Increased demand from the U.S. Mint for 1-ounce silver American Eagle bullion coins has interrupted production of 2015-dated coins.

U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White  did not disclose how many 2015-dated silver American Eagle bullion coins were struck at the West Point Mint before production was halted to refocus on 2014-dated coins to meet investment demand.

Despite the interruption, White said, the U.S. Mint anticipates offering the 2015-dated coins within the first two weeks of the new calendar year.

Specific dates have not yet been released for the introduction of 2015-dated silver, gold and platinum American Eagles bullion coins.

White said the San Francisco Mint added 5.8 million 2014-dated silver Eagle bullion coins to the Mint's inventory in May to augment the stockpile of silver Eagles being struck at West Point Mint during the summer months. The strategy was to have sufficient 2014-dated coins on hand to fill orders from authorized purchasers, so that production could be shifted to 2015-dated coins.

"The planning for this inventory was based on historical levels of previous years’ demand and was deemed sufficient to satisfy anticipated demand for several weeks," White said. "This allowed West Point to begin minting 2015 coins for a short period of time. Actual demand, however, was significantly higher than anticipated, requiring West Point to re-focus production on 2014 coins."

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