Silver Eagle Bullion Coin Sales Slow, Yet Score 4th Best February

Last month, United States Mint sales of American Silver Eagle bullion coins took a significant downturn from previous months. According to the U.S. Mint, its authorized purchasers ordered 1,490,000 in February 2012.

While that number may seem notable, it is far off amounts sold in any given month over the last few years, with the only exception being November 2011 when the Mint delivered 1,384,000. Excluding that outliner, one has to look back to October 2008 to find a month in which fewer silver coins were purchased. Since that October, American Silver Eagles have been averaging an astonishing 2,877,575 per month up to and including the latest bullion coin sales from February.

Silver Eagle Bullion Coin Sales (Past 12 Months)

Month & Year	Total
February 2012	1,490,000
January 2012	6,107,000
December 2011	2,009,000
November 2011	1,384,000
October 2011	3,064,000
September 2011	4,460,500
August 2011	3,679,500
July 2011	2,968,000
June 2011	3,402,000
May 2011	3,653,500
April 2012	2,819,000
March 2012	2,767,000

 

Obviously, the average has been lifted by some enormous monthly totals. The most recent of which was the 6,107,000 sold in January 2012. That amount was the second best ever in the history of the Eagle program, falling second only to January 2011 which holds the record at 6,422,000.

Comparing February figures to those of January is a bit unfair, however, as bullion coin sales are almost always higher in the first month of any given year as investors and collectors jump on the chance to obtain Eagles with a new year’s date. With that in mind, looking at historic sales does provide some perspective. Of the twenty-six February’s since the Eagle debuted, this past month ranks fourth best.

A large component of Eagle demand is the direction silver. Based on the London Fix, the precious metal saw a large increase of 19.2% in January followed by a more moderate but still respectable 10.8% pick-up in February. (The white metal did experience a large decline after the final London fixing of the month. U.S. futures contracts plummeted a few hours later with the closing price down nearly 7% for the day, pulling down silver’s monthly gain to 4.2% in New York.)

American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins made their inaugural appearance from the U.S. Mint in 1986. Struck from 99.9% fine silver, the investment-grade coins are sold through a network of authorized purchasers who then resell them for a small premium above the current spot price of the silver contained within them. As an official bullion coin of the United States, the coins are guaranteed for weight and purity by the United States government.

The obverse of each coin contains Adolph A. Weinman’s "Walking Liberty" design as first seen on the 1916-1947 half dollar coin. The reverse contains a heraldic eagle with shield as designed by John Mercanti.