Gold and silver at the Perth and US Mints up on December but way down on January 2017

It’s fair to say that 2017 sucked for bullion coin sales at both the Perth and United States Mints and that the Royal Canadian Mint likely suffered just as badly. Well 2018 is a new year and it brings new hope for increased numbers. If January is any indicator of future trends, that hope is misplaced. While numbers are up on a disappointing December, we’re always wary of month on month comparisons – much prefering a like for like with the same month last year, when all the same factors are in evidence.

We’ve moved our table away from percentages and you can now see how much higher or lower than comparitive months as an actual figure – a better indicator we feel. A red number is how much it was lower by, and green for how much higher. There’s a lot of red compared to last January. What can we note from numbers since 2013?

1. It isn’t just the worst January for the American Gold Eagle of the last six years – it’s the worst by a long way. Half the numbers of last year, you have to go back to 2008 for a poorer result.

2. Last year wasn’t a good one for the American Silver Eagle but its January was almost 2m ounces better than the start to 2018. Despite the collapse in sales last year, 2018 has started out worse. Ditto for the Gold Buffalo.

3. Perth Mint gold is also running at circa half the level of the same time last year. Only the unusual 2015 blip was lower.

4. Perth Mint silver is way down,posting the lowest numbers since the introduction of the high volume Silver Kangaroo. We’re definitely seeing more resilience with Perth Mint silver, perhaps a result of greater appeal to collectors and the more ambitious stacker. The ASE is favoured by bigger institutions, which may explain the collapse in sales.

Don’t forget to check out our graphs of all these numbers on the blue button link below. They paint a telling picture of the last twelve months in particular.