In June 2021, the US Mint added an anti-counterfeiting notch to the edge of annually minted coins like the American Eagle Gold and Silver coins. The notches also appear also on the redesigned gold and silver American Eagles with Uncirculated (Burnished) and Proof finishes.
Costco, the popular warehouse club known for bulk products and discount pricing, in recent months began offering 1 oz gold bars from PAMP Suisse and Rand Refinery for members to purchase via their website.
This week, various reports are emerging online that the Member’s Only retailer has increased its product offerings of precious metals to include tubes of American Silver Eagle coins, with customers reportedly receiving 2023 mintage year coins.
The US Mint typically ships newly minted American Eagle coins during the beginning of January. Many trusted and reputable online bullion dealers have begun selling 2024 American Eagle Coins with delivery expected during the second week of January.
The US Mint is one of the oldest continually operating minting operations in the world and all other mints use variants of the Mint’s processes. The Mint remains one of the world’s largest producer of coins today. Issues related to the production of bullion coins have led to huge increases in Silver Eagle premiums in recent years.
Many investors are looking to buy sovereign bullion coins from other mints. While many are still buying 1 oz silver eagles, some are concerned that the Mint suppliers are also making huge profits from the record high premiums caused by the shortages.
Keeping up with investors demand has been a difficult task for the US Mint. The pandemic lockdowns caused a total shut down of mint operations, forced mine closures and caused other widespread disruptions throughout industrial supply chains.
Problems for the Mint only got worse as investor demand for bullion investment coins skyrocketed because of the pandemic. For a few months, the minting of Silver Eagle coins was secretly shifted to the Philadelphia Mint for the first time in history as backorders began to pile up.
The US Mint continues to be slow and unable to meet investor demand.
The failures of the Mint and their planchet suppliers have led directly to significant increases in dealer premiums in recent weeks. This week, the lowest dealer premium for silver eagles is more than 60% over spot price.
Some dealers, such as APMEX and JM Bullion are currently selling silver eagles with premiums at over 88% above spot price.
APMEX, JM Bullion, SD Bullion and Money Metals Exchange have announced temporary changes to order and shipping policies upon an increase in order volume in recent weeks amidst the ongoing banking crisis. While premiums on silver eagles have recently risen back above 50% per coin. Lower premiums are available for other sovereign bullion coins such as Britannia, Kangaroo and Philharmonic.
Slowing demand likely caused by excessive premiums resulting from last year’s supply chain and production problems
Smart, lower silver premium alternatives to help lower dollar-cost average
Precious metals coins have been found by archaeologists and historians that date back thousands of years. Historians and archaeologists from around the world have unearthed precious metal coins from cultures that vanished long ago. Many notable examples from China, India, Ancient Greece and Egypt are on display in museums. Silver, Gold and other precious metals … Read moreModern History of Silver Coins in the US Economy