U.S. Mint Halts Gold Coin Sales

The price of gold has jumped in the last thirty days from a low of $648 an ounce to a high of $711.75. If you’ve invested in gold, you’re loving it. If you’re the United States Mint, you’re hating it.

The increased price of gold is affecting the US Mint’s bottom line. So much so that late this afternoon, September 13, the U.S. Mint suspended the sale of all their 2007 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated coins.

The Mint needs to adjust their prices, pushing them up higher. Here’s a listing of the suspended gold coins (at least so far) and their former prices:

• 2007 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated One Ounce Coin, Price: $749.95
• 2007 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated One-Half Ounce Coin,
  Price: $379.95
• 2007 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated One-Quarter Ounce Coin, Price: $195.95
• 2007 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated One-Tenth Ounce Coin, Price: $89.95
• 2007 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated Four-Coin Set,
  Price: $1,379.95

As you can see, the Mint prices were just a few dollars above the highs reached for gold this week. Throw in labor, production, marketing and other costs on top of the gold prices and you can see why the Mint isn’t too happy.

Granted, their current inventory was built from cheaper gold prices but at least the Mint is working more like a business – seeking to make a profit – and less like other government entities…

The following statement was posted on the U.S. Mint web site for each of the coins they suspended:

Due to the increasing market value of gold, the American Eagle Gold Uncirculated Coins are temporarily unavailable while pricing for this option can be adjusted; therefore, no orders can be taken at this time. We expect products to be available with adjusted pricing on or after September 27, 2007.

If you’ve already placed an order and received a confirmation, the Mint plans on honoring it.