According to sales data released by the U.S. Mint this week, sales of both American Silver Eagle (ASE) and American Gold Eagle (AGE) coins were down in 2018.
According to sales data, the U.S. Mint sold 245,500 ounces of Gold Eagle bullion coins during 2018. This was down from 302,500 ounces in 2017 and 985,000 in 2016.
Silver Eagle bullion coin sales dropped in 2018 as well. In 2018, the U.S. Mint sold 15,700,000 one-ounce Silver Eagle bullion coins. This was down from 18,065,500 in 2017 and 37,701,500 in 2016.
Silver Eagle bullion coins are sold to dealers in 500 coin Monster Boxes. Many precious metals dealers that are still holding onto 2018 dates coins have lowered the premiums to as low as $2.20 per coin, which is only 20 cents more than the premium charged by the U.S. Mint.
Additional information can be found in this Reuters article and via the U.S. Mint Production Sales Figures.
Overall, the spot price of gold ended 2018 with a 2.1% loss, the spot price of silver lost 9.7% throughout the year.
