NEW YORK (Reuters) – The US Mint said on Tuesday it was unable to meet growing demand for its gold and silver bullion coins in 2020 and into January, partly due to pandemic demand and plant capacity problems.
Sales of US gold bullion coins rose 258% in 2020, while demand for silver coins rose 28%, the US Mint said on Tuesday. Heavy purchases continued in 2021, it is said, squeezing supplies, which have already been tightened as the coronavirus affected production.
A shopping game based on social networks raised the silver future to a maximum of eight years on Monday, but dealers in the coin market were already facing a shortage of supplies and delivery delays before that rally.
The currency, a division of the US Treasury, has limited distribution of its silver coins to suppliers as it is currently exchanging designs for its American Eagle Gold and Silver Bullion coins.
“There’s going to be a backlog in the silver bullion supply chain that makes Silver Eagles rarer in both directions,” Everett Millman told Gainesville Coins of Florida. He expected delays until mid-March for the most popular products.
“The silver coins and silver bars available are received with significantly higher prizes,” he added.
In January, 220,500 American Eagle gold bullion coins were sold, up 290 percent from 56,500 a year earlier, the Mint said.
For this year, the US Mint has a limited window to produce its current gold and silver coins, with redesigned coins that will debut in the summer. It limits the distribution of its gold, silver and platinum coins to certain dealers due to high demand and a limited number of metal suppliers, a statement said.
Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; edited by Richard Pullin