The United States Mint releases a large variety of numismatic and bullion coins each year. Some of the coins are commemorative issues that are based upon various cultural themes.
The product release schedule is updated periodically as materials and production capacity adjustments are made. The Mint has provided an update to its 2023 numismatic products launch schedule through the end of November.
The sales launch schedule for the remainder of the year follows.
Aug. 9: Proof 2023-S Morgan dollar.
Aug. 9: Proof 2023-S Peace dollar.
Aug. 9: Proof 2023-S Peace dollar.
Aug. 10: Proof 2023-W American Liberty gold $100 coin.
Aug. 10: Proof American Liberty 1-ounce silver medal struck at the Philadelphia Mint without Mint mark.
Aug. 14: Matte Finish Andrew Johnson Presidential silver medal.
Aug. 15: 2023 American Women, Jovita Idar quarter dollars, circulation quality, in bags and rolls, including two-and three-roll sets.
Aug. 22: 2023-S Silver Proof set.
Aug. 24: Five individual 2023 American Women quarter dollar ornaments.
Aug. 28: 2023 American Innovation, Mississippi dollars in bags and rolls.
Sept. 7: Uncirculated 2023-W American Palladium Eagle $25 coin.
Sept. 11: Matte Finish U.S. Marine Corps 1-ounce silver medal.
Sept. 29: Mighty Minters 2023 ornament with 2023-P Native American, Maria Tallchief dollar.
Sept. 29: United States Mint 2023 ornament with 2023-P Native American, Maria Tallchief dollar.
Oct. 2: Ulysses S. Grant Presidential silver medal without Mint mark from San Francisco Mint.
Oct. 10: Proof 2023-S American Eagle 1-ounce silver dollar.
Oct. 23: American Women, Maria Tallchief quarter dollars in bags, two-roll and three-roll sets.
Oct. 26: Four-coin 2023-S American Innovation $1 Proof set.
Nov. 9: Four-coin 2023-S American Innovation $1 Reverse Proof set.
Nov. 14: Two-coin 2023-S Morgan and Peace dollar silver Proof set.
Nov. 28: 2023-S Limited Edition Silver Proof set.
Products with no specific sales date:
2023 Uncirculated Coin set, containing 10 coins each from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints.
U.S. Marine Corps 1-ounce bronze medal.
One expected product is currently not on the current schedule:
Many of the products are in the Mint’s subscription program, with orders accepted now. Customers should review the Mint 2023 products catalog for details on what products are available by subscription.
Two other offerings have both been giving “TBD” launch dates in the Fall. Those include the United States Marines bronze medal and 2023 Uncirculated Coin set.
The 1921 Silver Dollar holds significance as the last year of regular issue for the Morgan Silver Dollar series. After the passage of the Pittman Act in 1918, which authorized the melting and recoinage of silver dollars, the Morgan Silver Dollar production resumed in 1921 for a brief period before being replaced later in the year.
The United States saw an economic boom following the end of World War I and 90% silver coins were the bedrock of the economy.
The US Mint responded to shortages by restarting the production of the Morgan $1 Silver Dollar in March of that year, turning out 86,730,000 coins across three mint facilities:
Philadelphia (no mintmark) produced the highest number of 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar coins, roughly 44,690,000 with no mint mark.
San Francisco (S mintmark) minted 21,695,000 1921-S silver coins
At the same time, many politicians felt it would be a suitable time to change the design of the coins to have a more contemporary feel.
The Commission of Fine Arts petitioned an invitation-only competition in 1920 to find a suitable design to symbolize peace after the end of World War I.
The competition invited several prominent sculptors to submit designs for the new silver dollar coin. Among the participants were Anthony de Francisci, Hermon MacNeil, and Adolph A. Weinman. Each artist presented their proposed designs, which were reviewed by a panel of judges. Ultimately, the design created by Anthony de Francisci was selected as the winning design as the Peace Dollar silver coin.
Anthony de Francisci’s design featured a portrait of Lady Liberty wearing a radiant crown on the obverse side of the coin, with the word “LIBERTY” inscribed. The reverse side showcased a perched bald eagle resting on a rock, clutching an olive branch, symbolizing peace. The inscriptions “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “IN GOD WE TRUST” were also included on the coin.
The 1921 Peace Silver Dollar holds historical significance as the first year of issue for the series. However, it had a very limited mintage compared to the Morgan Silver Dollar, making it relatively scarcer and often more sought after by collectors. The Peace Silver Dollar series was produced from 1921 to 1935, with additional issues in 1964 and 1965.
The coin was only issued in a high-relief format, similar to a proof. In total, just 1,006,473 1921 Peace Silver Dollar coins were minted at the Philadelphia Mint, making it a single mint issue.
It’s worth noting that the availability and desirability of specific mintmarks can vary among collectors, and some command very high numismatic premiums due to their relative scarcity or historical significance.
With more than 80 million coins struck, it is very common to find 1921 Morgan Dollars in Brilliant Uncirculated that condition. Coins in finer condition and graded specimens tend to see higher increases in numismatic premiums over time.
Silver dollar coins often hold greater collector appeal compared to smaller denominations. Their larger size, historical context, and unique designs make them attractive to coin collectors and many build comprehensive collections spanning all mintage years and mintmarks. This collector demand influences the market value and potential appreciation of silver dollar coins over time with numismatic premiums.
The US Mint is one of the largest producers of coins and also happens to be one of the oldest continually operating minting operations in the world. However, this year a variety of production problems have struck the mint related to the production of bullion coins leading to tremendous volatility with Silver Eagle premiums in recent months.
Some investors have continued buying Silver Eagles, hoping that their dollar-cost average, along with rising commodities prices will offset the rising cost. Other investors are seeking out alternatives and buying bullion coins from other government mints.
Results from a recent third-party audit have shown that the Mint’s production techniques remain some of the most efficient because of regular and ongoing continuous improvements for the last 75 years.
Although newer processes exist for manufacturing large volumes of small parts (such as injection molding), the Mint’s ability to produce the quantity and quality of metal stampings are far more economically cost effective.
Silver Eagle Production Costs
The Mint does no longer operates refineries and provides limited assay services. Instead, the US Mint purchases raw materials for coins either in large rolls of sheets of metal strips or as ready-to-strike planchets from a select few approved suppliers such as Sunshine Minting, Coins’N’Things and other precious metals producers.
Prior to minting, the blanks are sent through a furnace in a process to soften the material, referred to as “annealing”. The blanks are then rinsed and cleaned before the “upsetting” step. The upsetting step raises the edges or rim of the blank to turn it into a planchet. The planchet is then ready to be struck into a coin.
In addition to wages, each of these steps in the production process cost the Mint resources, such as electricity, water, tools, dies and other materials. It is established by law that the Mint must charge a premium to cover the cost of production of each silver coin to prevent the program from operating at a loss.
The premium that the Mint charges at a wholesale level to the Authorized Purchasers includes the production costs reflect the amount of work the Mint does to produce, package and distribute each coin.
The West Point Mint is currently the only facility that produces Silver Eagle bullion coins.
Authorized Purchasers
Only companies that meet very stringent criteria are allowed to buy Silver Eagle coins wholesale directly from the mint. There are just ten companies in the US that are “Authorized Purchasers” of the US Mint. The criteria and process to become an AP is arduous and requires a significant amount of financial capital.
Some of the Authorized Purchasers are companies that are familiar to precious metals investors as they include wholesalers and one major online bullion dealer. Others include financial and banking institutions that provide an array of investment solutions.
The US Mint provides reports that show the monthly sales of bullion coins. The sales reports are effectively mintage reports since the Mint only manufactures coins based on pre-sales from Authorized Purchasers.
The largest mintage year for 1 oz Silver Eagle coins was 2015. That year, the Mint produced more than 47 million coins. This indicates that the West Point Mint is capable of producing nearly 4 million coins per month.
Yet, sales reports for the first few months of this year indicate that the mint has been producing only 900,000 coins per month, the equivalent to just 1,800 monster boxes. This is drastically lower than current demand and restricts the supply of current year coins.
Since restarting operations following pandemic shutdowns in 2020, the Mint has issued several press releases indicating difficulty sourcing suitable blank planchets from providers like Sunshine Minting, Coins’n’Things and other suppliers. This led to the cancellation of the 2022 Morgan Silver Dollar and Peace Silver Dollar commemorative issues from being produced. The fate of this and other coin programs remains unknown.
Coincidentally, the providers of blank planchets are owned by the same companies that are also Authorized Purchasers. This creates what is effectively closed-looped for the production and distribution of silver bullion coins, with the US Mint providing manufacturing services at a fixed cost. The control of the wholesale market is controlled by less than a dozen companies, with several of those companies also being primary suppliers of the raw materials and blank planchets.
As the future of the economy continues to be filled with uncertainty, many investors are driven to precious metals as a safe-haven.
Across the market, it is apparent that premiums on 1 oz silver coins from other sovereign mints have remained lower than Eagles throughout the recent financial crisis. Some investors perceive retail premiums on Silver Eagle coins to be artificially high.
There has been many posts on Reddit and other social media forums in recent months questioning the current Silver Eagle premiums. Some have speculated that suppliers may be intentionally restricting the supply of blanks as a mechanism to increase wholesale profits among the Authorized Purchasers.
The American Palladium Eagle is the United States Mint’s official palladium bullion coin. Palladium is a precious metal that is part of the platinum group family. It has the appearance of a soft silver-white metal and is the least dense of all platinum group metals.
The 1 troy ounce coin is minted with .9995 pure palladium.
The effigy portrait on the obverse is a beautifully sculpted portrayal of Lady Liberty as the “Winged Liberty”. A design that first appeared on the Mercury Dime.
The reverse portrays a determined eagle pulling a branch from a rock with his beak. Inscriptions are shown indicating the metal, purity and face value.
The series debuted in 2017. The first issue was released with a bullion finish. A proof finish version followed in 2018. In 2019, a highly sought after reverse proof stunned collectors. A burnished version was available to investors in 2020. In 2021, the mint produced the proof finish for the second time. The reverse proof returned in 2022.
For 2023, the mint has announced a limited release uncirculated (burnished) coin is expected to be released in the fall.
Mintage amounts in each year are significantly lower than other precious metal bullion coins. Investors that are looking for the best deal can often find random year Palladium Eagles at the lowest price.
The US Mint operates with a lean business model that operates in a just-in-time manner, managing incoming blank planchets from designated materials suppliers based on sales demand from Authorized Purchasers as a gauge of investor demand.
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 is required by law to mint Silver Eagle coins in quantities “sufficient to meet public demand.” However, data provided in recent mintage reports shows monthly sales of the coins are down significantly when compared to the same period in 2021.
The latest reports show that for January, monthly sales totals were 3,949,000 coins. Most of these coins were minted during the final months of 2022 when the mint announced it would start minting the coins early. The mint stockpiled the coins, waiting to ship them to bullion dealers until after the start of the year. Did they hedge the price of silver during that time?
Since then, the mint appears to be on track to shipping only 900,000 coins per month, consistently. Far less than the monthly sales volumes reported just a few years ago.
For 2021, the monthly sales figures for February, March and April of that year being: 3,191,500, 4,087,000 and 1,053,000 respectively.
So far, the Mint has provided no explanation for the current production shortages, leaving investors shopping for silver bullion coins looking at options from alternative government mints.
Both the Perth Mint and Royal Mint have announced reaching historical sales records in recent years. Silver bullion coins from both mints have significantly lower wholesale and retail premiums as those mints. Neither appear to be having issues keeping up with demand from investors or industry.
At the retail level, premiums have, at times, exceeded 90% over spot price per ounce. The wholesale premiums that dealers pay to Authorized Purchasers has reached historic highs as well, forcing retail dealers to offer record prices over spot on buy backs. Some long-term silver investors have been able to take advantage of the current price spread compared to retail premiums paid several years ago.
The Mint also pointed to production and supply chain issues in its decision to the postpone the production of the Morgan and Peace $1 silver coins that were highly anticipated by investors and collectors in 2022.
Investors have grown extremely frustrated with premiums on Silver Eagles and lost faith in the US Mint. Most have already started to buy silver coins from foreign governments that are able to provide a dependable and continuous supply of investment grade precious metals.
With the cost for minting each penny being roughly 2.5 cents, and nickels topping 7.42 cents, total losses on these coins have been steep, with pennies taking a net loss of $92.7 million to produce, and nickels losing a total of $78 million, totaling $171 million in gross loss.
The US Mint releases proof finish versions of the American Eagle and American Buffalo coins each spring. The coins are meticulously struck using specially-prepared planchets which gives a mirror-like finish that highlights the astonishing sculpted details.
The coins are sold directly to consumers through the US Mint website. The prices that are established by the mint are much higher than the bullion issues. Proof finish coins have a limited annual mintage and are highly sought after by collectors.
Proof coins from the US Mint are also available on the secondary market through local coin stores and online bullion dealers. Resale premiums on proof finish coins are higher than bullion. Dealer Buyback prices are often a few percent above melt value for coins that are in mint state.
Some investors will ship proof-finish coins directly to third party grading companies such as NGC and PCGS while still wrapped in the original shipping box from the mint. Grading specialists from these companies will open the boxes and inspect each coin for fine details and assign a numeric grade.
The numismatic coin industry uses a 70-point scale to grade coins of all types. Developed in 1948 by Dr. William Sheldon, an American psychologist and numismatist. After decades of revisions, the scale was adopted by the American Numismatic Association in the 1970s is the industry standard today.
Graded coins with a PR-70 rating, the absolute highest, can command significant premiums on buy back, secondary market sales, and auction.
Some investors look for opportunities to make a substantial profit from the arbitrage between the initial release price and having the graded coin sold at auction or on the secondary-market.
2023-W Proof American Gold Eagle
These proof coins are struck from 22-karat gold and are issued as a numismatic version of the U.S. Mint’s popular bullion American Gold Eagle. However, unlike the bullion coins, each proof features frosted design elements against mirror-like backgrounds.
2023-W Proof American Gold Eagles, as well as a collection of the four coins in a set.
The size options with their corresponding denominations are shown in the table below.
James Earle Fraser’s Buffalo Nickel design is captured in incredible luster and brilliance on the American Gold Buffalo coins.
Proof Gold Buffalo coins showcase the native beauty of the American West and continue to be popular among both investors and collectors due to their beautiful design, 24k gold purity and high quality mirror-like finish.
It’s become pretty indisputable that the economy is in the worst state that many Americans can remember since the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession that followed.
As a result, investors are clamoring for gold and silver bullion like never before. Demand for government issued coins, like the American Silver Eagle and the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf have skyrocketed in recent weeks since the start of the banking crisis.
However, the US Mint continues to be slow and unable to meet demands, which has caused significant increases in recent weeks to a recent high of around 60% over spot price. Some dealers, such as APMEX and JM Bullion are currently showing premiums for silver eagles at over 88% above spot price.
The US Mint outsources the manufacturing of planchets, which are coin blanks that are pressed by the mint to produce the coins. Working only with a handful of select manufacturers that meet the requirements.
Disruptions to both global and domestic supply chains effecting precious metals continue to impact investors and industry.
The raw materials used to mint Silver Eagles must be sourced from domestic silver mines, as prescribed by law.
The Mint has been unable to meet demand since 2021 when more than 28 million coins were sold. While investor demand remained strong in 2022, the Mint was only able to produce around 16 million coins.
So far in 2023, the Mint has reported sales over more than 6 million coins. However, numerous reports state the mint shifted production in late 2022 to start producing coins for the current year, which is the main reason the Mint was able to report 3,949,000 coins sold in January.
Sales reports show only 900,000 coins being sold in each month of February and March which is far below the Mint’s production capacity.
In 2015, the Mint sold 47,000,000 Silver Eagle bullion coins, the highest on record.
Year
1 oz ASE bullion coins
2019
14,863,500 coins
2020
30,089,500 coins
2021
28,275,000 coins
2022
15,963,500 coins
2023 (4 months)
6,199,000 coins
Recent Years Sales and Mintage Totals of 1 oz Silver American Eagle coins
It’s pretty indisputable that the economy is in the worst condition many Americans have seen since the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession that followed.
This time around, the economy has been wrecked by a record combination of prevailing events.
It began before COVID was even a thing in September 17, 2019.
A few months later, the Biden administration put the entire country into lockdown, effectively shutting down every sector of the economy, aside from companies like Amazon, Walmart and other select corporations deemed “critical”.
Rising inflation began to take hold as the Fed continued to print more money to fund the pandemic with stimulus checks and other government handouts.
To combat the inflation crisis, the Fed responded with multiple steep increases in key interest rates that come faster than has happened decades.
The United States Mint released images of the upcoming release of the American Liberty Gold Coin and Silver Medal.
The new 1 oz gold coin will be minted with .9999 fine gold with a nominal face value of $100.
The silver medal will be minted with one ounce of .999 fine silver. Both are schedule for release some time this summer.
These new designs from the mint emerge from the Artistic Infusion program led by Program Designers Elana Halger and John P. McGraw along with Chief Engraver Joseph Menna.
The American Liberty product line is a new high relief series that features modern interpretations of the Liberty theme on the obverse and depictions of the national bird on the reverse.
The gold coins will be minted at the West Point Mint. While the Philadelphia Mint will strike the silver medals. Each will have corresponding mint marks prominently on the obverse.
The obverse shows a bristlecone pine, believed to be among the longest-lived life forms on Earth. In the Inyo National Forest in California is a tree referred to locally as the Methuselah Tree that is verified to be 4,854 years old. It is believed to be the oldest living thing on earth highlighting the resilience of this species to survive cataclysmic changes and repopulate the land in areas affected by lava flows and glacial runoffs.
The reverse depict a young bald eagle standing atop a rocky outcropping preparing to take flight.
However, year-over-year sales of silver eagles are down so far in 2023.
For January, the mint posted sales of Silver Eagles, with 3,949,000 coins sold. This is substantially lower than the same period the previous year, when the mint posted sales of 5,001,000.
For the first week of February, the mint posted sales of just 450,000.
In recent weeks dealer we’ve seen premiums on current year silver eagles have been dropping.
However, some silver investors have found suitable lower premium replacements with silver coins from other mints.
The push toward dedollarization that began after the 2008 financial crisis has taken hold in recent years.
Many central bank are preparing for the elimination of the dollar from international trade settlements in favor of local currencies and are preparing by stocking up on gold and other commodities.
This week, the Iraqi central bank announced they are dropping the dollar and switching to the Yuan for their trade with China after the US Treasury forced stricter SWIFT transfer rules last year.
While the intent of the tighter rules was to curtail money laundering and to prevent the siphoning of dollars to heavily sanctioned countries. It is yet another political move that appears to have backfired.
As the rest of the world begins to transition to a gold-backed CBDC for international trade, the risk of out of control inflation to continue remains high and the chances of a soft landing for the economy is increasingly low.
The Federal Reserve has been piloting a number of different CBDC projects in recent months while recent legislation in Congress has been introduced to restrict the central bank from issuing any digital currencies to individuals.
In the long term, gold and silver preserve wealth and spending power while central bankers devalue fiat currency.
Even if the Fed is able to reduce inflation without destroying other sectors of the economy, the long term goal is to devalue the dollar by 2% annually with the inflation targets.
The global economy is shifting back towards some form of a gold standard. Everyone should be buying some physical gold and silver to have at home or in a secure location to be prepared for whatever happens this year.
The US Treasury continues to hold the largest gold bullion reserves. The January 31 report from shows 258,641,878.085 troy ounces, or roughly 8082.56 tons. According to some reports, 2,665 tons seized from citizens by FDR during the depression.
Storing physical gold and silver at home alongside firearms and other valuables is more common than you might think. If you don’t hold it, you don’t own it. Physical metals avoids counter-party risk.
Last year, the US Mint sold 980,000 troy ounces of gold eagle coins, a substantial drop from the 1,252,500 ounces that were sold in 2021.
Though 2022 saw an increase in sales of US Mint Gold Buffalo coins by nearly 60,000 troy ounces which shows that some gold bugs have been turning to .9999 fine gold.
Premiums on current year 1 oz Gold Eagle coins have fallen with online dealer premiums as low as 4.6% of gold spot price, and premiums on random year 1 oz Gold Buffalos are slightly higher from 5.14%.
Gold Eagles are minted from a 90% pure gold that is alloyed with small amounts of copper and silver. The addition of silver helps to gives these coins their unique color and luster.
Gold Buffalos are minted from .9999 pure 24k gold. The coins are beautifully sculpted and minted from gold that is refined from US mines.
Both coins each contain one troy ounce of pure gold.
