Sales by the United States Mint of American Eagle silver bullion coins during the first six months of calendar year 2017 are lagging behind the same period in 2016 by 53 percent.

The Mint’s 2017 sales through June 30 total 12,233,500 1-ounce coins, compared with 26,250,500 1-ounce coins for the first six months of 2016. In 2015, the first six months of sales reached 21,786,000 coins, but record total sales of 47 million coins were recorded by the end of calendar year 2015.

Connect with Coin World:  

Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on Twitter

American Eagle gold bullion coins sales are down 62 percent while American Buffalo gold bullion coin sales are down more than 40 percent year-to-year for the same period.

The gold American Eagles are offered in 1-ounce, half-ounce, quarter-ounce and tenth-ounce .9167 fine gold versions, while the American Buffalo bullion coin is offered only in the 1-ounce .9999 fine gold version.

Unravel the mystery of die trails: Another column in the July 17 Coin World takes a look at some ‘heavy hitting’ doubled die discoveries.

None of the U.S. Mint's bullion coins are sold directly to the public. Instead, they are sold through a network of authorized purchasers who buy the coins based on the London PM closing spot price per troy ounce of the particular precious metal, plus a small premium. The coins are then sold into the general marketplace.

Silver American Eagles

June 2017 silver American Eagle sales totaled 986,000 coins, down from 2,455,000 ounces in May. April sales of 835,000 coins are the lowest so far, with January’s total of 5,127,500 coins the highest.

In contrast, during the first six months of 2016, sales of 5,954,500 coins in January were the highest, and 2,837,500 coins in June the lowest. 

Gold American Eagles

The first six months of 2017 witnessed the sale of 192,500 ounces of American Eagle gold bullion coins across all four options, compared with 501,000 ounces in 2016.

The Mint’s 2017 six-month sales total includes 141,000 ounces in 1-ounce coins, 13,500 ounces in half-ounce coins, 12,000 ounces in quarter-ounce coins and 26,000 ounces in tenth-ounce coins. The June 2017 6,000-ounce sales total reflects 4,000 ounces in 1-ounce coins and 2,000 ounces in tenth-ounce coins, with no half-ounce or quarter-ounce coins recorded sold during the month.

Gold American Buffaloes

Sales of American Buffalo gold $50 coins total 66,000 coins for the first six months of 2017, compared with 112,500 coins for the first six months of 2016.

The Mint’s 2017 sales reached a high of 32,000 coins in January, when the new year’s coins were introduced, to a low of 2,000 coins in June.

In comparison, 2016 sales during the first six months of the year reached a high of 34,000 coins in January, and a low of 7,000 coins in March.

Silver America the Beautiful coins

The America the Beautiful 5-ounce silver bullion coins are 3-inch .999 fine silver versions of the regular quarter dollars struck for circulation and collector sets.

Through June 30, the U.S. Mint recorded sales of 35,000 of the 2017 Effigy Mounds National Monument 5-ounce silver quarter dollar, and 20,000 coins each for the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and Ozark National Scenic Riverways coins.