demand, not supply, is the mint's problem
posted on
Oct 10, 2008 06:29AM
the us mint recently halted sales of gold eagle coins, citing unprecedented demand as the cause. that is not the case. as this table shows, there is nothing extraordinary about the 2008 demand for gold coins. it is far below the levels of 1997-99. the us mint's real problem is that it either doesn't have any more gold or it doesn't want to sell any at these levels. i can't say i blame them. i wouldn't want to sell gold at $900 either.
American Gold Eagle Bullion Sales (ounces)
| 1986 |
1,787,750
|
| 1987 |
1,253,000
|
| 1988 |
851,000
|
| 1989 |
839,000
|
| 1990 |
715,000
|
| 1991 |
472,000
|
| 1992 |
638,600
|
| 1993 |
796,000
|
| 1994 |
559,500
|
| 1995 |
600,500
|
| 1996 |
729,500
|
| 1997 |
1,317,000
|
| 1998 |
1,839,500
|
| 1999 |
2,055,500
|
| 2000 |
164,500
|
| 2001 |
325,000
|
| 2002 |
315,000
|
| 2003 |
484,500
|
| 2004 |
536,000
|
| 2005 |
449,000
|
| 2006 |
261,000
|
| 2007 |
198,500
|
| 2008 |
492,000*
|
*through October 2008
http://mintnewsblog.blogspot.com/200...
