American Silver Eagle Bullion coins blasted off in January and have already topped the 6 million sales mark through to the first week of March, according to the latest figures from the United States Mint. That, despite a delayed January 19 release of the 2010-dated Silver Eagles and a week prior sell out of the 2009s.
The silver bullion coins had their best ever January with authorized buyers ordering 3,592,500 — a significant feat given the series began in 1986. Sales dipped in February by comparison, coming in at 2,050,000 for the month. But that was still enough to record a second best ever February — right behind February 2009.
Another 425,000 were sold during the first week of March, bringing the year-to-date tally to 6,067,500. Despite a recent trend that indicates a slower pace, the bullion eagles will at least record their second best starting quarter ever even if none are sold in the remaining 3 1/2 weeks of this month.
U.S. Mint Silver Eagle Coin Sales: January – March (1987 – 2010*)
Sales though to March 5, 2010. Includes 367,500 2009-dated eagles that were sold in January.
Demand has been driven in large part by silver prices. Silver is up 1.5 percent in 2010, and has been on a roller-coaster ride for much of the year. The Silver London Fix came in at $17.25 an ounce on Friday. The metal has been as low as $15.14 and as high as $18.66, as the following silver graph from Kitco Metals Inc. highlights:
London Fix Silver Prices: January 1, 2010 to March 5, 2010
The Mint does not sell bullion eagles directly to the public, but instead to a small group of authorized purchasers who in turn resell them to precious metal providers, investors, dealers and collectors. These coins do not have a mint mark, unlike their numismatic counterparts.
For more information about this year’s bullion coin, to include specifications and design details, visit the coin information page: 2010 Silver Eagle Coin.
Obviously, silver coin collecting is really starting to gather steam and I would expect silver prices to really start moving upward due to the increased demand. Would you agree? I really believe silver prices will hit $30 or more by year’s end.
Its weird that silver prices aren’t already thirty dollars. The demand has been there for some time. JP morgans communist grip over the silver market won’t be able to surpress prices for much longer, I hope.
Silver is on it’s way to 20.
Metals bull market.
Fiat Currencies are doomed.