United States Mint Gold Bullion sales for 2019 were the Worst since Inception...
cagcrisp
Posts: 1,057 ✭✭✭✭✭
This data come from Sales Totals by Month for the United States Mint for Bullion coins…
Keep in mind that American Silver Eagle Bullion sales for 2018 were the Worst year for sales since 2007
Keep in mind that American Gold Eagle Bullion sales for 2018 were the Worst year for sales since 2007
Keep in mind that American Buffalo Gold Bullion sales for 2018 were the 2nd Worst year for sales since Inception in 2006 (2017 was the Worst)
…SO…How does Unites States Mint Bullion coins sales for 2019 compare to United States Mint Bullion coin sales for 2018?
American Silver Eagle Bullion…
Dec-18 2018 American Silver Eagle Bullion 12 months = 15,700,000 oz.
Dec-19 2019 American Silver Eagle Bullion 12 months = 14,863,500 oz.
Down 5.3%
2019 American Silver Eagle Bullion was the Worst year since 2007…
American Gold Eagle Bullion…
Dec-18 2018 American Gold Eagle Bullion 12 months = 245,500 oz.
Dec-19 2019 American Gold Eagle Bullion 12 months = 152,000 oz.
Down 38.1%
2019 American Gold Eagle Bullion was the Worst year since Inception in 1986…
American Buffalo Gold Bullion…
Dec-18 2018 American Buffalo Gold Bullion 12 months = 121,500 oz.
Dec-19 2019 American Buffalo Gold Bullion 12 months = 61,500 oz.
Down 49.4%
2019 American Buffalo Gold Bullion was the Worst year since Inception in 2006…
Note: The Mint has reported Bullion sales for the American Gold Eagle and the Buffalo in December 2019, however, No sales for the Bullion American Silver Eagle were reported in December 2019...
Comments
I can't say I'm surprised. There was a glut of physical gold for most of the year.
It's also worth pointing out that Eagles are an expensive way to buy gold, especially if you are buying the new release. You can usually get prior year coins a little cheaper than the current year. So, given the glut of gold out there, it wouldn't be a huge surprise that buyers were fussier.
The economy is good. People think of gold when things are ugly......
You can buy foreign gold for a hair above melt. Gold is gold, why pay a premium for an Eagle?
Where are the prospectors on the various "Gold Rush" shows going to sell their bullion?
They have to find it first. Poor old Dakota Fred and Dustin make more as actors than they do as prospectors. That one skinny kid does okay.
Because you can also get a premium when you sell an Eagle. You need to look at the bid/ask spread not the headline cost. For example, my guy will pay me full melt on an Eagle but only 97 or 98% on foreign gold. Paying a 2% premium on an Eagle ($30) is equivalent to paying no premium on foreign.
They have to lose it for a hundred years in a ship wreck, then it's worth 10x spot!
Any final numbers on the fractional golds?
108,000 1 oz.
30,000 ½ oz.
38,000 ¼ oz.
195,000 1/10 oz.
371,000 coins and 152,000 oz...
Looks like a down year for bullion at the mint.... the economy has provided other avenues for profit. Cheers, RickO
Thank you for the numbers, very helpful.
The internet tax will help our g-men improve their bottom line, since they have such fat ass margins on metal.
blame it on bonus ebay bucks stealing their customers. Most buyers don't care about the date, only the bottom line.
"The good old days when “JUSTICE” stood for something instead of “JUST US.”" - Martin Armstrong
bullion (bulk) eagles are sold only to a handful of authorized purchasers (AP) who have to "guess" what future demand will be from their customers. Maybe they has so many left over from last year that they reduced their orders this year.
Mint sales numbers for these things are strictly those sold to the APs which may or may not accurately reflect short and intermediate term individual customer demand. It all balances out in the long term.
"The good old days when “JUSTICE” stood for something instead of “JUST US.”" - Martin Armstrong
Thx
Wonder what the numbers are on proof and mint sets for 2019. How much did the w cents stir things
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
All 3 “W” cents were Very Successful if you just look at raw numbers. The question is IF the “W” gimmick brought in any New customers...
Look at the various reporting requirements for sale of any of the bullion coins.
And sales tax in most states...
It's been my experience that the time to buy is when nobody else is buying and the time to sell is when the sheep are piling in for the slaughter.
I know personally I focused on Pre-33 gold the last year or so. A ton coming back from overseas and premiums at an all-time low. I'll take that over inflated mint premiums any day.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
Outlook 2020
U.S. Mint's 2019 gold coin sales weakest on record, investors favor ETFs, stock market
Anna Golubova Thursday January 02, 2020 17:15
Kitco News
Editor's Note: 2020 is expected to be another year of significant uncertainty and turmoil. But the question is what asset will emerge the victor when the dust settles from the global trade war, Brexit, recession threats, negative bond yields. It’s a showdown of global proportions, so don’t miss all our exclusive coverage on how these factors could impact your 2020 investment decisions.
(Kitco News) Despite gold's best year in nearly a decade, U.S. gold coin sales struggled as the U.S. Mint reported the worst year on record in terms of the American Eagle gold coins sales.
Gold delighted investors in 2019, rising 18% as Federal Reserve cut rates and geopolitical tensions kept prices in an uptrend.
In contrast, the gold coin demand was extremely weak as traders opted for ETFs, futures, and record-high equity markets, according to analysts.
A total of 152,000 ounces of the gold American Eagle coins were sold in 2019, which is 38% less than in 2018, according to the latest U.S. Mint data. This marked the lowest sales on record since the U.S. Mint began recording the figures in 1986.
Sales of silver American Eagle coins were the worst since 2007 with only 14,863,500 ounces sold, down from the already weak figure of 15,700,000 reported in 2018. In 2007, sales were only at 9,887,000 ounces.
One of the reasons behind a strong gold price and weak demand for gold coins is investors choosing to hold gold in other forms, such as gold-backed ETFs and futures.
“It was mainly professionals, hedgers and you had a lot of buying from South America,” RBC Wealth Management managing director George Gero told Kitco News on Thursday. “Money that normally could have gone into gold coins ended up going into gold ETFs or gold futures.”
The global slowdown has been bringing hedgers into the gold space as many investors become concerned with the continued "up move in the stock market,” Gero noted.
Weak annual coin sales are in stark contrast with the ETFs performance, said TD Securities head of global strategy Bart Melek.
“We started off the year at roughly 71 million ounces. Now we are at 81 million ounces. There has been a significant increase in positioning in ETFs over the year. We have also seen pretty robust increase int he latter part of the year in long exposure as far as speculative funds as well. And central banks — looks like their purchases were at another 50-year high in 2019,” Melek pointed out.
Melek added that gold coins had to compete with the record-high stock market in 2019. “Much of what has probably been happening is that there were much better returns in other markets, equities in particular. S&P 500 is up 30% year-on-year,” he said.
Gero also said that the “roaring stock market” has taken away demand from coin sales.
On top of that, the strong U.S. dollar might have played as a deterrent to the U.S. Mint’s gold coin sales, Melek noted.
“Last year has been indicative of the fact that the U.S. dollar has been a lot stronger than anyone would have thought. Because of the trade issue, you had China’s currency not perform particularly well … We haven’t seen as much physical demand because in other currency-terms it seemed expensive,” Melek stated.
This was the third year in a row that the U.S. Mint reports very weak coin sales. In 2018 gold and silver coin sales of the American Eagle hit the lowest levels in eleven years.
The best year on record was 1999 with 2,055,500 total ounces of the gold American Eagle coin sold, while the second-worst year on record was in 2000 when only 164,000 ounces were sold of the same coin, according to the U.S. Mint.
The World Gold Council highlighted a similar weak trend globally as well, noting that demand for gold bullion coins and bars nearly halved in the third quarter of 2019 when compared to 2018.
Demand for coin and bars totaled 150.30 tons in Q3 — its lowest level since the first quarter of 2008.
“The [year-to-date] picture is similarly bleak: cumulative demand in the first three quarters was at its lowest level since 2009,” the WGC said. “A soaring gold price across multiple currencies has prompted retail investors in many markets to either wait in anticipation of a price dip or sell a portion of their holdings to realize profits.”
The overall consumer demand for physical bullion also dropped dramatically in 2019, especially in markets like India, where prices rallied to record highs in local currency.
In India, jewelry demand dropped 32% in the third quarter; meanwhile, Chinese jewelry demand fell 12% in the third quarter, according to the WGC.
https://www.kitco.com/news/2020-01-02/U-S-Mint-s-2019-gold-coin-sales-weakest-on-record-investors-favor-ETFs-stock-market.html
Goldbully, Thanks for posting this. I don't read a lot of articles like this because of the bias....I Thought this article was well written as to facts vs. "outlook"...
What reporting requirements? I can walk into a B&M and buy a Maple Leaf or Krug without any paperwork.
Your paying sales tax whether its and Eagle or a Maple leaf, so why pay a premium?
The point I was making is that more and more people are going Away from coins and Towards ETFs...
Yes, there is no substitute as an investment vehicle. On the other hand, people who want "disaster insurance" want physical gold.
I bought and sold 20,000 ounces of silver today. The total transaction costs were $20. Try that with any physical bullion.
Correct unless you pay 10k in cash.
Options?
Why would anyone do that when you can split purchases among many different sellers? That and very few people drop that much at once.
Agreed but it's the law.
This year was a great year for the US Stock market - I was fully invested with about 75% in stocks.
Why buy gold in a bull market that doesn't seem to have any headwind other than those pesky middle eastern countries?
I'm grinning as I look at the year-end results. Time to crack another bottle of merlot.
I do continue to watch markets for opportunities in metals......
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
Future contracts. Yes.
Depends on the State. 1k is recordable if not reportable in NY
IRS reporting on cash purchases of 10k cash.
Big time fines if unreported by dealer.
PA has regs on dealer purchases.
He was referring to IRS selling requirements not buying. Go try selling a box of Leafs or Krugs to anyone established and see what happens. You should look up the various IRS requirements since you're unfamiliar with them plus varying state tax laws. Would hate to be in a state that forces tax on buying bullion.
I’m quite familiar with them, thanks.