Demand in November for United States Mint bullion products cooled a bit compared to levels from the prior month when sales of the agency’s silver coins were the strongest since January 2013 and gold coins the firmest since January 2014.
On the silver side of the equation, there was no way for the Mint’s silver coins to achieve the same sales marks with its flagship American Silver Eagle temporarily selling out and unavailable from Nov. 6 until Nov. 17. Plus, they returned under an allocated system where the Mint limits how many are sold. Despite that, the coins are on a record annual pace.
American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins
American Silver Eagles advanced by 3,426,000 last month, falling 40.8% from October sales of 5,790,000 coins but hurdling the year ago level of 2.3 million coins by 49%. For reference, sales in October ranked as the fourth highest all-time month in the coin’s 29-year history and they were the strongest since January 2013.
Year-to-date sales are at 41,547,000 coins for a record pace. They are up a modest 0.2% from the January to November 2013 period when sales reached 41,547,000 coins. Last year, American Silver Eagles hit an all-time record at 42,675,000 coins with ending December sales of 1.2 million coins. This December is expected to top that, making 2014 the new annual record year for Silver Eagle sales.
American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins
November sales of American Eagle gold coins rose 60,000 ounces for the third best month this year after scoring 67,500 ounces in October. Although down 11.1% from the prior month, which ranks as the highest since the 2014-dated versions launched in January, sales in November jumped 25% higher than the 48,000 ounces sold a year earlier.
Still, demand last year was stronger overall. American Gold Eagle sales in the January to November period total 506,500 ounces. That is off 36.7% from the 800,500 ounces sold during the first eleven months of 2013.
22-karat American Gold Eagles are produced in sizes of 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz. These correspond to denominations on the coins of $50, $25, $10 and $5. All sizes gained in November for the third straight month.
American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins
American Buffalo gold coins gained 12,500 in November, down 40.5% from October sales which at 21,000 was the highest since January. Orders slipped 10.7% from November of last year.
Year to date sales of the 24-karat gold coins reached 173,000 for a 25.4% decline from a year earlier when orders hit 232,000 in the first eleven months.
American Eagle Platinum Bullion Coins
On Oct. 1, the U.S. Mint stopped selling 2014 American Eagle platinum coins. The 99.95% pure Platinum Eagles climbed 400 on that day, bringing annual sales to 16,700 coins. Until this year, the bullion coins had not been issued since 2008. In that year, annual sales combined to 33,700 ounces across sizes of 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz. This year the size was limited to 1 oz. Sales of the 2015-dated Platinum Eagles will kick off in early January.
America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins
Finally, November orders of 2014 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins advanced 29,600, the most since the same month last year and after rising 5,100 in October. The bulk of latest increases came from Everglades National Park Five Ounce Silver Coins. They launched on Nov. 3. Monthly and total sales for the 99.9% fine silver coins are:
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park Five Ounce Silver Coins sold out in October at 33,000
- Shenandoah National Park Five Ounce Silver Coins gained 900 to 23,300
- Arches National Park Five Ounce Silver Coins sold out in October at 22,000
- Great Sand Dunes National Park Five Ounce Silver Coins rose 1,700 to 17,900
- Everglades National Park Five Ounce Silver Coins to 27,000
Sales of 2014 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins total 123,200 or 616,000 ounces compared to last year’s same period totals of 218,800 coins or 1,094,000 ounces.
US Mint Bullion Sales by Product
U.S. Mint bullion sales by product are listed below. The first table offers a November 2013 sales column for comparison and then monthly sales between July and November of this year. The second table lists monthly sales figures between January and June. Totals are in the number of bullion coins sold, not in the amount of ounces.
| July – November 2014 Sales of US Mint Bullion Coins (# of coins) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last Year Nov | Jul 2014 | Aug 2014 | Sept 2014 | Oct 2014 | Nov 2014 | YTD Sales | |||
| $100 American Eagle Platinum Coins (1 oz) | N/A | 0 | 700 | 2,700 | 400 | N/A | 16,700 | ||
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins (1 oz) | 44,000 | 26,000 | 21,000 | 50,500 | 57,500 | 49,000 | 402,500 | ||
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins (1/2 oz) | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 8,000 | 46,000 | ||
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins (1/4 oz) | 4,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 112,000 | ||
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins (1/10 oz) | 20,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 50,000 | 40,000 | 530,000 | ||
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins (1 oz) | 14,000 | 5,500 | 8,000 | 14,500 | 21,000 | 12,500 | 173,000 | ||
| ATB Silver Coins (5 oz) | 39,100 | 2,000 | 9,200 | 9,800 | 5,100 | 29,600 | 123,200 | ||
| American Silver Eagle Coins (1 oz) | 2,300,000 | 1.975M | 2.0875M* | 4.14M | 5.79M | 3.426M | 41.547M | ||
| January – June 2014 Sales of US Mint Bullion Coins (# of coins) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2014 | Feb 2014 | Mar 2014 | Apr 2014 | May 2014 | Jun 2014 | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle Platinum Coins (1 oz) | N/A | N/A | 10,000 | 1,200 | 1,000 | 700 | 16,700 |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins (1 oz) | 62,500 | 22,000 | 16,000 | 26,000 | 29,000 | 43,000 | 402,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins (1/2 oz) | 12,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins (1/4 oz) | 28,000 | 10,000 | 4,000 | 20,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 112,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins (1/10 oz) | 160,000 | 50,000 | 30,000 | 50,000 | 35,000 | 35,000 | 530,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins (1 oz) | 41,500 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 17,500 | 12,500 | 16,000 | 173,000 |
| ATB Silver Coins (5 oz) | 0 | 0 | 12,400 | 10,600 | 23,100 | 21,400 | 123,200 |
| American Silver Eagle Coins (1 oz) | 4.755M | 3.750M | 5.354M | 3.569M | 3.9885M | 2.692M | 41.547M |
*The U.S. Mint in November increased the Silver Eagle total for August by 80,000.
United States 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 priced at a few percentage points above the latest value of their precious metal content.
