Thursday, July 22, 2010

American Palladium Eagle Bullion Coins Sought

2010 Proof Silver Eagles at Risk of Cancellation

July 16, 2010 | Filed Under Silver, US Mint

One of the consequences of the record pace of United States Mint silver bullion coins might be the cancellation of the popular Proof American Silver Eagle for the second year running.

The Proof Silver Eagle had been issued each year from 1986 to 2008. During this period, it has sold between 372,168 and 1,092,477 coins per year and had firmly established itself as one of the United States Mint’s most popular products.

 

The offering was abruptly canceled for 2009 to the dismay of many collectors. The US Mint explained that it was legally required to produce the bullion version of the American Silver Eagle in quantities sufficient to meet public demand. They were not under any legal requirement to produce the collectible proof or uncirculated versions of the coins. Because demand for silver bullion coins apparently outweighed production, the US Mint sourced all incoming blank supplies towards the production of bullion coins.

The announcement of last year’s cancellation came by way of a press release issued October 6, 2009, which highlighted the two collectible precious metals offerings that would be available in 2009, before enumerating the long list of products which were canceled. As if in validation of the high demand for US Mint bullion Silver Eagles, in late November the US Mint was forced to temporarily suspended sales of bullion coins after inventories were depleted.

During 2010 to date, Silver Eagle bullion coin sales are running at a higher pace than the prior year. An average of 3,028,083 ounces have been sold per month this year, compared to an average of 2,397,208 ounces per month last year. Demand shows no signs of abating, as investors continue to buy every silver bullion coin the US Mint can produce.

The US Mint recently unveiled a numismatic product release schedule for the remainder of 2010. The 2010 Proof Silver Eagle and most other precious metal products were conspicuously listed as “TBD.” The Mint is still preserving some hope that these coins may be issued, but the situation looks rather bleak.

Why can’t the United States Mint produce bullion coins in sufficient numbers along with the traditionally issued collectible precious metals products? Is it the result of the onerous requirement that precious metals must be sourced from newly mined domestic sources? Is there a lack of manufacturing capacity? Or is it a case of managerial incompetence?

The same excuse of blaming “unprecedented demand from investors” is getting a bit old after two years

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Still No 2010 Proof Gold and Silver Eagles

Proof Gold, Silver Eagles Still Selling

By Harry Miller, Numismatic News June 14, 2010

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News.
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The Long Beach Expo ended last Saturday and was not only well attended but business was brisk despite falling precious metals prices, usually a harbinger of fear in the market. Friday afternoon a major market maker in common date U.S. gold type coins lowered its bids by nearly 10 percent on many issues, which upset several gold dealers but many just continued doing business and were rewarded Monday morning when bullion shot up toward new highs carrying along the type coins with it.

Proof gold and silver Eagles are remaining constant, while the high flying 2008 proof Buffalo set is lacking strong buyers at current levels. Insiders say it has just gotten too high, but I wonder if the U.S. Mint announcement of the 2010 proof 1 ounce coin is having a psychological impact as it could be a lead into another set?

The type coin market is stable, but a few key date issues have had some activity. The 1909-S VDB is under minor pressure in low grade while increasing in EF-40 and AU-50. The 1955 DDO is up again in all grades through MS-63, even in G-4 and VG-8 which virtually do not exist. This issue has been bought up by an astute New England investor who realized it was dramatically underpriced.

In the Mercury series G-4 and VG-8 are a little softer and in Barber quarters the 1896-S in F-12 and the 1913-S in VG-8 are down slightly. The latter two seem unlikely to this writer and probably represent an isolated instance.

E-mail harrymkrause@optonline.net to share your views or ask questions.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009   What is in that Gold On the NGC Forums, there was a discussion about collecting gold dollars where someone asked about their composition. Being curious, I looked up the composition information. What I found was that there were different compositions that was tied to the evolution of US coinage.

After posting the basic information, I thought it would be interesting to look up which series of gold coins were made from each of the different compositions. The rest of this posting is what I found after consulting a few references.

The Coinage Act of 1792, the First Coinage Act, set the standard for gold coinage to be .9167 fine with the balance of silver and copper. Gold coins struck 1792-1834 were made of this composition. These coins include:

• Turban Head $2½ Quarter Eagles (1796-1807)
• Capped Bust $2½ Quarter Eagles (1808-1834)
• Capped Bust to the Right $5 Half Eagles (1795-1807)
• Capped Bust to the Left $5 Half Eagles (1807-1812)
• Capped Head to the Left $5 Half Eagles (1813-1834)
• Capped Head to the Right $10 Eagles (1795-1804)

The Coinage Act of 1834, the Second Coinage Act, set the price of gold at $20.67 and changed the composition to .8992 fine with the balance of silver and copper. Gold coins struck from 1834-1839 were made of this composition. These coins include:

• Classic Head $2½ Quarter Eagles (1834-1939)
• Classic Head $5 Half Eagles (1834-1838)

The Coinage Act of 1837, also called the Bland-Allison Act, put the US on a bimetal monetary standard mostly to help the silver industry following the Panic of 1873. Originally, President Rutherford B. Hayes vetoed the bill only to have congress override the veto. Gold coins struck from 1839-1933 were made of .9000 gold and the balance was silver and copper. These coins include:

• Liberty Head One Dollar (1859-1854)
• Indian Princess Dollar (1854-1889)
• Liberty Head $2½ Quarter Eagles (1840-1907)
• Indian Head $2½ Quarter Eagles (1908-1929)
• Indian Princess 3 Dollars (1854-1899)
• Liberty Head $5 Half Eagles (1839-1908)
• Indian Head $5 Half Eagles (1908-1929)
• Liberty Head, No Motto Above Eagle $10 Eagles (1838-1866)
• Liberty Head, Motto Above Eagle $10 Eagles (1866-1907)
• Indian Head $10 Eagles (1907-1933)
• Liberty Head $20 Double Eagles (1849-1907)
• Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagles (1907-1933)

All gold commemoratives, both prior to 1933 and since 1982, are struck using .9000 gold. Commemorative struck before 1933 was filled with 1-part silver and 2-parts copper. Commemorative coins struck since 1982 use a 2-part copper to 1-part nickel filler.

The $4 Stella patterns were an attempt to create a standard coinage composition for international trade. The composition called goloid was made of 6 grams of gold, 0.3 grams of silver, 0.7 grams of copper. A Flowing Hair and Coiled Hair Liberty Head patterns were struck in 1879 and 1880.

American Gold Eagle bullion and proof coins are .9167 gold (22 carat). The one ounce gold Eagle contains one troy ounce of gold plus .0909 troy ounces of filler consisting of 2-parts nickel to 1-part copper.

The American Buffalo gold coin contains one troy ounce of .9999 fine gold (24 carat) with copper as the filler.

I hope someone finds this useful. Labels: bullion, Eagles, gold