June 10, 2026

Archives for September 2010

2010 Gold Buffalo Bullion Coin Inventories Depleted

September 27, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Even though its only September, US Mint sales of the 2010 American Gold Buffalo bullion coins are done for the year. Availability for the one ounce 24 karat gold bullion coin has become erratic in recent years, with the coins only available for a few months at a time, rather than throughout the year.

A memorandum sent to the US Mint’s authorized purchaser network included the following brief statement: The United States Mint has depleted its inventory of 2010 American Buffalo One Ounce Gold Bullion Coins. No additional inventory will be made available.

The 2010 Gold Buffalo bullion coins originally went on sale April 29, 2010. After just under five months of availability, the US Mint recorded sales of 209,000 coins.

The American Gold Buffalo series was introduced in 2006, in part to compete with the 24 karat gold offerings of other world mints. The US Mint’s popular American Gold Eagle is struck in a composition of 22 karat gold.

The 2006 Gold Buffalo was launched on June 22, 2006 and the coins were available throughout the remainder of the year. In 2007, the coins were available all year, although sales levels took a dip from the strong levels of the inaugural year. The following year, the more erratic availability would begin.

In September 2008, the US Mint announced their inventory of Gold Buffalo bullion coins depleted. The offering remained unavailable for more than a month. In November sales briefly resumed to sell one last batch of 25,000 coins. After that point, Gold Buffalo bullion coins were not available again for nearly a year.

The 2009 Gold Buffalo coins finally went on sale October 15, 2009 and only lasted until December 4, 2009 before inventories were depleted.

Will we ever see a return to normalcy when bullion coins are available throughout the year and not subject to depletion, suspensions, and rationing?

Filed Under: Gold, US Mint Tagged With: , , ,

Gold and Silver Recap: Record Breaking Prices

September 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Another Precious Week in the Market

Gold is breaking records ($1298) and silver has set a thirty year high ($21.35), in dollar terms at least, and we’re all on tenterhooks – or perhaps we shouldn’t be.  Precious metals will be around long after their latest price spike, and it’s all about storing value.

The main thing that’s been driving the gold and silver price recently has been the weak dollar.  You may not think that, but all the currencies are currently in a competitive printing championship.  The Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England are all talking about more money printing to stave off (more) recession while the European Central Bank is making similar noises if you could hear them over the screeching of Portugal and Ireland, although the Euro has done quite well, in comparison.

There’s no new gold selling action from governments, yet.  The governments shot their bolt somewhat in the early part of the decade, but they still do have some gold that could seriously depress the market.  However at the moment a gold sale looks like it’s not on the cards. Governments are desperately trying not to increase the value of their currencies.

The action is in the buying.  Not so much governments.  Recent buyers like Russia, China and India are keeping quiet at the moment, but in Asia the wedding season is coming.  And that means retail buying of gold.  There’s usually an uptick in the gold price around now.  Despite what we’ve all seen with the floods in Pakistan the monsoon’s actually been good for most of the Indian sub-continent and the Chinese economy is still powering ahead, so there will still be sales.  Even George Soros is talking about buying gold, as is John Paulson.

There’s something more sinister.  Congress is talking about legislation to “protect” precious metals investors.  Like in 1933 when all the gold, apart from some collectible coins, was taken out of the hands of private investors?  We’ll have to keep an eye on that.

As for silver, this is a far straighter inflation hedge than gold – which also thrives on political instability.  At this price it’s likely that less than the often quoted 50% is used in industrial production.  It pays to remember that silver has gone up 27% since the start of the year, so it may be the Cinderella metal, but we all know what happened to her.

Platinum ($1645) and Palladium ($562) are, like silver, also climbing up due to the combination of industrial demand and inflation worries.

Filed Under: Weekly Recap Tagged With: , ,

US Mint to Offer 2010 Proof Gold Eagles

September 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The United States Mint has officially announced the availability of 2010 Proof American Gold Eagle coins.

Although these are collector coins, their fate has become intertwined with the demand for bullion coins. The end of Gold and Silver Eagle rationing and the recent decline in bullion sales, no doubt helped clear the way for the collectible offering. Proof Gold Eagles had been canceled for 2009.

The US Mint will offer the full range of 2010 Proof Gold Eagles, including 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/10 oz coins. These will be available for sale individually or as part of a four coin set. The following product limits have been established for each offering:

Product Product Limit
1 oz. Coin 25,000
1/2 oz. Coin 15,000
1/4 oz. Coin 16,000
1/10 oz. Coin 27,000
4 Coin Set 39,000

If the US Mint manages to completely sell out of all options, that would represent 111,350 ounces of gold. Through the end of August, the average number of ounces sold through the American Gold Eagle bullion program was around 108,000 per month.

There is still no word on whether the US Mint will have the time and precious metals blank supplies to produce and offer 2010 Proof Silver Eagles.

Filed Under: Gold, US Mint Tagged With: , , , ,

Gold and Silver Eagle Rationing Ends… For Now

September 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The United States Mint’s “on again, off again” rationing of American Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins is “off again”.

For more than two years, increased levels of demand for gold and silver bullion coins have caused problems for the United States Mint. Under current law, they are required to produce Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins in quantities sufficient to meet public demand. When they have been unable to meet full demand, they have defaulted to meeting as much demand as possible.

In February 2008, following a multi-week suspension of Silver Eagles, the US Mint imposed their “allocation program” for the first time, which rationed the supply of bullion coins amongst authorized purchasers. At the time their memo stated, “The unprecedented demand for American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins necessitates our allocating these coins on a weekly basis until we are able to meet demand.”

Despite making some progress with the overall number of gold and silver bullion coins available, the US Mint has resorted to this allocation time and time again, in response to increased bullion demand. When demand subsides, the program is lifted, only to be reinstated weeks or months later when demand reemerges.

Last year rationing was ended for both gold and silver bullion coins in June 2009 with little fanfare. In the ensuing months, the US Mint presumably produced the bullion coins in quantities necessary to meet full demand. However, as had happened before, fresh waves of demand upset the delicate balance.

In late November 2009, sales of both Gold and Silver Eagles were briefly suspended and resumed under the familiar allocation program. Rationing eventually ended for Gold Eagle bullion coins in March 2010, and for Silver Eagle bullion coins early this month.

Will the latest “end of rationing” finally stick? Or will events once again transpire to reignite bullion demand and bring back the rationing program yet again?

Filed Under: Gold, Silver, US Mint Tagged With: , , , ,

US Mint Gold Bullion Sales Collapse in August

September 3, 2010 by 1 Comment

The US Mint’s published sales figures for the month of August show a stunning decline in the level of gold bullion sales. The monthly sales for their popular American Gold Eagle bullion coins measured just 41,500 ounces. This represents the lowest monthly total since June 2008, before the financial crisis took hold and led to a surge in bullion sales.

American Gold Eagle sales during August included 39,000 one ounce coins, 1,000 one-half ounce coins, 2,000 one-quarter ounce coins, and 15,000 one-tenth ounce coins to make up the total sales of 41,500 ounces. This represents a decline of more than 70% compared to the previous month and about 50% compared to the year ago period.

The US Mint’s other gold bullion offering, the 24 karat American Gold Buffalo also put in a lackluster month with sales of 15,500 of the one ounce coins. This is down from a monthly high of 70,500 ounces in May and the prior month total of 23,000 ounces. In the year ago period, the coins were not available.

Since the American Gold Eagle coins have been available continuously (amidst a few periodic suspensions), the monthly sales totals illustrate the pattern demand for the US Mint’s gold bullion coin. There have been a few other monthly drops over the course of the past few years and demand has always managed to recover.

Here are the monthly sales totals for American Gold Eagle bullion coins (in ounces) since June 2008.

Jun-08 15,500
Jul-08 50,000
Aug-08 86,000
Sep-08 113,000
Oct-08 121,500
Nov-08 116,500
Dec-08 176,000
Jan-09 92,000
Feb-09 113,500
Mar-09 136,500
Apr-09 147,500
May-09 65,000
Jun-09 116,000
Jul-09 86,000
Aug-09 82,000
Sep-09 115,500
Oct-09 115,500
Nov-09 124,000
Dec-09 231,500
Jan-10 85,000
Feb-10 84,000
Mar-10 102,000
Apr-10 60,500
May-10 190,000
Jun-10 151,500
Jul-10 152,000
Aug-10 41,500
Filed Under: Bullion Sales Tagged With: , , , ,