US Mint Still Moving 2009 Gold Eagle Bullion Coins
February 25, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments
It's nearly the end of February, and the United States Mint is still trying to push the remaining inventory of 2009-dated gold bullion coins out the door.
Sales of this year's 2010 American Gold Eagles began on January 19, 2010. This was later than typical because the United States Mint made the decision to continue producing the 2009-dated coins into the end of the year. This in turn, delayed the start of production for the newly dated coins and the first available sales date.
When sales of the 2010 Gold Eagles finally began, the US Mint had a remaining inventory of 51,000 of the 2009 Gold Eagles.
Once the calendar turns over, most buyers prefer the newly dated coins. In order to make sure they could get rid of the left over inventory, the US Mint required authorized purchasers to take one 2009-dated coin for every three 2010-dated coins that they ordered.
Sales data indicates that the US Mint has probably now moved through about 40,000 of the old dated coins, leaving about 10,000 more to go. Rather than force feeding these bullion coins to authorized purchasers, the precious metals blanks could have served much better use making some of the canceled 2009 offerings that collectors were clamoring for.
Measuring Declines from the High- Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium
February 9, 2010 | Filed Under Gold, Platinum, Silver, palladium | 3 Comments
For the past few weeks, precious metals have undergone significant, rapid declines. This follows a year of banner performance during 2009. I wanted to take a post to briefly examine the extent of the declines for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
Roughly two months ago, gold had reached a new all time high and silver had reached its highest level going back about twenty months. Less than three weeks ago, platinum and palladium had reached their highest levels in about sixteen months.
The figures below show the recent high compared to the recent low and the extent of the decline. All figures are London PM Fix.
Gold
Recent High: $1,212.50 (December 2, 2009)
Recent Low: $1,058.00 (February 5, 2010)
Decline: -$154.50 (-12.74%)
Silver
Recent High: $19.18 (December 2, 2009)
Recent Low: $15.14 (February 8, 2010)
Decline: -$4.04 (-21.06%)
Platinum
Recent High: $1,627.00 (January 20, 2010)
Recent Low: $1,475.00 (February 5, 2010)
Decline: -$152.00 (-9.34%)
Palladium
Recent High: $462.00 (January 21, 2010)
Recent Low: $395.00 (February 5, 2010)
Decline: -$67.00 (-14.50%)
2010 Gold Eagle and Silver Eagle Coin Sales
January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Bullion Sales, US Mint | 1 Comment
Sales of the United States Mint's 2010 Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins are off to a fast start. Sales levels for the one ounce silver coins have already eclipsed the levels achieved in the year ago period. The one ounce gold coin sales were also strong.
After going on sale January 19, the 2010 Silver Eagles recorded sales of 2.44 million coins on the first day of availability. Earlier in the month, the US Mint had sold 367,500 coins, representing the remnants of the inventory of 2009-dated coins.
The month to date total for Silver Eagle bullion coin sales has now reached 3,592,500. By comparison, in January 2009, the US Mint had sold 1,900,000 coins. The high monthly sales total is made even more impressive by the fact that the one ounce silver bullion coins were completely unavailable for six days during the month between the sell out of 2009 coins and the start of sales for 2010 coins.
The 2010 Gold Eagles, which also went on sale January 19, recorded sales of 30,500 on the first day of availability. The US Mint additionally sold 18,500 of the 2009-dated coins on the same day, since authorized purchasers were required to take a certain amount of the old dated coins for each 2010-dated coins ordered.
For the month to date, gold eagle sales have reached 85,000 of the one ounce coins. This compares to 92,000 sold in the year ago period.
2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coins
January 20, 2010 | Filed Under Gold, US Mint | Leave a Comment
The US Mint recently wrapped up sales of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin. The sales officially ended on December 31, 2009 and more recently some final details about total sales became available.
The coin was authorized directly by the United States Secretary of the Treasury back when it was Hank Paulson. The 2009 Ultra High Relief Gold Coin recreates the design from Augustus Saint Gaudens on a one ounce 24 karat gold coin issued in 2009.
The program seemed like it might run into problems since it was being launched amidst an ongoing scarcity of precious metals blanks, but for the most part, the offering went as planned.
The coins were originally offered for sale on January 22, 2009 and were priced at $1,189 each. The coins were limited to just one per household, but that didn't stop collectors from ordering more than 40,000 coins in the opening five days of sales. A few coins from the initial orders shipped in early February, with a greater number shipping later in the month.
During the course of sales, the price of the coins at the US Mint slowly ratcheted upwards, as the price of gold rose. On November 25, 2009, the coins reached their highest offering price of $1,539 each. This represented a $350 increase from the initial price level. The last price in effect when sales ended was $1,489 per coin.
The ordering limit was also changed during the course of sales. After holding at just one per household for about six months, the limit was raised to ten coins per household in late July. This led to some increased buying activity as dealers established a position in the coins. The limit was raised again to twenty five coins and then removed completely.
The final sales total for the Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin recently became available. During the course of the year, the US Mint sold 115,178 coins. This level of sales was achieved during a year when Gold Eagle bullion coins were subject to rationing for more than six months on two separate occasions, collectible gold offerings were canceled, and fractional gold bullion coins were delayed until a brief window in December. Somehow there was a steady supply of blanks all year for this premium priced gold coin.
US Mint Accepts Orders for 2010 Gold and Silver Eagles
January 19, 2010 | Filed Under Gold, Silver, US Mint | Leave a Comment
Today the US Mint began accepting orders from authorized purchasers for the 2010 Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins. The initial ordering date this year comes a bit later than usual and carries some special stipulations.
Only a select group of authorized purchasers are able to buy the bullion coins directly from the United States Mint. These APs then resell the coins to other dealers and the public, as well as facilitate a two-way market for the coins.
Usually Gold and Silver Eagles bearing the following year's date are produced in November and December of the preceding year. This allows the US Mint to build an inventory of newly dated coins, accept orders from authorized purchasers in mid December, and deliver the coins in early January. This year, production of 2009 dated coins continued to year-end, pushing back the availability of the new coins.
The 2010 Gold Eagles will have a special ordering requirement. As of January 13, 2010, the US Mint had a remaining inventory of 51,000 of the one ounce 2009 Gold Eagles. As long as this inventory remains, authorized purchasers will be required to order Gold Eagles on a "3-to-1 basis." This means that for every three 2010 Gold Eagles ordered, they must also order one 2009 Gold Eagle. Only one ounce coins will be available.
Both 2010 Gold and Silver Eagles will continue to be subject to the US Mint's allocation program. This program rations the maximum number of coins that authorized purchasers can buy.
