US Mint Runs Out Of Tenth-Ounce Gold Coin Inventory Day After Its Release For Broad Purchase
The sad state of affairs in gold land: the premium for the 1 ounce Gold Eagle coins has expanded from $59 to $99, Krugerrands are not available for sale in most places, and this most recent development just out of the US Mint: the one-tenth ounce American Eagle inventory at the mint has been depleted, almost instantaneously after the coin was made available for purchase. This occurred the day after the mint announced the release of fractional Eagle Gold Bullion Coins in one-half ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce weights. As Coin News reports:
The Mint sold 345,000 coins to its authorized purchasers for a total of 58,000 ounces of gold. That, without a single one-ounce size leaving Mint doors.
Sales of 2009 one-ounce sized gold eagles are expected to resume in "early December" while the production of the 2010-dated American Eagle Gold and Silver One Ounce Bullion Coin are expected to begin in Jan., 2010.
So no sooner did the Mint start selling the new 1/10 ounce denominated gold pieces, than they ran out.
The US Mint ran out of one ounce 2009 American Gold Eagle coins last week which caused their temporary suspension, and now the fractional sizes that were just launched are either gone or being allocated following record one-day sales.
This is the notice sent out by the Mint to authorized purchasers:
Due to strong demand, the American Eagle Gold Tenth-Ounce Coin inventory was depleted. The inventory for the half-ounce and quarter-ounce coins remains very limited. We will offer the remaining half-ounce and quarter-ounce coins for sale via the United States Mint standard allocation process.
And indicative of the massive gold demand, the 24-karat one ounce Buffalo coin inventory was depleted as well:
"The United States Mint has depleted its inventory of 2009 American Buffalo One Ounce Gold Bullion Coins," the US Mint stated in a memorandum to authorized purchasers of the precious metal coins. "No additional inventory will be made available. As additional information becomes available regarding 2010-dated American Buffalo One Once Gold Bullion Coins, you will be notified."
Following their launch on Oct. 15, the selling pace was fierce. US Mint figures have the 2009-dated coins at 198,000. By comparison, the Mint has said 172,000 were sold in all of 2008 while 167,500 were purchased in 2007.
It appears the 79% of the US population that disapproves of Bernanke and is asking for his head, is not sitting idly and every single day continues expressing its "vote" of no confidence in the Chairman by making gold increasingly scarcer. In the meantime, the massive demand for silver coins is also starting to hit the Mint, which as of today had none in store.
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on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:05
#155260
last time we had deflation, premiums blew way out.
I am seeing $63 spreads from spot to sell as of Fri on CNI's site.
at some point the paper economy is going to vaporize
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:35
#155297
Try Tulving, $75 over for buy and $35 over sell. Smaller spread, better pricing.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:11
#155264
Insert Tungsten coin joke anywhere in this thread.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:17
#155270
I heard somebody told India that gold is in a bubble so they're going to sell that 200 tons back to the IMF. Somebody says they're going to seek safe haven in fresh minty green US dollars.
Not.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:20
#155276
LOL
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:40
#155308
Hahaha
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:19
#155275
Hmmmmm...My guess is that Denninger swapped his entire mattress at the U.S. Mint.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:44
#155426
What the idiot dollar deflationists ala Mish, Prechter, Karl Denninger et. al. don't know is that such shortages are a canary in the coalmine signifying impending devaluation of the paper currency being issued in the area where the shortage occurs as the smart money/insiders are buying all the physical (as has been happening in Vietnam recently). Force majure is only for the paper Gold; no such concept applies to physical Gold.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:59
#155449
Actually, it was the Franklin Mint. He bought all the remaining Civil War Chess Sets. He has now cornered the market on Civil War Chess Sets--take that, bitches!
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:20
#155277
When i read this "It appears the 79% of the US population that disapproves of Bernanke",i can't help think that there is no way that 20% of Americans know who Ben Bernanke is (let alone what he does or doesn't do). But i am a cynic.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:58
#155289
It doesn't matter whether they know who he is or not. The public mood is grim and getting grimmer. If the question was worded in such a way as to link anyone to the current administration of the economy, I'm thinking the vote would be the same regardless of name.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:38
#155536
The shrinking supply is just further indication that the public distrusts what the Administration and the Federal Reserve is doing from a policy standpoint.
While there are many that are looking at gold as the investment of the century right now, more and more people who are buying these coins simply want gold as a stable store of value and "insurance policy" on their currency.
If the power brokers in charge do not restore that trust through more rational policies-- this is exactly what they should expect. My sense is that they know the consequences, yet are willing to play the same game, anyway.
on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 02:10
#156273
Do you think. I'm thinking folks are afraid of a deflationary spiral that will see no dollars in circulation. 1/10 ounce gold coins is almost as good as having gold thread or wire. If you wanted to "store value", and gold can certainly do that for you, it's not going to be for the 12 to 15 hundred dollars you may have in the cookie jar. And gold bars would probably not be the best to barter with.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:34
#155296
They thought the pollster said "lemon snackies".
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:23
#155506
I think you're spot on. If you don't disapprove of Bernanke either you are naive or in cahoots with that criminal.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:38
#155537
And of that 79%, what less than 5% of those people own gold? It's only been over the last 6 to 12 months that when I mention buying gold, people don't look at me with a blank stare.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:21
#155280
www.apmex.com
Spot + $50 (if you buy >20, otherwise $55)
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:31
#155524
I'm experiencing a delay with my small order from apmex, currently. I really hope that doesn't mean they don't have the actual stuff to send me.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:14
#155788
I've ordered from them many times. They always have given excellent customer service. If they say it's in stock it almost certainly is. Delay probably in order processing from large volumes.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:26
#155283
This seems like a tell-tale sign that gold is bubbling. When the dumbasses join in, history repeats itself. I'm not saying golds's run is done. Just that t feels like buying homes in Vegas in 2006.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:38
#155306
Only about FIVE PERCENT of the population is invested in gold/silver. Wanna tell me how that is BUBBLING? When I mention gold/silver to family/friends/etc. I still get a BLANK STARE.
Bubbling my ass!
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:41
#155310
I have had a different experience. Seems very well bought in based on similar observations.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:47
#155323
I concur that retailers are buying the tenth ounce coins, so the bubbling statement is logical. I also think we have a way to go. I have never seen such a despised and poorly invested bubble.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:43
#155313
We shall see. Many told me in 2006 that I'd be nuts not to buy a second property. So many are jumping on the Gold bandwagon that the US gov't will do something to correct its course.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:00
#155453
American Eagles on the cover of Time in 3...2...1...
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:43
#155312
Maybe but I don't see people taking $500k adjustable rate loans to buy physical.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:58
#155572
good point
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:36
#155417
It's a new paradigm, and anyone who doesnt buy now will be priced out forever. People who do buy now will be rewarded with a lifetime of riches, as gold will continue its yearly 30% price appreciation.
Retail investors, and those born in future generations will be unable to afford the $5000+/ounce spot price, or diversify their portfolios. They will end up buying gold weighed in grams, or nothing at all.
This asset bubble is different than the others. It will never slow down or pop. The gains are permanent.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:14
#155488
Gold isn't even close to bubble territory from my observations. The dumb asses are still holding onto their equity mutual funds hoping to recover their losses because their dumb ass advisers won't even consider gold as an investment. Oooh...it's so risky.
Gold has just begun to get the public's attention. The double standard in the MSM is so strikingly biased against gold. As soon as it hits a record high, it must be a bubble. As soon as we see those wacky commercials on late night TV, gold must be in a bubble. Yet when the stock market hits a high and we are inundated by those feel good banking and mutual fund advertisements literally everywhere we turn, stocks are never considered a bubble. When shows like 'Flip This House' are on TV, and the newspapers have entire sections devoted to promoting the newest real estate development, it isn't considered a bubble.
Gold isn't even on the radar for the average investor I speak to. For them, gold is still considered a risky, quirky thing.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 14:10
#155594
How come no one is talking about the potential of the USD breakout? There surge is impressive and if it holds these prices then equities and commodities are poised to pull back.
This does not mean it's over for gold, but short term buying may be exhausted. Frankly, for long term gold holding a pullback here is healthy.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:19
#155795
Its a short term breakout....dollar reverse carry. Thats not my bag but I doubt anybody here would get caught with that position.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:31
#155290
So, the demand for gold-plated trinkets is high?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:31
#155291
Regardless of price COMEX will be blown out of the water on settle volume before the end of March. This isn't about bubbles or "different this time", this is about security, sanity, self-preservation, trust.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:33
#155525
Every quarter I hear the same thing *YAWN* never happens. I buy physical anyway, but the goldbug-freakout corner of the blogosphere is pretty consistently wrong. Just watch it for a few quarters, you'll see.
Speaking of which: Where's the martial law and all those bank holidays that were supposed to turn the US landscape into a scene from Mad Max and the Thunderdome? My popcorn is getting cold.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:32
#155295
Anyone know if this was similar to what happened in 1979? What are the odds of a blow off top in to next year?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:17
#155493
According to Jim Sinclair jsmineset.com it is not. Jim said the chart has been a Swiss stair: goes up, goes sideways, goes up, etc. He's been saying $1225 for over 2 years. Next stop $1650 by Jan 2011. This time its Austrian! [Keynesianism wont cut it this time]
00777
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:35
#155298
Paper gold; -$50 on Friday. Physical gold; still going up!
Its not rocket science...
The following is a list of fiat currencies that have not failed:
end of list
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:36
#155300
Quezrho,
The overall particpation rate is low. Few people own any gold. The purchase of such small "coins" at high premiums is telling in terms of HH purchasing power...1/10th ozzie coin isn't much of a hedge.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:37
#155303
That is the whole idea behind the latest push with dollar. To scare people off of buying gold. I think what deflationist miss the most,is the phsycological factor of gold. Whether there might be deflation(gold down),or inflation(gold up),people on the most are wary of holding a paper that they don't know how much its worth. But at least with gold,they know that no matter what ,they would have something that they could exchange for necceties. It is the panic,more than the greed that is pushing people into gold. And it will continue to push them there no matter what the dollar or equities do,or don't do....
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:42
#155311
The following is a list of bubbles that haven't popped:
end of list
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:47
#155321
Careful quezrho. The dudes here piled gold back into their portfolios when it "corrected" at a higher price over the last few weeks. Stuck, the panting begins.
Panic bitches!
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:56
#155339
Yup. We all despise Wall Street for the financial bubble, yet contribute and see nothing wrong with profiting somehow from another bubble, Gold.
Some food for thought: Is the current price of gold and its activities a direct result of the dollar devaluation? Or is the dollar being devalued because of the equities (excess liquidity) and gold bubble?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:28
#155405
It's not a bubble, just a wealth transfer. I can't turn on the tv without a cash for gold ad blaring. Drive down the street and signs 'we buy gold' are everywhere.
Dumb money is selling, smart is buying. Which are you?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:25
#155512
Almost correct...
Bailout Bubble
This is the only one that has not popped yet..
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:49
#155327
The following is a list of chat boarders who have not at one time or another been completely wrong and thus in need of circumspection at times:
end of list
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:02
#155349
nice...haha
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:50
#155330
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on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:35
#155531
nice. 20 oz minimum.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:51
#155332
I guess the big question is if/how the physical and paper gold markets can diverge. If paper gold never requires physical delivery, it's just another fiat currency.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 11:59
#155343
Exactly. As long as there are enough investors who are content with a piece of paper that says they own gold then these games will continue.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:03
#155355
by going from current value to zero.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:01
#155348
I don't know about the rest of you, but holding solid gold in hand FEELs wonderful, even if it is a trick of the senses.
Nothing resonates the way gold does..nothing.
People saying Gold is just a refuge for people scared about Fiat currency is like them saying Michealangelo's art is only for snobs that think they're better than Comic books.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:02
#155458
Man, if I were you I would try to avoid letting emotions play any role in what you invest in or how you trade for the goods you need and want. To get all lovey dovey with gold is to lose perspective on the whole thing.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 14:02
#155582
Not for the next 5-10 years.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:07
#155471
+100
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 15:26
#155709
The only money with no counter-party risk.
It simply "is".
Is it better to have a coat-check ticket, or a real coat, when it's 20 degrees below zero?
...and who's not scared about fiat currencies???
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:06
#155361
The Comex is used to prop the U.S. Dollar. Without it, the price of gold could not be suppressed. And without gold suppression, the dollar would already have imploded.
The first person to utterly and completely expose the Comex's Ponzi scheme will be immensely famous. The Comex doesn't have the metals for which it sells contracts, long and short.
The crime is particularly big when it comes to silver, where the short contracts are epic in scale. Remove those contracts and you get the sharpest rise in a commodity in world history.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:22
#155395
Let's assume then that since the gamers are fine with exchanging slips of paper, what is the fulcrum point between paper and physical? Either there is no connect between physical and paper gold, or somebody is PAYING the negative arbritrage, no? How specifically can they prop up the futures for those rare cases when a party wants to exchange the future contract for something they can put in the trunk of their chevy. Somebody somewhere is taking a loss on purpose or the market would take care of this.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:39
#155423
Right. They're taking a loss measured in physical gold, not US dollars or any other fiat currency. Why would they care if the fiat currency is preferred over physical bullion?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:19
#155391
COMEX can't possible deliver even a fraction of outstanding contracts.
As I see it "they" (Treasury, FED, SEC, for fuck's sake NASA and NFL too, what do I care) will declare force majeure due to "severe market disruptions bla bla mismatch bla bla whatever. It will happen before the end of March. And the thing is, I understand it, it fits a pattern, it fits their mindset. Uncle Ben will probably come out and declare gold to be the first bubble he will pop, get it? Every electronic long will get totally wiped out. Fiat gold is so 1998.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:23
#155398
I don't get why this is sad!
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:27
#155404
first, gold just broke out from 1000 about 2 months ago. Bubbles don't form, and then pop in 2 months. Bubbles take three to ten times longer to go full circle. Sorry folks, buy some gold and stop bitching.
Second, if COMEX is out of gold. then where the fuck is it all? and whoever does have to gold, is obviously not selling thinking that shit will go higher. if gold was topped out then you would see boat loads of the shinny yellow metal wash a shore. people would be trying to sell the shit out of their gold.
sorry but a 12% move off the high doesn't mean I am selling my gold. It means I am buying yours you idiots. Tell me gold is a bubble next summer. then maybe ill sell.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:40
#155425
I keep going in pawn shops with 'we buy gold' signs. When I try to buy gold or silver bullion, they don't have any. They just buy it and sent to smelter.
Obviously there is a huge wholesale buyer taking all the gold they can shake out of the sheeple. Probably a foreign CB.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 15:33
#155733
Gold!
The only bubble that's been called every month for the past 10 years.
Does anyone realize that "experts" have been calling the end of the gold "bubble" since it hit 350$?
Do you think BB has the grapes to take interest rates to 18%?
If you do, then by all means, sell your gold.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:36
#155411
But, but...I thought it was only rational that Gold price should fall since we're in DE-FUCKING-LATION? No?
[Faking an innocent and puzzled face beneath which lies an utterly cruel, mocking and manical laughter especially designed to mock and insult all the dollar-deflationists/Prechterites...here it comes...]
HAHAHAAAAHAHAHAHHHHAHAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAHAHAHAHAAHHA!!!!
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:11
#155483
Right there witcha, GG - bought more - buying more , will buy more .
Don't forget the silver!
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:52
#155438
"...the premium for the 1 ounce Gold Eagle coins has expanded from $59 to $99..." yeah, this happened quite some time ago. The last time I spoke with my local dealer (early spring), his market for 1 oz eagles was like $40 over spot, $90 over spot. He'd also related that during the fall '08 market meltdown, he had people walking in with tens of thousands of dollars in cash buying anything he had, looking for a place to hide. Physical Au... one of the few assets that's not the liability of someone else.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:01
#155456
Who here remembers the talk last winter of the impending COMEX default, backwardation, etc. etc. etc.?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:03
#155462
read this a comment later.
http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/srobbins011806.html
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:12
#155485
read this too:
http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGoldVanishingIntoPrivateHoards.pdf
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:38
#155538
People like me who have a few bucks and like to follow along and do our own investing have concluded that the dollar is headed lower, over time, and that as "smart" as we were for avoiding the implosion in stocks, those dollars have to be converted into something else before they devalue further.
Stocks? Pass for now. Bonds. No frigging way. Other currencies? Yes, Yuan, Aussie, Swiss Franc please. Commodities? Ya, but, precious metals are more handy and pretty too. Oil will work soon as something is going to hit the fan with Iran, and Chindia keeps on trucking.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:45
#155550
silver bitches?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:48
#155555
good christmas gift for gold shorts and ben:
http://jsmineset.com/2009/12/06/jims-mailbox-294/
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:48
#155557
Who are the 'authorized purchasers' to whom the Mint sells coins?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 14:37
#155629
PM dealers.
on Wed, 12/09/2009 - 14:34
#158159
People like APMEX and Tulving? Or is there another layer of 'wholesale' PM dealers between them and the Mint?
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 15:17
#155699
But Bernanke keeps coining phrases.
STRONG DOLLAR
That mint keeps stamping out coins.
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 15:21
#155706
I still got 300 $20 Gold Liberty Double Eagle Coins from my grandfather, and I would never sell them unless my family would starve. And if that never happens, I'll pass them to my son. 4 years ago they where valued at 1500 a piece ;)
on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 02:11
#156274
Dude that's like .5 M and climbing ... your grandfather was pretty smart
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 19:39
#156018
"So many are jumping on the Gold bandwagon that the US gov't will do something to correct its course."
i love this trust in government but what can those poor chaps do? they are just humans who if given the chance will give to you that government job today....
someone at work was saying to me, the government will fix the house prices....man, i dont believe it - they screw it, borrow and spend like there is no tomorrow and expect the government to fix it...yeah right....give me a break!
on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 21:42
#156107
1/10 oz coins getting scarce? how big are they- about the size of timmy's 'pp'? and such a markup!
somebody needs to send the po' folks to the silver store! for the price of 1 tenth ouncer they can be the proud new owners of 6 silver dollerz (assuming silver is still available...).
not for nuthin' is it called 'poor man's gold'. gold bubble? silver even less so!
on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 11:10
#156563
By this time next year, you'll be begging to unload your gold at $500/oz. LOL. So predictable. All you talk about on this site is bubbles and you don't see this one in front of your nose!
on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 14:04
#156785
i have a question that may seem dumb but i need an answer:
Is the sterling silver my grandma has in her cupboards in the form of flatware and serving pieces and candlesticks etc. of the same value as the elusive silver COMEX and others don't seem to have? In other words, what granny's stuff worth if it's sterling? thanks
on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 16:17
#156998
Grandma's silver is worth much more than the going rate for COMEX silver. This is because that silver is formed into pieces that are of limited production runs and there are services out there that specialize in trafficking in these items. The same holds true of grandma's china.
on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 16:19
#156995
The mint was never going to make these coins available to the citizens of this nation, except through private dealers that have an approved dealer account with the mint. So any pretense that the mint serves the population is a total crock of shit. Unless of course you happen to be a subsidiary of GS or some other TBTF institution that is being padded through the monopoly sales of US coinage.