Several sources are reporting that the US Mint has suspended sales of American Gold Eagle bullion coins to dealers. There has been no announcement but the Mint has refused to take orders.
American Eagle Gold Proof and collector uncirculated coins are still for sale at the Mint’s online catalog. All coins appear to be available with no backorder messages.
Gold has fallen below $800 during today’s trading. In this week’s trading, gold dropped 8.4-percent for the week. Silver also fell 16.4-percent. The fall is attributed to the strengthening of the US dollar.
Since gold reached $1,004.30 on March 17, the price has dropped more than 20-percent over the five months.
Silver has not been immune to the a change in value. From the high of $21.24 and a close of $20.64 on March 17, the current price of silver is $12.75, a 38-percent drop in value.
Currently, the US Mint has not indicated that they would revalue collectibles in the light of the market downturn. One reason could be that the Mint bought the metals at the higher prices and need to recoup their investment in these metals as part of their real cost of doing business. However, if the price of metals drop and sales of Eagles decline, then the Mint will have to adjust its prices.
Last year, we speculated about what it would take for the Mint to raise prices. What will it take for the Mint to lower prices?