The West Point Mint will be busy producing bullion coins in three different precious metals — gold, silver and platinum — but not in a fourth metal.

U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White said Dec. 18 that the Mint has no current plans to produce 2020 American Eagle palladium bullion coins.

Gold and silver American Eagles and the American Buffalo gold coins will be released on Jan. 6, with American Eagle platinum bullion coins available Jan. 21, White said Dec. 18.

An established production limit for American Eagle platinum bullion coins has not yet been announced by U.S. Mint officials. The gold and silver American Eagles are struck to meet demand, as are the American Buffalo coins.

The 2019 gold and silver American Eagles and American Buffalo gold bullion coins will be available for order by the Mint’s network of authorized purchasers through the end of the calendar year, White said.

Reverses to change

2020 is the last year that the American Eagle gold and silver bullion coins will bear the same reverse designs they have depicted since their introduction in 1986. The U.S. Mint plans to introduce new reverse designs for the two bullion coins beginning in 2021.

The Mint is moving ahead with redesigning the reverses of the American Eagle silver and gold bullion coins for 2021 to accommodate the use of anti-counterfeiting technology at the production stage. 

The redesigned reverses will be introduced first on the bullion versions of releases dated 2021. The anti-counterfeiting measures will be introduced later on the Proof and other collector versions.

The redesign coincides with the Mint’s 35th anniversary of the American Eagle gold and silver series.

There are no plans to redesign the platinum or palladium bullion issues, introduced in 1997 and 2017, respectively.

The American Eagle gold bullion coins are struck in .9167 fine gold, and offered in four weights and denominations — 1 ounce, $50 face value; half-ounce, $25; quarter-ounce, $10; and tenth-ounce, $5.

The American Eagle silver dollar is a 1-ounce .999 fine silver coin. The platinum piece is 1-ounce .9995 fine platinum coin with a $100 face value.

The American Buffalo is a 1-ounce .9999 fine gold $50 coin.

Distribution

The Mint does not sell its bullion coins directly to the general public. Instead, the coins are sold to authorized purchasers who offer their customers a two-way market, both selling and buying the coins. The Mint only sells the coins to the primary buyers, the approved authorized purchasers, but does not buy the coins back.

The Mint only sells the coins to the primary buyers, the approved authorized purchasers, but does not buy the coins back.

The authorized purchasers buy the bullion coins from the Mint according to the closing spot price on the London market of the precious metal per troy ounce on a given day, plus a set added premium.

The approved purchasers may then sell the coins into the secondary market to collectors and investors or other numismatic distributors, with a small markup added at each distribution level.

The current list of authorized purchasers, those businesses the Mint has approved for distributing its bullion products, is found at https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/us-mint-has-12-authorized-purchasers-for-bullion.html.

Details on the approved purchasers’ acquisition of the bullion coins can be found online at https://www.usmint.gov/news/consumer-alerts/business-guidelines/authorized-purchaser-program. 

Connect with Coin World:  

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