey for the average collector, resulting in the 2009 elimination of fractional platinum bullion and numismatic issues, collecting modern gold coin bullion and numismatic issues appears headed to the same direction. There are also too many options to purchase modern gold coin issues, the worst of which is the First Spouse series. It is hardly sustainable even in the 1/2 oz. format and is resulting in a more of a bullion coin as a value than a numismatic collectable. With the lame premise of simply being the wife of a dead (and sometimes notorious President), I foresee this series going the way of ill-fated American Arts Gold Medallion series: poorly conceived, poorly received, and poorly perceived to become a sub par means of buying bullion.
Something else to consider: the cost of mining gold, recently published as $500 to $600 an ounce,
assures a huge future oversupply of gold with the enormous profit motivation on the part of gold mining companies. Eventually this huge surplus of newly mined gold will rapidly drive down the price of gold, maybe as soon as early 2013.