May 16, 2009 - To take a look at the number of people looking to purchase gold and silver coins over the last decade you'll notice something interesting regarding the Silver American Eagle coins... Looking at the sales figures between 2001 and 2007, there's not much to write home about, with total sales figures largely hovering around the three million to four million mark. But then, look at 2008... the figures immediately start to skyrocket ending at around eight million, doubling the previous total sales, and then it continues climbing through the early part of 2009 coming to a total sales figure of around ten million. The monthly sales figures show April sales peaking at around two million five hundred thousand, just a bit down from March's three million figure.
If you want to purchase gold and silver American Eagles, the silvers do typically have higher sales than the Gold Eagles. This is because while gold is for some prohibitively expensive, there's a world of difference between gold prices and silver prices. Silver is much more accessible and convenient for the average investor and makes a great option for those looking to purchase gold and silver for their retirement accounts who don't always have the money on hand for an ounce of gold, so when you're looking to purchase gold and silver coins it makes sense for many to simply go with silver.
To look at all metal investing news you'll see similar spikes in demand for gold Eagles. This has actually disappointed and annoyed many gold investors as it has resulted in many of their favorite coins selling out leading to the current suspension of all Gold Eagles (although this disappointment seems odd, as the high demand and low supply only bumps the value up). Meanwhile, silver is much more readily available to the Mint and less expensive, and so it's not hard for to buy as many silver Eagles as you please.
Whichever metal is your favorite, it's actually a good idea to hold both gold and silver. True, both gold and silver are great for the long term in offering virtually guaranteed growth and very rarely experiencing anything in the way of a crash or even a severe decline, but small dips and rises do happen on a regular basis. By learning to capitalize on these when you sell or purchase gold and silver you can really make the most of your investments.
For example, say you get in a minor car accident and you choose to pay for it yourself rather than have your insurance rates go up. Suppose the costs total in the area of five hundred dollars. Now let's say at the time selling off your gold to cover these costs would mean parting with some of your gold and you were hoping to let all of that gold keep growing rather than cash in before the current rise has peaked. On the other hand, say silver is peaking and it would take a much smaller portion of your total silver investment than your total gold investment to cover your expenses.
When you purchase gold and silver it has historically been a safe, secure option for investors, but both markets do have their rare curve balls. By investing in both, you'll have options when that happens to sell when it is peaking rather than levelling off.
In other words, while the 22 karat coins are experiencing high sales resulting in a temporary suspension of production, the silvers are plentiful. Gold Eagles may well be the best investment option available if you're after security and convenience but if you can't get your hands on the amount of you want in these coins, go ahead and take it as an opportunity to invest in silver as well.
In the end, the whole point of investing in metals is to provide yourself with peace of mind, so no matter what you do don't fret about the 22 karat blank shortage at the mint. Rather, be glad that the Gold Eagles you do have are seeing something of a golden age over the last year or so thanks to record demand and be glad that you have something to fall back on in the middle of the most severe economic crisis in decades. In other words, in the unlikely event that this shortage at the Mint has you worried and stressed for any reason, just focus on the positives of being a gold investor.
