Sales of the silver coins jumped this week by 1.57 million pieces, boosting their 12-day March total to 2,320,000 pieces — the highest for the month of March since 2016, and after just 650,000 pieces sold in February.
“Our rate of sale in just the first part of March exceeds 300% of what was sold last month,” the U.S. Mint told its bullion distributors Thursday.
“West Point is working diligently to produce additional inventory and once additional inventory is produced, we will again begin allocations.”
American Silver Eagle bullion sales for the year to date stand at 6,816,000 coins. Last year’s first three-month total for the silver coins reached 6,925,000 pieces, which included March sales of 850,000.
Bullion American Silver Eagles are sold in bulk through the U.S. Mint’s network of “Authorized Purchasers” who consist of major coin and precious metals dealers, brokerage companies, and other participating financial intermediaries. APs are charged the LBMA Silver Price plus a $2.00 per coin premium, and have a minimum ordering requirement of 25,000 ounces. In the secondary market, bullion coins are usually priced at a few percentage points above the latest value of their precious metal content.