Sales of the 2011 Silver Eagle bullion coins will begin on Monday, January 3, 2011. This will mark the first day that authorized purchasers may place orders for the coins with the United States Mint.
The American Silver Eagle has been issued in bullion format each year since 1986. Each coin contains one troy ounce of .999 fine silver, with the weight and purity guaranteed by the United States government. The program was authorized by Congress to provide a convenient and cost effective method for Americans to invest in physical precious metals.
The United States Mint sells bullion coins to a small group of official distributors who resell the coins to secondary retailers who in turn sell to the public. This authorized purchaser system is believed to be the most effective and efficient means of distributing the coins to the public, although recently this has been called into question.
Under typical procedures, the group of eleven primary distributors will be able to place orders for 2011 Silver Eagle bullion coins directly with the US Mint. The price paid will be based on the London Silver Fix on the first business day following the order, plus a premium of $2.00 per coin. Minimum order requirements are for 25,000 ounces of silver per order, with orders above the minimum placed in 500 ounce increments.
The bullion Silver Eagles are packaged in plastic tubes containing 20 one-ounce coins. Twenty five tubes are placed into molded plastic shipping containers, containing 500 ounces of silver. The plastic tubes and shipping containers are imprinted with the United States Treasury Department Seal.
The United States Mint is currently selling 2010-dated Silver Eagles. If any inventory of these coins remains on January 3, 2011, the prior year coins will be sold on a ratio basis for any primary distributors placing orders for coins bearing the new date.
I just wanted to know why the US Mint does not seem to be making the Silver Eagle Dollar Coins anymore? I’m not a professional by any stretch of the word, but I have been buying the silver eagles since they started in 1986, and I have always gotten them from the US MInt. For the last couple of years they have had a notice posted on their website stating that there is some kind of “silver bullion” shortage, but everyone and their brother (as far as the dealers are concerned) seem to have these coins, and are charging OUTRAGEOUS prices for them. So my question is this, if all the coins are minted by the US Mint, how is it that retailers and dealers can get them but your average citizen can’t?