2013 Silver Eagles Notch February Record, 5 Oz Silver Coins Solid

2013 American Silver Eagles notched a February record, though sales retreated more than 50% from the previous month.

Along with that, interest in America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Bullion Coins held steady. Sales of silver coins from both bullion programs may have been driven by value seekers taking advantage of the decline in silver prices.

The average London Fix for silver during February came in at $30.33 an ounce. This was down $0.78 from January’s average of $31.11, or a decline of 2.5%. Throwing out averages, last month silver plunged $3.08, or 9.6%.

Looking back at American Silver Eagles, February sales by the United States Mint to its network of Authorized Purchasers reached 3,368,500 coins. With that, the month ranks as the best February in the 27-year history of the Silver Eagle program.

Top 5 February Sales for American Silver Eagles

 

Last month’s sales, however, were down 4,129,500 from January. The decline is not surprising, though, as January’s total of 7,498,000 ranks as the highest sales month ever for Silver Eagles. In addition, when one considers the historical trend of these bullion coins, February sales are virtually always lower than January as that is when the big rush happens to get the newly dated issues.

Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Bullion Coins

Investor interest in the America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Bullion Coins also remained strong. February sales tallied to 14,340 coins. The year ago level was just 300 coins. Sales of the bullion coins in the previous month reached 28,960.

	February Sales	All-Time Total
2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins	0	104,900
2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coins	4,200	47,700
2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area 5 oz. Silver Coins	4,240	39,900
2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Coins	2,100	24,000
2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Coins	3,800	23,800
2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins	0	25,400
2012 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins	0	20,000
2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins	0	20,000

 

As the table above shows for February, more 2011-dated coins sold (8,440) than those from 2012 (5,900). That is in large part due to discounting. The U.S. Mint is selling these older coins for less to cut inventory. Authorized Purchasers can get the 2011 bullion coins at $8 per over the silver spot compared to $9.75 per above spot for the 2012’s.

In a bullion note, the U.S. Mint is about to submit its Palladium Eagle study to Congress. If the study concludes that bullion American Palladium Eagles can be produced and sold at no net cost to U.S. taxpayers, the U.S. Mint will begin selling .9995 Palladium Eagles within a year of Congress receiving the study.