Tuesday afternoon we posted in regard to the Mint’s latest press release, and have subsequently received inquiries about what it means, more or less, regarding availability of this popular bullion coin.

The passages coming under particular question are the following:

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PRESS RELEASE:
…Because of unprecedented demand for American Eagle Gold and Silver Bullion Coins, the United States Mint suspended production of 2009 proof and uncirculated versions of these coins.

All available 22-karat gold and silver bullion blanks are being allocated to the American Eagle Gold and American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin Programs, as mandated by Public Law 99-185 and Public Law 99-61, respectively.

…The proof and uncirculated versions of the American Eagle Gold and Silver Proof Coins are not mandated by law.
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Reader’s initial confusion probably hinges on the plausible yet erroneous assumption that the Mint’s specific reference to “uncirculated” versions of the coin equates to the conventional, newly minted bullion coins resulting from a normal run of production. Conventional wisdom would, indeed, tend to consider all of the newly minted bullion coins as “uncirculated”.

But in the Mint’s special little universe, they make unique use of the term “uncirculated” to refer to the weak sister of their pricey “proof” coins that are targeted at collectors.

Whereas the “proof” coins use highly polished blanks that are struck multiple times by presses using special dies to produce contrasting soft frost and glossy mirror-like finishes, the “uncirculated” coins also begin with a burnished blank, but they don’t get quite the same degree of white-glove treatment and loving attention from the coining press.

The third production variety, the counterpart referred to by the Mint merely as “bullion” coins, are the simple result of a technically exacting production run whereby standard gold blanks are coined into their final recognizable form without any extra pomp or circumstance.

And while it seems to me that the “proof” and “uncirculated” versions would account for a percentage comparatively too small versus the overall “bullion” quantities to make any meaningful difference, I guess it goes to demonstrate exactly how extremely thin the physical gold market truly has become these days.

The takeaway lesson is surely this: Get your hands on your fair share of gold (in any physical form) while you still reliably can.

R.