Sales took off in September for 2012 American Eagle gold and silver coins, finalized figures from the U.S. Mint underscore.
Demand for the 26-year-old bullion series was the best since January — ignited by September increases of 5.1% for gold and 10% for silver that capped a bullish quarter for precious metals and coins.
September sales of American Eagle silver coins totaled 3,255,000 for a 13.4% improvement over the 2,870,000 sold to U.S. Mint distributors in August. It was only the second time this year that the 99.9% fine silver coins sprinted past 3 million. January continues as the 2012 frontrunner with 6,107,000, the second all-time monthly leader on the books.
Across all past Septembers, the month was the second highest. Last year remains atop with September sales of 4,460,500. Prior to that, orders during the month had peaked in 2010 at 1,880,000.
For 2012 so far, buyers have scooped up 25,795,000 for the second highest January-September total since 1986. The only nine-month period that was better was last year’s 33,411,500.
September sales of American Eagle gold coins totaled 68,500 ounces with every size — one ounce, one-half ounce, one-quarter once, and one-tenth ounce — gaining. It marks a 75.6% improvement over the 39,000 ounces sold in August. Like the Silver Eagles, the only better month this year was in January when 127,000 ounces were delivered, and the same month last year was higher at 91,000 ounces.
For the year-to-date, the 22-karat gold coins total 481,500 ounces. That is the lowest amount through the first nine months of a year since safe-haven demand began climbing in 2008 with the Great Recession.
8,500 ounces of 24-karat American Buffalo gold coins were ordered in September. That is 500 below than the previous month. And sales for 2012 are at 96,500 ounces, well down from the nine-month total of 132,500 ounces in 2011.
Finally, September sales of America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins combined to 14,700 coins or 73,500 ounces. That is the third best month this year after the 19,400 in August and 18,700 in July. The biggest chunk making up the total came from the newest Hawaii Volcanoes bullion coin. Debuting September 10, U.S. Mint distributors ordered 10,400. Other five-ounce figures for the month include:
- 2012 El Yunque National Forest Five Ounce Silver Coins at 1,200
- 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park Five Ounce Silver Coins at 200
- 2012 Acadia National Park Five Ounce Silver Coins at 2,900
Below is a breakdown showing the number of U.S. Mint bullion coins sold each month and their totals to date for 2012.
| January-September and YTD 2012 US Mint Bullion Coin Sales | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2012 | Feb 2012 | Mar 2012 | Apr 2012 | May 2012 | Jun 2012 | Jul 2012 | Aug 2012 | Sept 2012 | YTD 2012 | |
| Gold Eagle (1 oz) | 84,500 | 20,000 | 57,500 | 19,000 | 49,000 | 55,000 | 28,500 | 34,000 | 63,000 | 410,500 |
| Gold Eagle (1/2 oz) | 49,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 61,000 |
| Gold Eagle (1/4 oz) | 38,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 62,000 |
| Gold Eagle (1/10 oz) | 85,000 | 5,000 | 40,000 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 35,000 | 250,000 |
| Gold Buffalo (1 oz) | 13,500 | 7,000 | 26,000 | 9,000 | 9,500 | 10,000 | 4,000 | 9,000 | 8,500 | 96,500 |
| ATB Silver Coins (5 oz) | 5,700 | 300 | 1,800 | 200 | 5,600 | 7,900 | 18,700 | 19,400 | 14,700 | 74,300 |
| Silver Eagle | 6.107M | 1.49M | 2.542M | 1.52M | 2.875M | 2.858M | 2.278M | 2.87M | 3.255M | 25.795M |
All amounts above are in number of coins sold, not the amount of ounces. This site’s American Eagle guide provides frequently updated sales figures.
Platinum didn’t do to shady itself.. I got in my 2 pieces @ $1792.00 a piece for the beautiful 2012 piece…: ) proof price from the usmint…
To bad you didn’t buy at the end of August for $1,692.00.
You’re right Joe, But $1792.00 isn’t to bad either..
Meant to say shabby, Not shady… lol
Platinum right now 10:28 am 10/2/2012 is less than $100 away from gold
way undervalued in my opinion…..
At least you didn’t pay $1,892.00 the mint is asking for now. You did good.
Thanks… Tomorrow will be $1992.00 …..
Looks like Joe is having a conversation with himself. LOL
At the end of every conversation, I’ll put Joe #2 down…
Sounds good Joe #2.