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2010 Platinum Eagles Available

August 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The United States Mint began selling 2010 American Platinum Eagles this week– not the bullion coins, but the collectible proof version of the coin.

Platinum bullion coins actually have not been produced by the US Mint since late 2008. The 2009-dated bullion coins were announced canceled as part of a broader announcement, citing “unprecedented demand” for gold and silver bullion coins. There have been no specific updates on the status of platinum bullion coins for the current year.

The one ounce proof 2010 Platinum Eagles are limited to a maximum mintage of 10,000 coins. The initial sales price was set at $1,892. In the absence of bullion versions of the American Platinum Eagle, will this offering have a broader appeal from precious metals investors, rather than just coin collectors?

At the current price, the one ounce proof coins carry a premium of nearly 25% above the current price of platinum. By comparison, a well known bullion dealer has one ounce Platinum Maple Leaf coins available for $1,645 each, or one ounce Platinum Eagles priced at $1,725. These prices represent premiums of 8.22% and 13.49%.

Pricing for the US Mint’s 2010 Proof Platinum Eagle is tiered and based on a weekly average price of platinum, which presents an opportunity to wait for a more favorable price. Assuming the coins do not sell out and platinum prices remain around the current levels, prices for the coins should actually be decreased by $100 on Wednesday of next week. If the price does decline to $1,792 per coin and platinum stays at $1,520 per ounce, the premium above platinum value would be cut down to 17.89%. At around 4.4% more than the premium for random date, bullion quality American Platinum Eagles, precious metals investors may be enticed.

The 2009 Proof Platinum Eagles, which were limited to 8,000 coins, managed to sell out after about a week. The coins now sell for around $2,400 each due to demand from the collector market.

Filed Under: Platinum, US Mint Tagged With: ,

Proof Silver Eagles Possible… With Change in Law

July 27, 2010 by 1 Comment

There might be a chance for proof versions of the American Silver Eagle after all.

Shortly after my post on the dimming prospects of the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle, US Mint Director Edmund Moy delivered testimony to the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology on “The State of U.S. Coins and Currency”. Within the testimony, Director Moy mentioned that the subcommittee was considering amending the existing law to allow the Mint to produce collectible uncirculated and proof versions of the Silver Eagle, even if full demand for bullion coins was not being met.

It was revealed that the US Mint has already, in fact, provided drafting assistance for the amendment to the law. If it could be enacted soon, the Mint could begin production of Proof Silver Eagles in September at a rate of 200,000 coins per month. This would allow total production of 830,000 coins before the end of the year.

Frankly, after two years of stalled production, a change in law is not really the solution I was expecting. Two years should have provided the US Mint with sufficient time to either find additional precious metals blank suppliers, or set up their own production of precious metals blanks in-house. During the course of the subcommittee meeting, the US Mint Director was questioned on these two options and did not provide satisfactory responses. If the US Mint sought to change the law to legitimize the fact that they cannot satisfy bullion demand, then they could have taken this step two years ago.

As it stands, the US Mint claims that there is plenty of gold, silver, and platinum in raw material form, they just can not get it fabricated into planchets fast enough. This is another tough statement to accept without scrutiny. As covered in prior posts, other world mints quickly managed to adapt to the increased level of demand for precious metals. The US Mint has apparently been staring down the same bottleneck for two years.

During the course of the questioning, Director Moy was asked about the possibility of producing back dated 2009 Proof Silver Eagles, to fill the gap left by last year’s cancellation. He stated that this was not allowed.

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

2010 Proof Silver Eagles at Risk of Cancellation

July 16, 2010 by 3 Comments

One of the consequences of the record pace of United States Mint silver bullion coins might be the cancellation of the popular Proof American Silver Eagle for the second year running.

The Proof Silver Eagles have been issued each year from 1986 to 2008. During this period, the coins have sold between 372,168 and 1,092,477 coins per year and had firmly established itself as one of the United States Mint’s most popular products.

2009 Proof Silver Eagle (not issued)

The offering was abruptly canceled for 2009 to the dismay of many collectors. The US Mint explained that it was legally required to produce the bullion version of the American Silver Eagle in quantities sufficient to meet public demand. They were not under any legal requirement to produce the collectible proof or uncirculated versions of the coins. Because demand for silver bullion coins apparently outweighed production, the US Mint sourced all incoming blank supplies towards the production of bullion coins.

The announcement of last year’s cancellation came by way of a press release issued October 6, 2009, which highlighted the two collectible precious metals offerings that would be available in 2009, before enumerating the long list of products which were canceled. As if in validation of the high demand for US Mint bullion Silver Eagles, in late November the US Mint was forced to temporarily suspended sales of bullion coins after inventories were depleted.

During 2010 to date, Silver Eagle bullion coin sales are running at a higher pace than the prior year. An average of 3,028,083 ounces have been sold per month this year, compared to an average of 2,397,208 ounces per month last year. Demand shows no signs of abating, as investors continue to buy every silver bullion coin the US Mint can produce.

The US Mint recently unveiled a numismatic product release schedule for the remainder of 2010. The 2010 Proof Silver Eagle and most other precious metal products were conspicuously listed as “TBD.” The Mint is still preserving some hope that these coins may be issued, but the situation looks rather bleak.

Why can’t the United States Mint produce bullion coins in sufficient numbers along with the traditionally issued collectible precious metals products? Is it the result of the onerous requirement that precious metals must be sourced from newly mined domestic sources? Is there a lack of manufacturing capacity? Or is it a case of managerial incompetence?

The same excuse of blaming “unprecedented demand from investors” is getting a bit old after two years.

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

US Mint Gold and Silver Bullion Sales Highest in More Than a Decade

June 8, 2010 by 1 Comment

During May 2010, the United States Mint’s gold and silver bullion sales levels reached their highest level in a decade or more for the two most popular offerings. This heavy demand for physical gold was experienced by several world mints last month, driven by concerns and uncertainty about Greece and the Euro.

The United States Mint sold 190,000 of their 1 oz. American Gold Eagle coins. This ranked as the highest monthly sales total for the bullion option since January 1999 when 208,500 coins were sold. The all time record high for sales in a single month took place in October 1986 when 609,500 of the one ounce coins were sold.

There were 3,636,500 of the 1 oz. American Silver Eagle coins sold during May 2010. This was just shy of the all time monthly sales record of 3,696,000 coins sold in December 1986. The month of May ended with a three day weekend, if one more day of sales had taken place, the record may have been broken. It’s worth noting that Silver Eagle bullion coins are also subject to the US Mint’s allocation (rationing) program, meaning these impressive sales still do not reflect full public demand.

Recent articles report similar surges in bullion coin demand. Production of Gold Krugerrands by the Rand Refinery reached their highest weekly production levels in 25 years. The treasurer of the refinery cited Germany as a large source of demand. The Perth Mint of Australia which did not provide production levels, has doubled their capacity over the past 18 months. As soon as the European Commission announced that they would bail out Greece their stock of gold “all went.”

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2010 Proof Gold Buffalo and 2010 Fractional Gold Eagles

May 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Closely behind the release of the 2010 Gold Buffalo bullion coins, the United States Mint has two more gold products on the way. This includes the collectible proof version of the Gold Buffalo and fractional weight American Gold Eagles.

The 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo is now scheduled for release on June 3, 2010. Since this is a collector coin, it will be available for sale directly from the US Mint via their website. Each coin will contain one ounce of 24 karat gold and feature the design from James Earle Fraser’s Buffalo Nickel. Pricing for the coins won’t be known until the week of release, since it will be based on the average weekly price of gold. At the current gold price, the coins would be $1,510.

Last year, the 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo wasn’t available for sale until October 29, 2009, amidst delays and cancellations across many of the US Mint’s precious metals products. The coins remained available for sale until March 29, 2010 and sold 49,388 coins.

The US Mint has reportedly begun production of the fractional weight versions of the 2010 American Gold Eagle bullion coins. I’ve always felt that these smaller weight coins were an important part of the bullion program, as they allow for different investment levels. The US Mint has historically offered one-half ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce size coins.

A release date for these coins has not been established. Once available, they will be sold via the US Mint’s network of authorized purchasers, like other bullion offerings.


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

US Mint Begins 2010 Gold Buffalo Coin Sales

April 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Today on April 29, 2010, the United States Mint began accepting orders for 2010 American Gold Buffalo coins from their network of authorized purchasers. The earlier offering of these 24 karat gold bullion coins is a signal that the US Mint is catching up with their bullion offerings after years riddled with suspensions and delay.

During 2009, the US Mint’s 22 karat Gold Eagle bullion coin was subject to rationing from the beginning of the year until June 15. The rationing was resumed on December 15, 2009 after a resurgence in demand caused a two week sales suspension. Going into the following year, the offering of 2010-dated coins was delayed by several weeks.

Last year the release of the 24 karat Gold Buffalo coins experienced even more significant delay. The coins were not available for sale to the authorized purchaser network until October 15, 2009. Throughout the preceding ten months, there were significant doubts raised as to whether the coins would be offered at all. The bullion coins only ended up being available from October 15 to December 4.

After a slow start in 2010, the situation has improved significantly. In March, the US Mint lifted the allocation program which had rationed supplies of the 22 karat Gold Eagle bullion coins. This month, they will begin selling the 24 karat Gold Buffalo bullion coins. This comes more than five months before last year’s offering began.

The next steps will be for the US Mint to begin sales of fractional weight American Gold Eagle bullion coins and the collectible 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo. This will finally clear the way for the US Mint to offer collectible proof and uncirculated versions of the 2010 Gold Eagle. These offerings were canceled last year, since the US Mint was not meeting full demand for the bullion versions of the coin.

While it would be nice to say that the progress in catching up with bullion demand is the result of increased production, it seems likely that a reduction in demand for gold bullion is responsible. So far this year, the US Mint has recorded sales of 324,500 ounces worth of gold bullion. This compares to sales of 489,500 ounces of gold in the comparable year ago period. The 34% reduction in sales has no doubt freed up some the Mint’s precious metals blank supply and production capacity.

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

US Mint Adjusts First Spouse Gold Coin Maximum Mintages

April 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The United States Mint recently lowered the maximum mintages for their First Spouse Gold Coins. This series of gold coins features the spouses of each President with the coins struck in one-half ounce of 24 karat gold.

For the first three years of the series, each coin carried a maximum mintage of 40,000 coins. For 2010, three of the coins will have the maximum set at 15,000, and the Mary Todd Lincoln Coin, which is expected to be more popular, has the mintage set at 20,000.

The lowered maximum levels is somewhat of an admission that the popularity of the series has fizzled. After the first three coins of the series sold out in one day, buyers moved on as secondary market prices for the sold out coins peaked and declined. Recent issues have been selling less than 10,000 coins per issue.

Under law, the First Spouse Gold Coins are actually bullion coins. However, since the beginning of the series, the US Mint has sold them in the same way that they sell numismatic products. (Other bullion coins are distributed through the US Mint’s network of authorized dealers at small mark ups to the spot price of gold. Numismatic products are sold directly by the US Mint at much higher premiums.)

The First Spouse Gold Coins are currently priced at $729.00 for the proof versions and $716.00 for the uncirculated versions. The price of the uncirculated coins represents a premium of about $162.00 above gold value or 14.6%. These amounts fluctuate with the price of gold and adjustments to the prices of the coins.

Some of the prior releases have held onto these premiums (or have risen in price). The low mintages have added to numismatic premium to the coins which some collectors are willing to pay for.


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

2010 Gold Eagle and Silver Eagle Coin Sales

January 29, 2010 by 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.

Filed Under: US Mint Tagged With: ,

2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coins

January 20, 2010 by 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.

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US Mint Accepts Orders for 2010 Gold and Silver Eagles

January 19, 2010 by 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.


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