The demand for Australian bullion products waned sharply last month and was much weaker than a year ago, according to figures from The Perth Mint of Australia.
The Perth Mint’s bullion sales were set against rising precious metals in July, with LBMA prices (USD) advancing 3.1% for gold and soaring 8.4% for silver.
Perth Mint Gold Bullion Sales in July 2023
In July, the combined sales of the Mint’s gold coins and gold bars reached 44,009 ounces, marking the lowest monthly total since October 2020 and reflecting drops of 39.8% from June and 44.5% from July 2022.
"Our distributors reported softening demand in June and this trend continued into July,” he said, “but they are reluctant to pin the reason on any particular factor at present," said Neil Vance, General Manager Minted Products.
Furthermore, year-to-date gold sales at 462,365 ounces are 21% lower than the 585,399 ounces sold during the same period last year.
Perth Mint Silver Bullion Sales in July 2023
In the month, the Mint recorded sales of 863,485 ounces for minted silver coins and bars, representing the first sub-million level since December 2020 and the lowest monthly amount since February 2020. This shows declines of 34.9% from June and 65% from July 2022.
Year to date, the cumulative sales of silver from The Perth Mint amount to 10,559,616 ounces, indicating a 24.6% decrease compared to the 13,995,473 ounces sold in the corresponding period last year.
Monthly Perth Mint Gold and Silver Bullion Sales Since July 2022
Below is a monthly summary of Perth Mint bullion sales from July 2022 to July 2023. The figures show monthly ounces of gold and silver shipped as minted products by The Perth Mint to wholesale and retail customers worldwide. It excludes sales of cast bars and other Group activities including sales of allocated/unallocated precious metal for storage by the Depository.
| Perth Mint Bullion Sales (in troy ounces) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Silver | Gold | |
| July 2023 | 863,485 | 44,009 |
| June 2023 | 1,326,011 | 73,124 |
| May 2023 | 1,881,001 | 72,889 |
| April 2023 | 1,947,743 | 75,166 |
| March 2023 | 1,823,096 | 80,541 |
| February 2023 | 1,484,936 | 52,241 |
| January 2023 | 1,233,344 | 64,395 |
| December 2022 | 1,634,751 | 60,634 |
| November 2022 | 1,315,293 | 114,304 |
| October 2022 | 1,995,350 | 183,102 |
| September 2022 | 2,579,941 | 88,554 |
| August 2022 | 1,655,334 | 84,976 |
| July 2022 | 2,465,513 | 79,305 |
I think once the metals make a serious run up the pricing ladder, sales at all the mints will go up. It’s always that way. People move in herds. It’s cyclical. Coin collecting will come back in vogue with the huge price spike and all of a sudden there will be demand for some commemoratives from the 90’s, 00’s, etc. amongst other coins. Coin collecting “will be back baby!!”
East Coast Guru,
Since precious metals prices rise when both the dollar and stocks go down, only the wealthy have the resources to acquire any substantial amount of those metals in an inflationary market. Funny thing, that’s also true in a recession, when luxury goods are the only things still flying off the shelves and the top end automobiles sell out.
Too bad the U.S. Mint doesn’t sell silver & gold ingots/bars like the Perth Mint Australia does. Their kangaroo ingot is nice looking & even has a security device of the small “P” Mint mark of the Perth Mint on it.
The Royal Mint of the U.K. also sells ingots/bars with their stylized logo on it & other designs like Lady Britannia.
NumisdudeTX
Seth,
Maybe the Mint churns out more than enough bullion products already. Just sayin’. 😉
Kaiser,
Maybe the Mint could get rid of those $35 Christmas/Holiday ornaments & offer those ingots…
NumisdudeTX
Seth, remember that the bullion sales all go through authorized dealers and are not sold directly to customers- so you’d never see them on the Mint’s catalog site.
I can’t speak for gold, platinum and the other high-priced metals, but anyone into silver stacking I recommend you look on auction sites for the silver commemoratives. Often you can pick up silver with better prices over spot than found on many bullion sites. And that might even be with proofs. That’s my two-cents for today.
Major D,
I suppose the auction houses should begin to institute two-level pricing, one for authentic coins and one for those made in China.
Funny thing, Kaiser, is that even counterfeiters do cost-benefit analysis and know it’s not worth their effort to produce fake coins for each and every commemorative when the real ones don’t sell that often or for very much. There are much better margins for them on producing fake ASE’s. So, I’m fairly confident that any US Mint commemorative silver coin in OGP is legit. Besides, there are specs to check against as well.
Mr. Bag
But the beauty is, if they make em and they don’t sell, ya just melt em down again. Sure some metal loss but ya just add a penny here, dime there and viola. No big deal
Major D,
Excellent point. The difficulty for us then becomes one of knowing that the more desirable the coin the more likely it is subject to Chinese counterfeiting i.e. the “can’t win department”.
Kaiser,
There is a new coin authentication/grading service called MIC Grading Corporation (Made In China Grading Corp.) I hear they give a lot of 70 grades on their exclusive slab labels. Lol.
NumisdudeTX
Literally giving mike a run for his money
Dazed,
That may well be so, but I tend to believe that Caffeine Mike Sold Out – Limited Edition Mezack can shuck, weave and shuffle with the best of them whether or not he speaks Cantonese.
Seth,
Let me see if I’ve got this right. All my coins have been graded and slabbed by MIC Grading Corp.; does that mean I’m in the clear?
No. It means you been judged and labeled. Scarlet letter ring a liberty bell? Also, liberty bell is a crack head
Are the Chinese ones graded with an X to indicate Xi, therefore Chinese. Or just those without red oak boxes
Major D,
The U.S. Mint bullion program is only for legal tender precious metals coins. They could offer silver ingots as part of their Numismatic Program directly to the public just as they offer silver medals to the public. At least it would be something different from coins & medals. And other government Mint’s do it. It would be a collectible, not an investment per se.
NumisdudeTX
Seth, but as a collectible wouldn’t that mean $60/oz premiums for silver and $900/oz for gold? Kind of defeats the purpose of bullion bars as a somewhat liquid/alternate form of currency, doesn’t it?
Major D,
Probably, knowing the U.S. Mint’s high premium pricing structure. But, you can buy the nice Perth Mint premium kangaroo with “P” Mint mark silver ingots for under $30.
NumisdudeTX
Isn’t the Perth mint just like paying for the mint to store an item you won’t receive
You can get ase looking bullion from wally world for like $15 an oz. It’s cheap cuz delivery. But I think it’s that Nigerian prince having to smuggle it out of China and he just needs capital til he breaks free. So the long shipping time is why metal is cheap
Seth, That’s an interesting proposition. By the way, don’t pay any attention to me when it comes to the subject of bullion because I’m just naturally prejudiced against it since the bulk of those sales have to be going to the hoity-toity rich. I’m probably just jealous anyway that I never made it into that elite 1% category. Then again, I personally don’t care for that kind of lifestyle since I’m just a regular old “stay at home and try to have a nice quiet kind of day” type of guy. As for the Mint’s annual Christmas tree decoration selections,… Read more »
Kaiser,
The only good thing about those Mint ornaments is that they are actually made in the USA! No child labor involved (except in Arkansas, since that Huckabee woman governor signed a bill a couple of months ago allowing some kids to work more hours & in more types of industries than before).
NumisdudeTX
I know right. Almost as hilarious as Chicago asking gangs to press pause from 9 am to 9pm on shootings.
To be fair. Americans are also made in America and many of them ain’t worth a cluck
I’m sure there are a lot of people out there waiting for the Obama ornament so they can hang it on their tree next to the Ghostbuster ornament.
Wouldn’t that be considered a depiction of lynching?
If ya twist the narrative. I guess anything possible. If you want to read negative, you will read negative. If you want positive you read positive. If your assumption adds a w to your side then I guess hazah for you. That’s the funny thing about bias, ya tend to look for whatever supports your thinking, facts be darned. I don’t make the rules
But then what would the jews use for target practice
Why, MAGAs, what else?
An ingot issued from the U.S. Mint would be more closely in line with the actual value of the silver contained therein. The Eagles and Medals are beautiful, of course. But they sell for 2.5 to 3 times the intrinsic value of the silver, as evidenced by the published market price of gold, silver, etc. Other nations sell their bars more in line, allowing for a reasonable profit. More people could acquire ingots and bars and thereby acquire more silver. It should not be necessary for our mint to make a large profit on the raw silver. The lesser profit… Read more »
Our mint has enough trouble sourcing silver. That’s why ni commemorative or 2022 morgan and peace. And why no longer full oz. Heck they aren’t even all silver, 85% on some editions.
While sales are down, due to incredibly high markups, profits have never been better
Bingo. Massive sales minus a good margin are pointless, while lower sales totals with a great profit represent sensational earnings. The world’s a funny place.
That’s cuz the “world leader’ is a laughing stock. Where else can you find the best people for a job and almost all of them are under investigation. J Edgar would have a field day with his dirt on people from 2000 til today. Or his watch dog Hoffa.
Dazed,
If Mx. J. Edgar Hoover were around now he would likely be “transitioning”.
Sorry brother, he’d definitely have beat Bruce Jenner to the punch. Even he, she, it wasn’t that fast. Transition over, done, and 5 books written about it.
Dazed,
I thought that’s what I just said. Hoover would had the surgery back then if it existed. He’d have quit the FBI and joined the Amateur Athletic Union’s women’s synchronized swim team.