The United States Mint kicked off sales Jan. 10 to its authorized purchasers for 2023 American Eagle and American Buffalo bullion coins.

The opening sales for American Eagle 1-ounce .999 fine silver coins reached 3,499,000 coins. In comparison, sales of silver American Eagles for all of January 2022 totaled 5,001,000 coins.

Gold American Eagles

Initial American Eagle gold bullion coin sales totaled 131,000 ounces — 90,000 in 1-ounce .9167 fine gold $50 coins,17,000 ounces in half-ounce $25 coins (34,000 coins), 12,500 ounces in quarter-ounce $10 coins (50,000 coins), and 11,500 ounces in tenth-ounce $5 coins (115,000 coins).

In comparison, total sales for the entire month of January 2022 reached 181,500 ounces — 123,500 ounces in 1-ounce coins, 22,500 ounces in half-ounce (45,000 coins), 16,000 ounces in quarter-ounce coins (64,000 coins), and 19,500 ounces in tenth-ounce coins (195,000 coins).

Platinum American Eagles

U.S. Mint officials have not disclosed when the bureau will begin selling American Eagle 1-ounce .9995 fine platinum $100 bullion coins to the authorized purchasers, nor how many will be produced at the West Point Mint.

In 2022, platinum American Eagles weren’t sold until February, and sales for the entire year totaled 80,000 coins.

Palladium American Eagles

The U.S. Mint has not disclosed how many American Eagle 1-ounce .9995 fine palladium $25 bullion coins will be offered during calendar year 2023.

The last time the U.S. Mint offered American Eagle palladium bullion coins was 2021, when only 8,700 coins were sold, and those were not sold until November.

Gold American Buffaloes

Initial authorized purchaser orders for the American Buffalo 1-ounce .9999 fine gold $50 coins totaled 44,000 coins. Sales for the entire month of January 2022 reached 61,500 coins.

Selling bullion coins

Bullion coins produced by the U.S. Mint are not sold directly to the public, but through several authorized purchasers, who buy the coins based on the spot price on a given day of the precious metal they contain plus a premium. The coins are then resold for a markup to other dealers, collectors and investors.

The Mint’s premiums for each series can be found online at https://www.usmint.gov/news/consumer-alerts/business-guidelines/authorized-purchaser-program.

All of the bullion coin series struck at the West Point Mint do not bear the facility’s W Mint mark.

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