Silver Eagles break record in 2015

Another year, another broken record for the silver American Eagle bullion coin.

As of Dec. 2, the Mint reported selling 44,850,000 silver Eagles, the highest total since the coin began sales in 1986.

And it doesn’t stop there.

In an email first announcing the broken record sent out by Michael White of the Mint’s Office of Corporate Communications on Nov. 30, the Mint said it would still produce and sell 2015 silver Eagles to Authorized Purchasers through mid-December, further adding to the record.

“American Eagle silver bullion coin demand continues to increase throughout calendar year 2015 and remains on a record-setting pace,” he said. “The U.S. Mint will not take final orders for 2015 silver Eagle bullion coins until Dec. 14.”

In a separate email sent Nov. 24, White said the final allocation on Dec. 14 would be a standard size allocation. Past weekly allocations average around a million silver Eagles.
Once the final allocation for 2015 is sold, buyers will have to wait until the Mint begins selling 2016 silver Eagles on Jan. 11, 2016.

The 2015 record continues a stretch of record-breaking years beginning in 2013. Orders in 2013 came to 42,675,000 coins, while 2014 saw 44,006,000 coins purchased.

Silver Eagle sales since 2013 have been helped by a falling silver price.

The price for an ounce of silver in 2015 decreased from $15.71 on Jan. 2 to $14.21 on Dec. 1. The price drop is prompting Authorized Purchasers to order plenty of silver Eagles to fulfill demand on the precious metals market.

More Collecting Resources
• Are you a U.S. coin collector? Check out the 2016 U.S. Coin Digest for the most recent coin prices.
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