"The United States Mint has depleted its inventory of 2009 American Buffalo One Ounce Gold Bullion Coins. … No additional inventory will be made available. As additional information becomes available regarding 2010-dated American Buffalo One Once Gold Bullion Coins, you will be notified." So said a memorandum issued Friday to authorized purchasers of U.S. Mint gold coins and reported by Jim Sinclair.. Mineweb reported only two weeks ago, on November 25th, the suspension of sales of American Gold Eagle coins by the Mint – U.S. Mint suspends American Eagle 1-ounce gold coin sales – again, which, at the time, reckoned such sales would be resumed early this month – but in the event, not only is the suspension of the Gold Eagle coin sales continuing, but also now the American Buffalo one ounce gold coin sales have also been suspended, with no new sales now planned until some time in 2010 – although the current sharp fall in the gold price may provide the Mint with a bit of respite from its supply/demand woes. But supply problems also persist with smaller gold coins, particularly given the enormous demand for fractional sized gold coins following the suspension of the one ounce Gold Eagles. Thus the Mint was forced to issue a second memo on Friday saying "the American Eagle Gold Tenth-Ounce Coin inventory was depleted" and that "inventory for the half-ounce and quarter-ounce coins remains very limited." – Mineweb
Dominant Social Theme: Nothing to see … move along …
Free-Market Analysis: The fiction that gold and silver are barbaric metals (Keynes) has once again crumbled into dust. It was most recently a power elite promotion designed to buttress central banking and milk the fiat-money cycle of the 80s and 90s and early 2000s for as long as possible. We remember the ring-around-the-rosy central bank gold sales that never took place in the late 1990s. We remember Gordon Brown's buffoon-like sale of British gold in the low hundreds. He couldn't get rid of it fast enough, and now it's worth nearly four times as much as he sold it for.
Gold and silver are money and during times of prolonged economic crisis – and this is a prolonged one – investors who have the means often stock up on gold and silver. While Western central bankers continue to act as if they have never heard of money metals, other central banks have given up the pretense that only paper fiat currency is valuable. China is buying as much gold – on the "dips" – as it can, and India's central bank just purchased 400 tons.
And the US Mint, meanwhile, seems to be continually running out. It is called, in mint parlance, a "depletion." And we are informed that it is temporary and only the result of unforeseen demand. Indeed, the demand is unforeseen by the US Mint, yes – but plenty of other people saw it coming, and a lot of them already may own substantial amounts of silver and gold. The US Mint's depletions are just one more sign, in our humble opinion, that the bull market in gold and silver is gathering force. Unlike some, we don't expect it to subside shortly.
