U.S. Mint Gold Bullion Sales Rose 45% to 48% in 2021

The U.S. Mint sold 48.3% more ounces of Gold American Eagles in 2021 than they sold in 2020, and they sold 44.6% more Gold American Buffalo Coins in 2021 than in 2020. Two-year sales figures over 2019 were far higher, at +724% and +469%, respectively. American Eagle sales were helped by the first design change in the series since 1986. Silver Eagle sales slipped a little but were up 90% over 2019.

Silver sales would have probably been higher if the U.S. Mint had not faced production challenges due to COVID-19 in 2021.

U.S. Mint Bullion Series 2019 Sales 2020 Sales 2021 Sales 2-Year Growth Gold American Eagles 152,000 844,000 1,252,000 +724% Gold American Buffalo 61,500 242,000 350,000 +469% Silver American Eagles 14,863,500 30,089,500 28,275,000 +90%

We know that a good percentage of new bullion customers become rare coin investors and collectors over the next two years. This, in turn, drives up the demand and prices of rare coins in the rare coin market.

On the rare coin side, many series have escalated in price as we enter the New Year. For over four decades, I’ve contributed to price guides like, The Official Red Book – Guide Book to United States Coins. The 75th annual (2022) edition is now out. Prices change so rapidly that most of us consult daily and weekly price guides. I was recently talking to the editor of a leading daily price guide, who said that in a rising market like we’ve seen in recent years, it’s hard to keep up, even monthly, with the price changes in many series. He said, “prices change horizontally and vertically across a series,” meaning that prices must change by both date and grade in fast-moving markets. I empathized with him as I have done this job in the past.

Specifically, he was significantly raising prices on some popular series, like the $5, $10 and $20 Carson City gold coins, which have been appreciating substantially, as are most $3 Gold pieces. Many other gold coin prices were being raised at the start of this New Year. I advise customers to find a “trusted dealer who has the experience, reputation and expertise” in rare coins as their source for “current pricing in a consistently hot or cold market.” Imagine how much more gold would have been sold if gold bullion prices had gone up in 2021.

2021 Was Rich With Opportunity for Gold to Go Up

2021 seemed to be an ideal year for gold to gain ground, with persistent financial issues like:

• the highest inflation rate in 40 years, partly due to the Fed printing $120 billion per month in fiat money, but also exacerbated by
• global supply disruptions
• worker shortages
• big spending bills by President Joe Biden and a Democratic Congress reaching $2.7 trillion in new deficit spending
• a growing crisis on our southern border
• an ignominious exit from Afghanistan
• deep political divisions at home, leading into a key mid-term election year.

But… gold failed to gain ground for most of the year but did finish 2021 stronger.

Precious Metals December 31, 2020 December 31, 2021 Loss (in US$)

Gold $1,891 $1,830 -3.2% Silver $26.485 $23.30 -12.0% Platinum $1,075 $962 -10.5% Palladium $2,370 $1,928 -18.6%

However, gold gained ground in terms of the euro and many other currencies, since the U.S. Dollar index gained nearly 7% in 2021, while the euro declined the same amount. Since gold went down about 3% in U.S. dollar terms in 2021, and the euro fell 7%, that means gold went up almost 4% in euro terms.

Other Commodities and Currencies End-2021 Change Crude Oil $48.42 $75.45 +55.82% CRB commodity index 171,7 246.1 +43.33% U.S. Dollar Index 89.93 96.00 +6.75% Euro $1.224 $1.14 -6.86% Gold in euro terms 1,545 euros 1,605 euros +3.88%

Historic Precious Metals Price Charts

Metals: End-2020 December 31, 2021 2000 2005 Gold $1,891 $1,830 -3.2% $290 (+531%) $437 (+319%)

Silver $26.485 $23.30 -12.0% $5.34 (+336%) $6.78 (+244%)

Stocks: End-2020 December 31, 2021 Dow 30,606 36,338 +18.7% 11497 (+216%) 10021 (+263%)

S&P 3,756 4,766 +26.9% 1469 (+224%) 1142 (+317%)

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