Mint Stats: Bullion demand continues to run hot

Bullion 2013 American Eagle silver coins have temporarily run out. Bullion gold 2013 American Eagles have not. After passing the 6 million mark in sales, the Mint said Jan. 17 that it had run out of the silver coins and no more would be offered until Jan. 28 or thereabouts.

This does not mean demand for gold is not running at a fever pitch as well. It is. Sales of the 1-ounce coin have reached 107,000 compared to 84,500 for the entire month of January 2012.

The number of ounces of gold sold in both 1-ounce and fractional form has reached 131,500 compared to 127,000 for the entire month last year. Obviously, this year’s demand is much more focused on the 1-ounce size.

Demand for 1-ounce Buffalo gold pieces is also running hot. Some 66,500 have already been sold. That’s now more than half of sales for the entire year of 2012. It helped that the Mint discounted some leftover 2011 coins from a 3 percent premium to a 2.4 percent premium.

Who would have thought that gold could be placed on sale in today’s crazy marketplace?

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