United State Mint sales of bullion coins soared in April, a standout for a month that tends to be historically slower for the 27-year-old American Eagle gold and silver coin series.
Demand for physical bullion surged last month as gold and silver prices plummeted. Sales of both U.S. Mint 22-karat gold coins and 99.9% pure silver coins hit an all-time high for the month of April, and they were sharply higher than in March and from the same time last year.
2013 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins
April sales of American Eagle gold coins rallied to 209,500 ounces, surging 237.9% atop March sales of 62,000 ounces and soaring 947.5% higher than sales of 62,500 ounces from a year ago. The pace was the quickest for a month since the December 2009 tally of 231,500 ounces.
Buying was so brisk that the U.S. Mint depleted its inventory of the smallest one-tenth ounce Gold Eagle. The Mint had to temporarily suspend its sales on April 22.
Year-to-date Gold Eagle sales total 502,000 ounces. Last year sales did not top 500,000 ounces until October 16.
2013 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins
March sales of American Eagle silver coins jumped 4,087,000 ounces, notching a sixth highest all-time monthly ranking. The level is 21.8% higher than the prior month’s 3,356,500 ounces and 168.9% stronger than the same time last year when sales reached 1,520,000 ounces.
For the January through April period, Silver Eagle sales stand at 18,310,000. The bullion coins have never hit 18 million so early in a year. Last year sales did not top 18.3 million until July 16.
American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins
April sales of 24-karat American Buffalo gold coins reached 37,000 ounces, more than tripling the 11,000 ounces sold in March and the 9,000 ounces from April 2012.
Year-to-date Gold Buffalo sales total 132,000 ounces, already matching annual 2012 sales.
America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins
The U.S. Mint has not yet released any of the 2013-dated America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. All older-dated inventory sold out on March 1, 2013. Year-to-date sales are at 63,100 coins, which equates to 315,500 ounces.
Sales Across All U.S. Mint Bullion Products
Below is a breakdown of the latest U.S. Mint bullion coin sales by product type, month and year-to-date. For comparative purposes, added are monthly sales totals from a year ago. All sales are in the number of bullion coins sold, not in the amount of ounces.
| Monthly and YTD Sales US Mint Bullion Coins (# of coins) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last Year April | January 2013 | February 2013 | March 2013 | April 2013 | YTD Sales | ||
| American Eagle Gold (1 oz) | 19,000 | 124,500 | 68,000 | 54,000 | 187,500 | 434,000 | |
| American Eagle Gold (1/2 oz) | 0 | 17,000 | 5,000 | 4,000 | 14,000 | 40,000 | |
| American Eagle Gold (1/4 oz) | 2,000 | 24,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 26,000 | 72,000 | |
| American Eagle Gold (1/10 oz) | 5,000 | 110,000 | 70,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 | 300,000 | |
| American Buffalo Gold (1 oz) | 9,000 | 72,500 | 11,500 | 11,000 | 37,000 | 132,000 | |
| ATB Silver Coins (5 oz) | 200 | 28,960 | 14,340 | 19,800 | 0 | 63,100 | |
| American Silver Eagle | 1.52M | 7.498M | 3.3685M | 3.3565M | 4.087M | 18.31M | |
