The U.S. Mint sold out all 40,000 2017 Ellis Island National Monument 5-ounce silver bullion coins it had prepared for sale, by Aug. 31, three days after the coins went on sale to authorized purchasers.

The authorized purchasers were notified Aug. 31 that the bullion coins struck to date at the Philadelphia Mint were already sold, and no additional bullion coins bearing the Ellis Island design would be produced.

Authorized purchasers were notified that the Mint’s inventory still included an undisclosed number of 2016 Harpers Ferry National Historical Park 5-ounce silver bullion coins that would be offered for sale until stock was depleted. As of Aug. 31, 2017, the U.S. Mint recorded sales of 48,000 of the Harpers Ferry coins.

How can collectors determine a coin’s value when price guides assign it different values? Also in this week’s print issue, we learn of the first report of a 2017 doubled die variety, found on a Lincoln cent.

The 2017 George Rogers Clark National Historical Park 5-ounce silver bullion coin, the 40th of 56 to be issued in the America the Beautiful Quarter Dollar Program, is set to go on sale to authorized purchasers on Nov. 13.

The authorized purchasers are in the same group of approved buyers of American Eagle gold, silver and platinum bullion coins and American Buffalo gold bullion coins from the U.S. Mint. They offer a two-way market, buying and selling U.S. Mint bullion coin products.

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Except for select issues, the number of 3-inch 5-ounce silver bullion coins (all of which bear the quarter dollar denomination) for each release has been dropping.

In 2017, sales have totaled 35,000 for the Effigy Mounds National Monument 5-ounce silver bullion coin, 20,000 each for the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and Ozark National Scenic Riverways issues, and 40,000 for the Ellis Island National Monument coin.

In 2016, sales are reported as 105,000 for the Shawnee National Forest release, 75,000 for the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park coins, 48,000 thus far for the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park coin, 40,000 for the Theodore Roosevelt National Park coin, and 35,000 for the Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument) coin.

Silver American Eagles

Sales of American Eagle silver bullion coins during the month of August were well below sales recorded during the previous month. August sales totaled 1.025 million coins compared to 2.32 million coins sold in July. 

American Eagle silver bullion coin sales during the first eight months of 2017 total 15,578,500 coins. The 2017 cumulative total is 46 percent below the 28,900,500 coins recorded sold during the first eight months of 2016.

September is traditionally a strong month for upward movement in the spot price of silver, according to some market analysts.

Gold American Eagles

Total sales in ounces of American Eagle gold bullion coins during August were almost half of what was reported sold in July. August sales reached 9,500 ounces compared with 17,500 ounces in July.

Total sales for the gold American Eagles in ounces for the first eight months of 2017 reached 220,500 ounces. This compares with sales during the same first eight months of 2016 of 598,000 ounces, 63 percent more than in 2017.

Strongest demand remains for the 1-ounce coins as a store of wealth along with the tenth-ounce version, which is often eyed for jewelry and as small change in times of economic uncertainty.

Gold American Buffaloes

With August sales of 3,000 of the 2017 American Buffalo 1-ounce .999 fine gold coins, calendar year 2017 sales totals for the first eight months of the year reached 75,000 coins. That total is 43 percent lower than the same eight-month period in 2016, when 131,000 of the American Buffalo 1-ounce gold coins were recorded sold.