2013 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins Suspended

Record demand for 2013 American Silver Eagle bullion coins depleted United States Mint stockpiles on Thursday, January 17, 2013.

Accordingly, the U.S. Mint implemented a sales suspension. There will be at least a week-long delay until inventories of the one-ounce silver coins are restored and sales resume.

The U.S. Mint expects to start offering the bullion coins for sale again on or about January 28, 2013. When they return, a limited or rationed ordering process will exist. The main text of the notice sent to the Mint’s authorized purchasers explains:

The United States Mint has temporarily sold out of 2013 American Eagle Silver Bullion coins. As a result, sales are suspended until we can build up an inventory of these coins. Sales will resume on or about the week of January 28, 2013, via the allocation process.

The suspension is the result of incredible demand for the 99.9% pure silver coins. The Eagle’s sales debut on January 7 resulted in a new one-day record of 3,937,000 coins ordered. While newly dated bullion coins tend to sell quickest when first released, initial demand also surged due to suppressed availability. Last year’s 2012 American Silver Eagle bullion coins sold out on December 17. Between then and this year’s release, AP inventories dropped and needed replenishing.

Since then, however, AP’s have continued to show intense interest with 6,107,000 American Silver Eagles ordered month-to-date. In spite of the suspension, January 2013 already qualifies as the third highest sales month for the bullion coins, behind January 2011 at 6,422,000 and January 2011 at 6,107,000. Assuming the U.S. Mint makes its January 28 target, it is extremely likely that January will still stand atop the leader board.

These events harken back to 2008. The year saw demand for the investment-grade bullion coins rise in stride with global economies uncertainties. The U.S. Mint, unable to meet demand, triggered several sales suspensions and instituted the now familiar sales allocation or rationing process in which AP’s must limit the size of orders. In 2009, the U.S. Mint went so far as to cancel collector quality American Silver Eagles to divert all available blank planchets for the production of the bullion coins. By law, the U.S. Mint had to produce American Eagle bullion coins to meet demand. The same was not true for collector proof and uncirculated qualities of the silver coins.

The U.S. Mint took steps in recent years to ease shortages. For instance, it increased available blank planchet supplies and, more recently, began augmenting production of American Silver Eagles from its West Point facility with American Silver Eagles struck at the San Francisco Mint.

Additionally, collectors these days have less to worry about in missing 2013-dated Silver Eagles in collector qualities of proof and uncirculated. In 2010, the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act passed and became law. It gives the Secretary of the Treasury the discretion to mint both "quantities and qualities" of American Silver Eagles.

Thus, the debut of the 2013-W American Silver Eagle proof coin should occur without change. It has a scheduled release date of January 24, 2013 and a price listed at $62.95.