U.S. Mint 2017 bullion sales well below 2016 totals

By Paul Gilkes

Published: Dec 6, 2017, 5 AM

2017 sales of silver American Eagle bullion coins have dropped sharply from 2016 levels.

Images courtesy of U.S. Mint.

Sales by the United States Mint in 2017 of American Eagle bullion silver coins are nearly 54 percent below 2016 totals.

The U.S. Mint’s cumulative sales of coins to its authorized purchasers totaled 17,323,500 of the silver coins during the first 11 months of 2017 compared to 37,461,500 coins for the same period in 2016.

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Sales year on year have also dropped sharply for American Eagle and American Buffalo gold bullion coins.

Sales of American Buffalo gold coins from January through Nov. 30, 2017, total 85,500 coins compared to 207,000 coins sold during the same time frame in 2016.

American Eagle gold bullion coin sales through Nov. 30, 2017, have reached only 259,500 ounces, compared with 956,000 ounces for the same period in 2016. The gold American Eagles are offered in tenth-ounce, quarter-ounce, half-ounce and 1-ounce weights.

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While the designs for the five America the Beautiful 5-ounce silver bullion quarter dollars change annually, the total number of coins sold in 2017 was 147,400 coins, less than half of what was sold in 2016, with 308,000 coins recorded sold last year.

2017 sales are recorded as 35,000 of the Effigy Mounds National Monument coins, 20,000 each of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and Ozark National Scenic Riverways coins, 40,000 of the Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty National Monument) coins, and 32,400 of the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park coins.

2016 sales were 105,000 of the Shawnee National Forest coins, 75,000 of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park coins, 53,200 of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park coins, 40,000 of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park coins, and 35,000 of the Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument) coins.

The Mint’s 2017 sales and sales totals for previous years can be found online here.

The Mint will begin accepting orders from authorized purchasers for 2018 bullion products beginning Jan. 8.