U.S. Mint Suspends Order Limits on Sales of American Silver Eagles
U.S. Mint Lifts Restriction on Sales Of American Silver Eagle Coins To Authorized Purchasers
UPDATE July 7, 2015: US Mint suspends sales of American Silver Eagles – Again
As sales of American Silver Eagle coins slow from their record pace of the past two years, the U.S. Mint has suspended order limits on sales of American Silver Eagles to its authorized purchasers. The United States Mint does not sell the standard Amerian Silver Eagle coin to the public, choosing instead to rely on a network of “authorized purchasers”* who meet certain criteria and purchase silver eagles in order to re-sell them.
U.S. Mint authorized purchasers have a minimum 25,0000 American Silver Eagle coin ordering requirement and pay the cost of silver plus $2 per American Silver Eagle coin purchased.
Coin news provided the text of the U.S. Mint correspondence to its authorized purchasers informing them of the elimination of purchase restrictions on American Silver Eagles as of June 1, 2015:
Since mid 2011 the price of silver has fallen dramatically from a high of about $50 per ounce to the current price of about $17 per ounce. The lower price of silver ignited record sales leading to the United States Mint to impose order limits on its authorized purchasers.
The Price of Silver
Sales of Amerian Silver Eagle Coins 1986-2015
Some have suggested that the massive volume of American Silver Eagle sales the past few years was due to purchases by JP Morgan. This preposterous speculation is refuted here.
The U.S. Mint defines authorized purchasers as “a network of wholesalers, brokerage companies, precious metal firms, coin dealers, and participating banks.”