Demand in 2012 for investment-grade American Eagle gold coins was the weakest since 2007 and companion American Eagle silver coins moved the slowest since 2009, annual sales figures from the U.S. Mint show.
The sections below detail final December and 2012 bullion sales.
American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins
December sales of American Eagle gold coins totaled 76,000 ounces across the four sizes — the one ounce, one-half ounce, one-quarter once and one-tenth ounce. December stands as the third best 2012 month with sales 16.0% higher than the same time last year, but the level fell 44.3% from November.
Annual sales reached 753,000 ounces, ranking 2012 tenth highest since the American Eagle coin program debuted. Stronger years occurred when the 22-karat gold series launched in late 1986, the following first full year of sales in 1987, the three years leading up to the Y2K scare and the related Great Recession years 2008 – 2011.
Sales of 2012-dated American Eagle gold coins will continue until inventories are exhausted. The U.S. Mint started accepting orders for 2013-dated Gold Eagles on Jan. 2, 2013.
American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins
December sales of one-ounce American Eagle silver coins totaled 1,635,000, marking a drop of 48.3% from November and a decline of 18.6% from December 2011. The comparisons are skewed, however, since the 2012-dated issues sold out on Dec. 17, 2012.
Annual sales ended at 33,742,500 for the third highest total in the Silver Eagle’s 26-year history. Stronger years were in 2011 at 39,868,500 and in 2010 at 34,662,500. Sales last year were poised for second place until the sellout occurred.
The U.S. Mint will begin accepting orders for 2013-dated American Eagle silver coins on Jan. 7, 2013.
American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins
December sales for one-ounce American Buffalo gold coins reached 8,000. That is down from the previous month by 51.5% and off from last year’s December by 61.9%.
Annual sales finished at 132,000, the weakest total in the 6-year history of the 24-karat gold coin series.
America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins
Sales were also sluggish in December for America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. 2,000 of the 99.9% pure silver coins sold for the month compared to 19,700 in November. The total was the smallest since April and came entirely from the ATB silver coin depicting El Yunque. Annual sales figures for each of 2012-dated five ounce coins are:
- 2012 El Yunque National Forest Silver Coins at 21,900
- 2012 Chaco Culture National Park Silver Coins at 20,000
- 2012 Acadia National Park Silver Coins at 25,400
- 2012 Hawai’i National Park Silver Coins at 20,000
- 2012 Denali National Park and Preserve Silver Coins at 20,000
ATB coin sales in 2012 closed at 118,100 coins for 590,500 ounces. In contrast, buyers snapped up 397,700 coins in 2011 and 165,000 coins during debuting 2010.
US Mint Bullion Sales by Month
Two tables are below with breakdowns of U.S. Mint bullion sales by product. The first table lists monthly sales between January and June while the second table offers monthly sales figures between July and December.
| January – June 2012 US Mint Bullion Coin Sales | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2012 | Feb 2012 | Mar 2012 | Apr 2012 | May 2012 | Jun 2012 | Annual Sales | |
| American Eagle Gold (1 oz) | 84,500 | 20,000 | 57,500 | 19,000 | 49,000 | 55,000 | 667,000 |
| American Eagle Gold (1/2 oz) | 49,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 71,000 |
| American Eagle Gold (1/4 oz) | 38,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 76,000 |
| American Eagle Gold (1/10 oz) | 85,000 | 5,000 | 40,000 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 315,000 |
| American Buffalo Gold (1 oz) | 13,500 | 7,000 | 26,000 | 9,000 | 9,500 | 10,000 | 132,000 |
| ATB Silver Coins (5 oz) | 5,700 | 300 | 1,800 | 200 | 5,600 | 7,900 | 118,100 |
| American Silver Eagle | 6.107M | 1.49M | 2.542M | 1.52M | 2.875M | 2.858M | 33.7425M |
| July – December 2012 US Mint Bullion Coin Sales | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2012 | Aug 2012 | Sept 2012 | Oct 2012 | Nov 2012 | Dec 2012 | Annual Sales | |
| American Eagle Gold (1 oz) | 28,500 | 34,000 | 63,000 | 54,000 | 129,500 | 73,000 | 667,000 |
| American Eagle Gold (1/2 oz) | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 71,000 |
| American Eagle Gold (1/4 oz) | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 76,000 |
| American Eagle Gold (1/10 oz) | 15,000 | 25,000 | 35,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 315,000 |
| American Buffalo Gold (1 oz) | 4,000 | 9,000 | 8,500 | 11,000 | 16,500 | 8,000 | 132,000 |
| ATB Silver Coins (5 oz) | 18,700 | 19,400 | 14,700 | 22,100 | 19,700 | 2,000 | 118,100 |
| American Silver Eagle | 2.278M | 2.87M | 3.255M | 3.153M | 3.1595M | 1.635M | 33.7425M |
All sales above are in number of coins sold, not in the amount of ounces.
