Sales of the United States Mint’s gold and silver bullion coins remained on a relatively steady pace with recent weeks. Sales of 908,000 ounces worth of American Silver Eagle coins were recorded, along with 28,000 ounces worth of American Gold Eagles.
In the previous week, the Mint had recorded bullion sales of 833,500 ounces of silver and 31,500 ounces of gold.
The US Mint utilizes a network of authorized purchasers (AP’s) to distribute bullion products to the public. This small group of private sector businesses are allowed to purchase bullion coins from the Mint in bulk quantities, and in turn resell them to the public. The price charged to the APs is based on the market price of the metal plus a mark up.
The mark up for Silver Eagles is currently $2.00 per coin. The mark up for Gold Eagles varies based on the size of the coin. The premium levels are 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9%, for one ounce, one-half ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce sized coins, respectively.
US Mint Bullion Coin Program Sales 2/23/2011 (ounces)
| Prior Week | Month to Date | Year to Date | |
| American Silver Eagle | 908,000 | 2,638,500 | 8,152,500 |
| American Gold Eagle | 28,000 | 83,500 | 189,000 |
| America the Beautiful Silver | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Platinum Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Gold Buffalo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
For the year to date, the US Mint has sold 8,152,500 ounces of silver bullion and 189,000 ounces of gold bullion. All sales have taken place for the American Eagle coins. Later in the year, 24 karat Gold Buffalo bullion coins and 5 ounce America the Beautiful Silver Coins are expected to be made available.
In the past week, the United States Mint sold 833,500 ounces of silver bullion and 31,500 ounces of gold bullion. Available products included the American Silver Eagle in one ounce size and the American Gold Eagle in one ounce or three fractional sizes.
After the furious pace of sales experienced during January for the United States Mint’s American Silver Eagle and American Gold Eagle bullion coins, the current month is progressing at a more measured pace. For the week ending February 9, 2011, the US Mint recorded sales of 847,000 ounces worth of silver and 18,000 ounces worth of gold.
The pace of sales for the United States Mint’s American Gold Eagle and American Silver Eagle bullion coins jumped in the past week. This propelled silver bullion sales far into record territory for the month of January.
After generating some mainstream media attention for the record pace of sales, United States Mint bullion coins had a quiet week. According to figures provided by the Mint, only 136,000 ounces of American Silver Eagles and 7,500 ounces of American Gold Eagles were sold in the past week.
Amidst increased demand for physical gold and silver investment products, the United States Mint achieved record revenue from the sale of bullion coins during their 2010 fiscal year. Annual sales totaled $2.86 billion, which yielded net income of $55.2 million for the segment.
For much of the past three years, the United States Mint has struggled to keep up with the boom in demand for physical precious metals. Although they have been required to mint and issue American Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins in quantities sufficient to meet public demand, they have often fallen short of this mandate, resorting to sales suspensions and rationing programs.
United States Mint bullion coin sales remained robust for the two available options. In the prior week, authorized purchasers ordered 1,322,000 ounces of American Silver Eagles and 25,000 ounces of American Gold Eagles.
The United States Mint sold less gold bullion during 2010 than the previous year, as measured in ounces. Across their offerings of American Gold Buffalo and American Gold Eagle bullion coins, sales reached 1,429,500 in the current year compared to 1,625,000 in the prior year.