United States Mint annual bullion coin sales figures in 2010 were record-breaking for American Silver Eagles, weaker for American Gold Eagles and higher for American Buffalo Gold coins.
In total, the US Mint sold 36,917,000 ounces of gold and silver in bullion coins in 2010. It did not produce bullion American Platinum Eagles for a second straight year, so those again came in at zero.
Debuting for the first time in 2010 were the five-ounce America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins. They launched on December 10. By December 23, all 850,000 ounces, or 165,000 of the silver coins had sold out. This included 33,000 of each of the five 2010-dated strikes for the Hot Springs Silver Bullion Coin (Arkansas), the Yellowstone Silver Bullion Coin (Wyoming), the Yosemite Silver Bullion Coin (California), the Grand Canyon Silver Bullion Coin (Arizona) and the Mount Hood Silver Bullion Coin (Oregon).
The biggest US Mint sellers, as typical, were the smaller one-ounce, .999 fine silver coins. Silver Eagle coin sales hit a record 34,662,500 in 2010. The annual figure ranks as the all-time high dating back to the series launch in 1986. Demand in December, however, was terrible when compared to previous 2010 months. Only 1,772,000 were sold, which was the weakest monthly level of the year. That was a bit of a surprise considering the 4.26 million sold in November was the best ever for a month. Such a fall from a new record was not expected.
The following table shows monthly bullion silver coin sales figures for this year:
Silver Eagle Bullion Coin Sales Figures
| Monthly Sales |
|
| January | 3,592,500 |
| February | 2,050,000 |
| March | 3,381,000 |
| April | 2,507,500 |
| May | 3,636,500 |
| June | 3,001,000 |
| July | 2,981,000 |
| August | 2,451,000 |
| September | 1,880,000 |
| October | 3,150,000 |
| November | 4,260,000 |
| December | 1,772,000 |
| 2010 Sales Total | 34,662,500 |
Gold Eagle coin sales tumbled in December, which has traditionally been one of the best months of the year for the 22 karat gold bullion coins. Buyers grabbed only 60,000 ounces, which was the second lowest level of the year. Up until then, the coins had a streak of three straight monthly increases.
However, American Gold Eagle 2010 annual sales topped 1.2 million ounces, which was enough to make the year the sixth best for the Gold Eagle bullion coins which also debuted in 1986.
The one-ounce size was the annual leader with sales of 1,143,500. The one-tenth ounce size came in second with 39,000 ounces or 390,000 coins. Next was the one-half ounce with 23,000 ounces or 46,000 coins and then the one-quarter ounce with 15,500 ounces or 62,000 coins.
The following table shows monthly bullion gold sales figures for this year:
Gold Eagle Bullion Coin Sales Figures
| Month | One ( oz. / # ) |
Half ( oz. / # ) |
Quarter ( oz. / # ) |
Tenth ( oz. / # ) |
Total ( oz. / # ) |
| January | 85,000 85,000 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
85,000 85,000 |
| February | 84,000 84,000 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
84,000 84,000 |
| March | 102,000 102,000 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
102,000 102,000 |
| April | 60,500 60,500 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
60,500 60,500 |
| May | 190,000 190,000 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
190,000 190,000 |
| June | 97,000 97,000 |
15,500 31,000 |
11,000 44,000 |
28,000 280,000 |
151,500 452,000 |
| July | 147,500 147,500 |
1,000 2,000 |
500 2,000 |
3,000 30,000 |
152,000 181,500 |
| August | 39,000 39,000 |
500 1,000 |
500 2,000 |
1,500 15,000 |
41,500 57,000 |
| September | 82,500 82,500 |
1,000 2,000 |
1,500 6,000 |
3,000 30,000 |
88,000 120,500 |
| October | 89,500 89,500 |
1,500 3,000 |
500 2,000 |
2,500 25,000 |
94,000 119,500 |
| November | 107,500 107,500 |
3,000 6,000 |
1,000 4,000 |
500 5,000 |
112,000 122,500 |
| December | 58,500 58,500 |
500 1,000 |
500 2,000 |
500 5,000 |
60,000 66,500 |
| 2010 Sales Total | 1,143,500 1,143,500 |
23,000 46,000 |
15,500 62,000 |
39,000 390,000 |
1,220,500 1,641,000 |
Finally, the one-ounce American Gold Buffalo finished at 209,000, making 2010 the second best year for the 24 karat gold bullion coins which first launched in 2006. The debut year was the best at 323,000. However, comparing 2010 sales to past years — 2008 and 2009, specifically — is less than fair since they were not always available throughout the last three year. Their sales numbers follow.
2010 Gold Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales Figures
| Monthly Sales |
|
| January | 0 |
| February | 0 |
| March | 0 |
| April | 56,000 |
| May | 70,500 |
| June | 33,500 |
| July | 23,000 |
| August | 15,500 |
| September | 10,000 |
| October | 0 |
| November | 0 |
| December | 0 |
| 2010 Sales Total | 209,000 |