![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/images/quotes_2a.gif)
Silver Eagle Bullion Coin Sales Dip in October 2011
November 3, 2011 by Darrin Lee Unser · Leave a Comment
Fewer Silver Eagle bullion coins were purchased in October than the previous month
October Silver Eagle bullion coin sales were off considerably from the previous month, but still solid. According to the United States Mint, authorized purchasers ordered 3,064,000 during the month, a level that is down 31.3% from September — the second best month of all-time.
October’s total, previous to the last few years, would have raised a few eyebrows. But with American Silver Eagles registering huge advances since 2008, October could only crawl its way up to the 14th best ever month.
As shown in the chart below, the Silver Eagle has routinely shown strong sales with all but one of the top fifteen months occurring within the last three years. The sole hold-out of the group is December 1986 which marked the first full month in which the bullion coins were available during the inaugural year of the American Eagle program.
Top 15 Months for Silver Eagle Bullion Coins
| Rank | Month & Year | Total |
| 1 | January 2011 | 6,422,000 |
| 2 | September 2011 | 4,460,500 |
| 3 | November 2010 | 4,260,000 |
| 4 | December 1986 | 3,696,000 |
| 5 | August 2011 | 3,679,500 |
| 6 | May 2011 | 3,653,500 |
| 7 | May 2010 | 3,636,500 |
| 8 | January 2010 | 3,592,500 |
| 9 | June 2011 | 3,402,000 |
| 10 | March 2010 | 3,381,000 |
| 11 | February 2011 | 3,240,000 |
| 12 | October 2010 | 3,150,000 |
| 13 | March 2009 | 3,132,000 |
| 14 | October 2011 | 3,064,000 |
| 15 | June 2010 | 3,001,000 |
Last month also held up well in comparison to the Octobers of previous years, coming right behind 2010. It missed becoming the best by a scant 86,000 coins. That is a rather insignificant amount when one considers that authorized purchasers had to order on average over 98,000 Eagles a day during October to equal the 3,064,000 sold.
Despite slower sales, the month will be remembered for another Silver Eagle milestone. It marks the period when 2011 attained the annual sales record, leaping past the previous record established just last year. During the entire year of 2010, the United States Mint recorded a total of 34,662,500 Eagles sold. Those sales were surpassed on Thursday, October 6, when the Mint indicated it had sold 34,673,500. That record only kept growing as October ended with year-to-date Silver Eagle sales of 36,475,500. The record will, of course, continue to grow through the rest of the year.
