Unlike Silver Eagles which exploded last month, demand for American Gold Eagle bullion coins retreated in September compared to August’s gold rush. The pace slowed as sales of the 22-karat investment-grade coins slid in at 91,000 ounces after raking in 112,000 ounces in the prior month.
The month ranks sixth out of nine in 2011, which has been a strong year for the coins, but it was not a weak month when looking at Septembers of the past. In that category, it was the fifth best since the series started, and it was higher than last year’s, which hit 88,000 ounces.
Bullion Gold Eagles are available from the United States Mint in four sizes, and as far as the number of gold coins sold goes, Mint authorized purchasers ordered 115,500 coins in all. The leader of the pack was the one ounce ($50 denomination) with 87,500, followed by tenth ounce ($5 denomination) with 25,000. The next most popular was the quarter ounce ($10 denomination) with 2,000 and the half ounce ($25 denomination) had the smallest sales with only 1,000.
September 2010 – September 2011 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coin Sales
| Month | One ( oz. / # ) |
Half ( oz. / # ) |
Quarter ( oz. / # ) |
Tenth ( oz. / # ) |
Total ( oz. / # ) |
| September 2010 | 82,500 82,500 |
1,000 2,000 |
1,500 6,000 |
3,000 30,000 |
88,000 120,500 |
| October 2010 | 89,500 89,500 |
1,500 3,000 |
500 2,000 |
2,500 25,000 |
94,000 119,500 |
| November 2010 | 107,500 107,500 |
3,000 6,000 |
1,000 4,000 |
500 5,000 |
112,000 122,500 |
| December 2010 | 58,500 58,500 |
500 1,000 |
500 2,000 |
500 5,000 |
60,000 66,500 |
| January 2011 | 130,500 130,500 |
500 1,000 |
500 2,000 |
2,000 20,000 |
133,500 153,500 |
| February 2011 | 72,500 72,500 |
6,000 12,000 |
4,000 16,000 |
10,000 100,000 |
92,500 200,500 |
| March 2011 | 60,500 60,500 |
4,000 8,000 |
5,000 20,000 |
4,000 40,000 |
73,500 128,500 |
| April 2011 | 94,500 94,500 |
6,000 12,000 |
3,500 14,000 |
4,000 40,000 |
108,000 160,500 |
| May 2011 | 93,500 93,500 |
11,000 22,000 |
1,000 4,000 |
1,500 15,000 |
107,000 134,500 |
| June 2011 | 56,500 56,500 |
0 0 |
2,000 8,000 |
3,500 35,000 |
61,500 99,000 |
| July 2011 | 61,500 61,500 |
1,500 3,000 |
0 0 |
1,500 15,000 |
64,500 79,500 |
| August 2011 | 103,500 103,500 |
1,500 3,000 |
1,500 6,000 |
5,500 55,000 |
112,000 167,500 |
| September 2011 | 87,500 87,500 |
500 1,000 |
500 2,000 |
2,500 25,000 |
91,000 115,500 |
Year-to-date American Gold Eagle sales now stands at 843,500 ounces. The nine-month total is behind the same stretch of time a year ago by 111,000 ounces.
In total ounces sold and as mentioned, last month ranked fifth best as compared to the previous twenty-four September’s. The following table illustrates:
Top 5 September Months for Gold Eagle Sales
| YEAR | RANK | SALES TOTAL |
| 1998 | 1 | 233,000 |
| 1999 | 2 | 147,000 |
| 2009 | 3 | 115,500 |
| 2008 | 4 | 113,000 |
| 2011 | 5 | 91,000 |
The American Gold Eagle was introduced in October 1986 in both bullion and collector versions. The bullion coins are different than the collector counterparts. Each is struck in .9167 fine gold and all feature the same designs, the obverse is Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ Liberty and the reverse is Miley Busiek’s eagles. The collector coins differ from the bullion coins because they feature a proof or uncirculated finish and a West Point "W" mint mark. Bullion coins have no mint mark.
American Gold Buffalo and American Silver Eagle Bullion Coin Sales
The United States Mint also reported 13,000 ounces of American Gold Buffalo bullion coins sold last month versus 28,000 in the previous month. The total count for troy ounces sold this year is 132,500. The one-ounce Buffalo is composed of 24-karat, or .9999 fine gold.
Combining the Buffalos and Eagles, the Mint delivered 976,000 ounces of gold bullion between January and September 2011.
In American Eagle Silver bullion coin sales, September was remarkable with 4,460,500 of the .999 fine silver one ounce coins ordered, which moved its annual sales to 33,411,500. The month ranked second highest all-time.
This site’s American Eagle coins page offers an overview on Eagles offered by the United States Mint.
