United States Mint sales of bullion coins were solid in May, well higher than a year ago. But they were also down from the fiery pace in April when demand for physical bullion soared.
Sales of bullion Silver Eagles remain on a record annual pace. That is not the case for the companion Gold Eagles, though last year it took nearly 11 1/2 months to reach the total of this year’s first five months of sales.
2013 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins
May sales of American Eagle silver coins totaled 3,458,500 ounces, landing twelfth in all-time monthly ranking — there have been 319 months since the series debuted in October 1986. The amount was 20.3% higher than the same time last year but 15.4% lower than April.
Year-to-date Silver Eagle sales stand at 21,768,500. When annual sales for the 99.9% pure silver coins notched a record of 39,868,500 in 2011, it took until June 27 to reach this year’s current level. Last year, the bullion coins did not top 21.7 million until August 24.
2013 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins
May sales of American Eagle gold coins combined to 70,000 ounces, dropping 66.6% from the previous month but 85.0% higher than a year ago.
In April, demand for gold bullion coins surged. The U.S. Mint’s inventory of its smallest one-tenth ounce Gold Eagle actually ran out and it temporarily suspended selling them on April 22. Sales resumed early last week with buyers quickly snapping up 60,000.
Year-to-date Gold Eagle sales are at 572,000 ounces. Last year the 22-karat gold coins did not reach the area until November 8.
American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins
May sales of 24-karat American Buffalo gold coins accumulated to 12,500 ounces. That is down 66.2% from the prior month but 31.6% higher than the same time last year.
January through April totals had already matched last year’s annual 2012 Gold Buffalo total of 132,000 ounces. January through May sales hit 144,500 ounces, which is the strongest five-month start for the 8-year old series.
America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins
Sales raced for the first 2013-dated America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin. They were helped by some pent-up demand. Older-dated five ounce inventory sold out on March 1 and the first 2013-dated coin depicting White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire did not launch until May 13. Sales for it ended the month at 25,800, which is already higher than the final sales totals for each of last year’s bullion five ounce coins.
Today, June 3, the U.S. Mint began selling the second of the five 2013 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. It depicts Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial of Ohio.
"The second 2013 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin – Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial — will be available for sale beginning Monday, June 3, 2013," the U.S. Mint told its distributors in a memo on May 29.
"The premium remains unchanged from 2012, at $9.75 per coin. The minimum order quantity for the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins is 500 ounces/100 coins, with 500 ounces/100 coin ordering increments."
The Mint last week also published released dates for the three remaining America the Beautiful bullion coins.
Sales Across All U.S. Mint Bullion Products
Below is a breakdown of the latest U.S. Mint bullion coin sales by product type, month and year-to-date. For comparative purposes, added are monthly sales totals from a year ago. All sales are in the number of bullion coins sold, not in the amount of ounces.
| Monthly and YTD Sales US Mint Bullion Coins (# of coins) |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last Year May | January 2013 | February 2013 | March 2013 | April 2013 | May 2013 | YTD Sales | ||
| American Eagle Gold (1 oz) | 49,000 | 124,500 | 68,000 | 54,000 | 187,500 | 61,500 | 495,500 | |
| American Eagle Gold (1/2 oz) | 3,000 | 17,000 | 5,000 | 4,000 | 14,000 | 2,000 | 42,000 | |
| American Eagle Gold (1/4 oz) | 4,000 | 24,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 26,000 | 6,000 | 78,000 | |
| American Eagle Gold (1/10 oz) | 15,000 | 110,000 | 70,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 | 60,000 | 360,000 | |
| American Buffalo Gold (1 oz) | 9,500 | 72,500 | 11,500 | 11,000 | 37,000 | 12,500 | 144,500 | |
| ATB Silver Coins (5 oz) | 5,600 | 28,960 | 14,340 | 19,800 | 0 | 25,800 | 88,900 | |
| American Silver Eagle | 2.875M | 7.498M | 3.3685M | 3.3565M | 4.087M | 3.4585M | 21.7685M | |
I’ll purchase some when gold hits $1000 or less…;)
Why did you delete my question about Merit bullion. I want to know if anyone knows how long it takes to order and receive silver American Eagles from the mint to a bullion dealer. It’s been over a month from the time I ordered my coins and they are saying my order is back ordered, Now I know they are a big advertiser but you represent the coin world not a advertiser. Now to me if they haven’t received it that means I should get the lowest price since it’s not arrived yet.
The major distributors are being rationed. They, in turn, must ration sales to smaller dealers. Although, most large dealers have eagles in stock now and premiums have gone down. No dealer I know of changes their price while your item is back ordered because of the way they hedge their sales, to protect themselves from price fluctuations. You might want to read the list of terms and conditions you agreed to at the time of sale. If you are paying attention to the monthly sales of eagles, you will see they are currently running around 850,000 per month. This is… Read more »