In May, sales of American Eagle and Buffalo gold bullion coins from the United States Mint slowed significantly. For American Gold Eagles, this deceleration resulted in their year-to-date total nearly aligning with the level of the previous year.
Meanwhile, sales of the Mint’s silver bullion coins picked up for the month, although the increase was not substantial enough to significantly impact their overall slower performance compared to last year.
Sales of American Eagle gold bullion coins in May amounted to 85,500 ounces, marking a decline of 49.7% from the prior month’s 170,000 ounces and a 51.1% decrease compared to May 2022’s sales of 175,000 ounces. Year-to-date sales of 691,000 ounces show a marginal 0.2% increase from the 689,500 ounces sold during the same period last year.
After three consecutive months of sales at 900,000 ounces, buyers snapped up 1,593,000 ounces of American Eagle silver bullion coins in May. This figure represents a 77% increase from April and an 18% increase from the 1.35 million ounces sold in May 2022. Despite the monthly jump, sales of the coin have declined by 15.7% to 8,242,000 ounces compared to the 9,781,500 ounces sold sold during the same timeframe last year.
In May, sales of American Buffalo gold bullion rose by 47,000 ounces, experiencing a decline of 23% from April’s 61,000 ounces and a 16.1% decrease from the 56,000 ounces sold in May 2022. Year-to-date sales of American Gold Buffalo have reached 259,500 ounces, representing a 9% increase from the 238,000 ounces sold during the first five months of last year.
The U.S. Mint released the 2023-dated American Platinum Eagle bullion coin in March, with 7,500 ounces purchased. In April, an additional 500 ounces were added, and another 1,200 ounces were added in May, bringing the cumulative total to 9,200 ounces. In contrast, last year’s 2022 platinum coin was released a month earlier and saw 25,800 ounces sold in February, followed by 14,200 ounces in March, with no further purchases in April or May, resulting in a total of 40,000 ounces sold during that period.
Here is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products showing the number of coins sold during different periods.
| U.S. Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | April 2023 | May 2023 | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 164,500 | 159,000 | 60,500 | 590,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 7,000 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 72,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 8,000 | 12,000 | 32,000 | 128,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 50,000 | 35,000 | 80,000 | 325,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 56,000 | 61,000 | 47,000 | 259,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 1,350,000 | 900,000 | 1,593,000 | 8,242,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 500 | 1,200 | 9,200 |
