The Mint’s data-reporting over the last few weeks has been irregular, perhaps due (at least in part) to the partial redesign of the website. Regular weekly reports for numismatic sales resumed last week, and Coin Update’s reports have resumed along with them. The Mint’s bullion-sales report never fully stopped, but it has been irregular. For example, during the weeks since our last precious-metals sales update, the Mint has updated its 1-ounce American Eagle gold bullion sales figures regularly; the 1/4-ounce figures once; the 1/10-ounce figures twice; and the 1/2-ounce figures not at all.
Since the numismatic reports seem to be back on track, we’ll roll with the bullion reports as they are, noting which figures have or have not been updated for the period, as appropriate.
Silver
As of April 27, 2017, the U.S. Mint’s authorized purchasers (APs) have bought 8,792,500 American Eagle silver bullion coins. Over the four weeks comprising this report, 835,000 ASE coins were sold, averaging 208,750 per week. Today (April 25) is the 115th day of the year; we’re 1/3 of the way through the calendar, and ASE sales are currently 23.3% of last year’s total of 37,701,500 ounces. Sales would need to average nearly 826,000 per week from now to the end of 2017 to equal last year’s figure.
In early April, the Mint released the America the Beautiful Frederick Douglass National Historic Site 5-ounce bullion coins, which have sold 17,600 to date (averaging a little less than 6,000 per week for their three weeks of availability). The 2017 Effigy Mounds National Monument 5-ounce bullion coins sold an additional 900 units during this period. In sum, the past month has seen 92,500 ounces of ATB 5-ounce bullion coins sold.
The total amount of silver bullion sold by the Mint during this period comes to 927,500 ounces, with the year-to-date total reaching 8,983,500 ounces.
| Past Week | Year to Date | |||
| Coins | Ounces | Coins | Ounces | |
| American Eagle 1-oz. silver coins | 835,000 | 835,000 | 8,792,500 | 8,792,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5-oz. silver coins (all) | 18,500 | 92,500 | 38,200 | 191,000 |
| Effigy Mounds National Monument | 900 | 4,500 | 20,600 | 103,000 |
| F. Douglass National Historic Site | 17,600 | 88,000 | 17,600 | 88,000 |
| Total silver | 853,500 | 927,500 | 8,830,700 | 8,983,500 |
The value of an ounce of silver dropped by 58 cents since last Tuesday, ending the day at $17.84 according to the London Bullion Market Association. Silver’s average last week, Tuesday through Friday (due to the Easter holiday), was $18.20 per ounce, nearly unchanged from the previous week’s average of $18.19.
Gold
During this reporting period, American Eagle gold bullion coins sold a total of 5,500 ounces (171,500 ounces year-to-date). American Buffalo 1-ounce gold bullion coins sold 3,000 units for the period (57,000 ounces YTD).
In all, the Mint sold 8,500 ounces of gold bullion coins over the last four weeks, averaging 2,125 ounces per week. The Mint’s year-to-date figure is 228,500 ounces of gold.
| Past Week | Year to Date | |||
| Coins | Ounces | Coins | Ounces | |
| American Eagle gold coins (all) | 25,000 | 5,500 | 407,500 | 171,500 |
| 1/10-oz. | 20,000 | 2,000 | 210,000 | 21,000 |
| 1/4-oz. | 2,000 | 500 | 46,000 | 11,500 |
| 1/2-oz. | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 12,500 |
| 1-oz. | 3,000 | 3,000 | 126,500 | 126,500 |
| American Buffalo 1-oz. gold coins | 3,000 | 3,000 | 57,000 | 57,000 |
| Total gold | 28,000 | 8,500 | 464,500 | 228,500 |
The value of an ounce of gold is down by $11.15 since last Tuesday, to $1,267.80. Gold’s average last week, Tuesday through Friday, was $1,280.49, a bit up from the previous week’s average of $1,265.35.
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 is down $30.00 compared to this time last week, and is now at $955.00. The metal’s average last week, however, from Tuesday through Friday, was $979.75, up a little from $955.00 the previous week.
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 $795.00 per ounce, up $6.00 from last week’s value of $789.00. The average value of an ounce of palladium last week was $791.25, down just slightly from the previous week’s average of $795.50. ❑
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