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COVID-19 shuts down U.S. Mint gold silver bullion production at West Point
Mesquite
Posts: 4,075 ✭✭✭
The article can be found here. https://www.kitco.com/news/2020-04-15/COVID-19-risks-shut-down-U-S-Mint-gold-silver-bullion-production-at-West-Point.html
There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.
–John Adams, 1826
–John Adams, 1826
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Interesting. I would have thought this already happened weeks ago.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
gold eagle and buffalo production suspended
Silver eagle and silver ATB puck production shifted to Philly mint.
Sales of AGE bullion up 465% in the first two weeks of April compared to all of April 2019. Premiums for gold coins are at 5%-10% over spot gold, compared with less than 1% in normal circumstances.
Production of AGEs and Gold Buffalos indefinitely postponed while West Point mint is shut down. Time to take another look at those expensive 2020 Buffs and AGE W uncircs. that may have an even more limited mintage.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
This is only month 4 of the year, plenty of time left for West Point to make more especially considering how much they can make in a month. 231k 2020 gold eagles made and they barely did more than 100k 2019 issues for the entire year. Better off looking at 2019 mintages like the 2019 gold half eagle. The early 2020 ATBs might be interesting, still no idea about mintages on the 2020 Bat coin and several places sold out/raising premiums. Both 2020 gold buffs and proof eagles already seeing significant sales #s
Only 40k 2020 $10 bullion AGEs sold thus far. Good chance the stay shut for quite a while, especially since other branch mints are picking up the non gold slack.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
The closing of the West Point Mint begs the question as to why the other mints are still open?? Seems like they should all be closed....Or are the others deemed 'essential'? Cheers, RickO
No one uses coins anyway. Maybe they should all be closed.....forever?
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
@cohodk....Hey, I use coins.... OK, I am old, but I still use them when purchasing few or small items... and to make the clerks count change....
Before the schools stop teaching arithmetic like they have stopped teaching cursive. Cheers, RickO
shortage of gold supply only affects West Point production. Note they moved their silver production to Philly, but not their gold production.
"If we don't have material to make half our products (gold) let's just shut down and send the other half to Philly. This way we can blame the shortage of gold coins on the pandemic."
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
Only '40k 2020 $10 bullion AGEs sold thus far' ? Thats more than they made for the entire year of 2019 even if they stay closed and mint 0 everywhere the rest of the year. Anyone looking for low mintage issues should be looking at the 2019 stuff or wait until late in the yr to see more complete numbers. 2019 is where theres a bunch of sleeper issues.
I stand corrected:
2019 total sales (unc. bullion coins):
$50 - 108,000
$25 - 30,000
$10 - 38,000
$5 - 195,000
2020 sales to date (unc. bullion coins):
$50 - 231,000
$25 - 33,000
$10 - 40,000
$5 - 175,000
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
It doesn't seem like you're a PM stacker or collector and I'm curious as to what keeps you coming back here. Care to share?
Time to take another look at those expensive 2020 Buffs and AGE W uncircs. that may have an even more limited mintage.
These days, there's always a chance that the price of gold will wipe out the exorbitant premium by the time that the coins arrive.
I knew it would happen.
Perhaps not all is as it seems.
One could easily surmise that you are a "shady" character. Would that be accurate?
Contrary to what some believe, perception is not fact.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
My view ? Paranoia shut it down.
I believe this individual holds some metal. Just my hunch.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
Is the Mint still producing Platinum Eagles? Or is that shut down also
Platinum eagles are struck at the now closed West Point Mint. Mint announced silver eagle and ATB 5 oz. puck production was being temporarily moved to Philly mint, but did not address the platinum coins. My guess is, like the gold coins, production has been temporarily halted.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
I don't know, with covid being highly transmissible, it can take just one sick employee to shut down a business. And no one's talking. Peace Roy
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Ah, not to worry. This showed up today.
United States Mint to resume operations at West Point
Kitco News Kitco News
Monday April 20, 2020 17:00
Kitco NewsShare this article:
After being shut for nearly a week the United States Mint announced today that it will resume limited production on Tuesday, April 21, at its West Point operations.
The Mint said the closed facility was thoroughly cleaned in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Social distancing procedures have been implemented.
"Mint employees at West Point have been designated mission-essential," said the Mint in a news release.
Last week the Mint announced it was closing temporarily out of an abundance of caution.
The Mint's closure has created a supply crunch in the gold and silver market.
By Kitco News
For Kitco News
–John Adams, 1826
Talking to jmski52 on the phone today prompted me to log back in and read some threads. You guys never changed and of course brought a smile on my face.
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Yep, I'm still advising insurance against the declining dollar and coho's still selling rainbows and unicorns. Nothing has changed.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
Butters!!
Yes. One of my old college girlfriends had an issue with me having multiple girlfriends, and had a meltdown in front of my friends screaming at me calling me "shady". Friends thought it would be funny to call me "shady", so the nickname stuck. Guess that ex would agree it is an accurate representation.
I wasn't trying to call you out, simply was curious as to why you seem to be such a staunch PM bear and devote time on this PM forum. You don't have to answer, I just thought it was interesting and some perspective would be nice. Have a good day.
Fair enough. However, I wouldnt consider myself a PM bear. I own gold and silver and lead and steel, just like most others on this forum. I am a PM rhetoric bear though. And given PMs have lost value vs most other assets over the last decade, I would say questioning that rhetoric was appropriate. Eventually relative valuation among asset classes can provide opportunity, which I think ive been quite clear about, especially over the last 2 years.
Ive never been against PMs, (they are just elements
), but I have been against misinformation, rhetoric, and fear-mongering and outright lies. And I will continue to speak out when one equates perception to fact, or opinion as fact. And I will question why some have those perceptions or opinions.
I am also a student of market psychology, and I thoroughly enjoy reading or interpreting the emotions of market and its participants, and no market elicits more emotion than the PM market. A lot can be learned in this forum that can be applied to other markets or business endeavors.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
for what it is worth
US Mint Reopening West Point Facility Today
The United States Mint has announced that it will be reopening its West Point production facility, in limited capacity, today. The opening comes a week after the facility was closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. After working with local public health officials and a complete cleaning of the facility, the Mint believe it can now open the facility for limited production. In addition, employees have been designated as mission-essential but must maintain social distancing.
more here https://uscoinnews.com/2020/04/21/us-mint-reopening-west-point-facility-today/
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Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Ah much ado about nothing. A good cleaning and back to full production as usual.
Guess the conspiracy theorists will have to reinvent the next "shortage" elsewhere.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
West Point was contributing to an existing shortage that will likely continue. If not we'll see premiums return to normal.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
The coronavirus forced the US Mint to temporarily freeze operations at two of its facilities: the West Point and San Francisco Mints. Therefore, the production of the 2020 Silver American Eagles was temporarily bestowed upon the Philadelphia Mint. There are approximately 240,000 of these emergency production silver eagles in the world, so be among the first to secure these rare coins for your collection!
These Silver Eagles were made from .999 fine silver with a weight of 1 troy ounce, but these coins are not just any silver American Eagle. Although these coins do not feature a Philadelphia mintmark, they do have a special label designating them as one of the few coins to be struck by the Philadelphia Mint.
The Mint has apparently skipped over the 2020-P Salt River Bay (Virgin Islands) ATB 5 oz, deferring it's production to some TBA date later in the year. They've moved ahead to produce the Weir Farm (Connecticut) 5 oz, on schedule.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
Regarding: "After working with local public health officials and a complete cleaning of the facility ... "
I appreciate a clean and tidy place, but, if the virus really only persists for 3 days outside of the body, couldn't they have saved some money by just keeping the place closed for a bit?
Perception. Then more perception. Keep wiping.
Just got an email from APMEX hawking SAEs from Philly as the next rarity, with a mintage of only 240,000. Get 'em quick for only $250 in MS70. However, shipping is free.
Creating fear justifies creating control.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
Do you think these will actually be worth somewhere close to this price in the future with this being the last year of the current design?
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Would not be surprised if some "error" surfaces involving a coin stuck w/o a mint mark. Due to the switch in minting location. Good circumstance for a manufactured "error".
no mint marks on any unc. bullion eagles
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
I would. There hasn't been ANY varieties produced so far from bullion ASE's over the years from either SF and Philadelphia. Philadelphia made bullion ASE before in 2015 ,2016 and 2017, why would this year be any different? Even the grading services need a sealed Philly monster box to identify them.
A Collector's Opportunity
Just 240,000 Silver Eagles were struck at the Philadelphia Mint during this short timeframe. These “Emergency Production” Silver Eagles are now the SECOND lowest mintage in the bullion series following the 2015 (P) Bullion American Silver Eagles.
A label collector's opportunity. Coins are no different than the ones struck in West Point. The ONLY way the TPG's can verify they are from Philly is the inventory number on the sealed box. They are not emergency production ASEs, they are regular old bullion ASEs that had their production location temporarily relocated to keep the presses rolling.
There will be no official Philly ASE mintage released by the US Mint. TPGs will, because of their label, likely give them their own line in the pop reports.
Maybe some day in the future their will be a die marker discovery to indicate the Philly strike, but I strongly suspect the WP dies also went temporarily to Philly, making them West Point coins.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
It's amazing to think in 75 years someone might be holding one thinking, "wow remember when humans used to get sick? We used to have sick people in poor health regularly walking around while others were healthy and smart and sequestered themselves away. Employer sponsored health care was a thing, so your boss held your literal life in their hands! People didn't even make enough per hour to afford an ounce of silver."
"People who bailed out faceless corporations did so in 1999, 2008, and 2020. Then people wondered why our population growth stopped and family values disappeared. Nobody could afford a family. Then they paid for these corporate donations with their lives when they were lied to and forced to work during a pandemic, or starve."
"...The survivors were the ones who practiced hygiene and social distancing and ate well and exercised, and deserved to be locked away stacking precious metals in a pandemic for their wise decisions."
Don't forget that West Point is in New York..........one of the worser places to be due to Covidity.
Pete
@BuffaloIronTail .... Yep... very close to where I live.....Good point. Cheers, RickO
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/politics/west-point-cadets-coronavirus/index.html