US Mint Silver Coins: Demand Declines, 2009 Silver Eagles Return Strong

2009 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins have returned with strength following their near two-week hiatus as a result of a depleted inventory. The United States Mint resumed selling the eagles to authorized dealers on Monday, Dec. 7.

Although they are being rationed, 737,500 more were still sold in the last seven days and during a time when silver prices moved mostly lower. 27,783,000 is the new 2009 tally.

The latest US Mint sales report on collectible silver coins, however, is one of the least exciting of the year. Sales are down. There are two major reasons:

• It follows a week in which demand was significantly better for all US Mint silver products — sales were driven higher by record silver prices, traditional holiday purchases, and collector recognition that several commemorative offerings would soon be gone forever.

• There are only two 2009-dated products available for collectors to buy.

The second point piggybacks the first. Louis Braille silver dollar products are no longer available. The Mint took them off sale on Dec. 11. With those gone, the Lincoln Silver Dollars long gone, and the collector proof and uncirculated 2009 Silver Eagles canceled, collectors are left with few choices, as the following tables highlight:

US Mint Collector Silver Coins Sales

(Sales compare previous to current Mint figures)

	Previous Sales	New Sales	Unit Increase	% Increase	Mintage Limit
2009 Lincoln Silver Proof*	325,000	325,000	0	0.00%	500,000
2009 Lincoln Silver Uncirculated*	125,000	125,000	0	0.00%
Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set*	50,000	0	0	0.00%
2009 Braille Silver Proof*	135,235	0	0	0.00%	400,000
2009 Braille Silver Uncirculated*	48,863	0	0	0.00%
Braille Uncirculated in Easy-Open Capsule*	23,078	0	0	0.00%
Braille Education Set*	10,698	0	0	0.00%
2009 US Mint Silver Proof Set	606,112	618,248	12,136	2.00%	none
2009 Quarters Silver Proof Set	260,083	262,383	2,300	0.88%	none
2008 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set	91,116	92,418	1,302	1.43%	none
2008 American Eagle Silver Dollar Proof*	713,353	713,353	0	0.00%	none
2008 American Eagle Silver Dollar Uncirculated*	444,558	444,558	0	0.00%	none

 

*Silver coin products with an asterisk are no longer available. Prior year products are listed until replaced by the new year offering, or for reference. Sunday, Dec. 13, is the "as of date" for the US Mint collector coin sales figures shown above.

2009 Silver Eagle Bullion Coin Sales in December

Dec 2	Dec 9	Dec 16	Dec 23	Dec 30
0	1,052,500	1,790,000	–	–

 

The Silver Coins Today tool page Silver Coins Sales has been updated with the latest US Mint numbers.