The United States Mint this week raised the number of American Eagle silver bullion coins available to its distributors. The agency has limited Silver Eagle sales for much of the year to prevent periods of suspension. Demand for the coins usually exceeds supply. The U.S. Mint has the production capability to make many more but it is unable to acquire enough planchets for that to happen.
This week’s allocation climbed 11.1% to 1 million coins. Last week’s supply fell 18.7% to 900,000 coins from the prior week’s limit of 1,107,500 coins. The next weekly allocation will be announced on Nov. 30.
U.S. Mint distributors last week ordered all available coins for the second straight time in six weeks. That is pretty much the norm aside from a slower buying spell in October. Silver Eagle demand has jumped this month with silver prices diving toward $14 an ounce.
Sales of the one-ounce, 99.9% pure silver coins at 42,929,500 for the year continue to track an annual record. They are 5.3% higher than a year earlier when sales reached 40,756,500 coins through Nov. 20, 2014. Last year, the coins ended at an all-time high of 44,006,000.
The United States Mint does not sell American Eagle silver bullion coins directly to the public. They are sold through a network of authorized purchasers. AP’s consist of major coin and precious metals dealers, brokerage companies, and other participating financial intermediaries. They must pay $2 more than the spot value of each coin they buy.
