The United States Mint’s supply of 2014 American Silver Eagle bullion coins is depleted but more will be made, the agency said Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Citing "tremendous demand in the last several weeks," the Mint told its authorized distributors that it will let them know when more coins become available.
American Silver Eagle sales have exploded in the last two months after easing sharply in the summer. September sales more than doubled those in August, and sales in October were the highest since January 2013. So far this year, the U.S. Mint has sold 39,096,000 of them. That’s within a hair’s breadth of matching the record pace. Produced since 1986, Silver Eagle sales in record year 2013 hit 39,175,000 coins through the same time last year.
At a yet unannounced date, the U.S. Mint will stop selling 2014-dated American Silver Eagles as it begins to build 2015-dated inventory for sale in early January. It has already produced some coins for next year but that stopped when demand picked up again for this year’s issues. In 2013, the Mint sold its last batch of 2013 American Silver Eagles on Dec. 9, 2013. It did not offer the 2014-dated versions until Jan. 13.
Here’s a breakdown of 2014 Silver Eagle sales by month through to today:
| January | 4,775,000 |
| February | 3,750,000 |
| March | 5,354,000 |
| April | 3,569,000 |
| May | 3,988,500 |
| June | 2,692,000 |
| July | 1,975,000 |
| August | 2,007,500 |
| September | 4,140,000 |
| October | 5,790,000 |
| November | 1,260,000 |
| December | 0 |
| Total | 39,301,000 |
Bullion American Silver Eagles are not sold by the U.S. Mint to the public, unlike collector versions that carry mint marks and special finishes. All U.S. Mint bullion coins are sold in bulk to "Authorized Purchasers" who consist of major coin and precious metals dealers, brokerage companies, and other participating financial intermediaries. Bullion coins are usually available for a few percentage points above the latest value of their precious metal content.
Silver has been relatively low for months, so why the sudden media attention?
Waited to purchase several rolls of eagles this morning thinking the spot price might fall farther. When i decided to put the trigger the premium at the online dealer had risen $.30 and right after the silver market closed they rose the premium another $.20 for a total of $.50. in 5 hours. Greed is not good. Now I will wait till spot price is in the $14 range. A POX on them.
I’m done with ’14 eagles. why pay the higher premium. I’ll buy the ’15 issue later and probably for less.
The US Mint charges ridiculous premiums on its coinage for sale and if you notice, adjusts prices up far faster than it lowers them. Better to buy the Maple Leaf, which has a five dollar face value than US bullion, which instead of being available directly from the Mint, has to go through another set of hands to bring the price up and make the coins the Mint sells directly seem more reasonably priced.