The Perth Mint has announced sales of 10 million of the 2016 Australian .9999 fine silver Kangaroo $1 bullion coin.

The United States holds nearly 25 percent of the world's identified gold reserves, International Monetary Fund says.

The 2016 offering is the second by the U.S. Mint since late in calendar year 2008. The last time it offered the platinum bullion coins was in 2014.

Authorized purchasers may now order as many American Eagle silver dollar bullion coins as they want after the U.S. Mint lifted its weekly allocations July 18.

Silver and gold were among the top 10 investments during the first six months of 2016, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Even as some authorized purchasers trim their silver American Eagle bullion orders, they have lots of unsold inventory. What does it all mean?

The June 2016 American Eagle silver bullion sales total was down significantly from June 2015, the first monthly total that was lower this year than last year.

2016 sales by the U.S. Mint of silver American Eagle bullion during the first six months of the year are 20 percent higher than the same period in 2015.

Driven by increased buying from Asian investors, silver broke through the $21 per troy ounce barrier July 4 before closing on the London exchange at $20.36.

The first modern silver bullion coin, with a guaranteed weight and purity and sold at a silver-related price, was the Mexican Onza.

Success begets success, and Armenia, Australia, Austria, Russia and Ukraine are some of the issuers of silver bullion coins.

Silver began disappearing from circulating coins at an accelerated rate, but some collector coins filled the gap nicely before modern bullion coins debuted.

Also this week, the King amendment that would have halted the placement of Harriet Tubman's portrait on the $20 note was nixed in the U.S. House.