Why the U.S. Mint Has Sold Out of Silver Coins

By Mark Skousen
Editor, Forecasts & Strategies

Editor’s Note:  Normally, today’s alert is reserved for our most recent Spotlight Coin offering.  However, last week’s offer was so popular, it sold out almost immediately.

So, we would like to share an article that caught our eye from our long-time friend and hard money advocate, Mark Skousen. He has a great way to take advantage of an opportunity… and save some money at the same time.

Mark has long been an advocate of owning Silver and Gold Eagles.  I can attest to the fact I have never had a face-to-face conversation with him where he did not produce a Silver or Gold Eagle from his pocket.  And, I agree with Mark. It is alarming key financial and monetary figures in our government had never actually seen these coins until Mark showed them what they look like.

We have been supporters of Mark’s FreedomFest conferences since the very first one in 2002, and Mark has been kind enough to recommend us to his subscribers for decades.

We hope you enjoy his thoughts below. Consider attending his upcoming FreedomFest conference in 2016.

Now, some of Mark’s thoughts…

--Rich Checkan

The above headline came from an article in Casey Research about the fact that the U.S. Mint sold out of American eagle silver dollars in December, 2015, and is likely to mint over 45 million silver dollars this year.

 
Mark Skousen and Doug Casey compare American eagle silver and gold coins at the New Orleans Conference (October 2015).

I'll tell you why the U.S. Mint has sold out of American eagle silver dollars (more than 45 million this year alone). I’d like to think that it’s because the investment public has finally listened after I kept telling everyone year after year at the Money Show, the New Orleans conference, Investment U conference, and FreedomFest to buy silver dollars and circulate them as a symbol of liberty and sound money!

I always tell them: Don’t hide these beautiful coins in a drawer or safe deposit box, never to be seen again. They are a symbol of American greatness (Lady Liberty, the rising sun, In God We Trust, E Pluribus Unum, the American eagle with arrows and olive branch, 13 stars of the original colonies) and deserve to be admired in the sunlight. They should be given out as gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, missions and as tips and rewards for a job well done at work.... As a result, thousands of people have gone out and bought dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of these newly minted silver dollars.
 

Over 45 million American eagle silver dollars were minted last year.

Over the years, I’ve approached top government officials and asked them if they have ever seen an American eagle silver dollar. These political leaders include Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury; Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve; Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House; and Phyllis Schlafly, long-term conservative leader and president of Eagle Forum. None of them have ever seen one!
 

Mark Skousen shows Alan Greenspan an American eagle silver dollar. Although he is a collector of old Morgan and Peace silver dollars, he said he had never seen an American eagle silver dollar. (New Orleans conference, October 2014).  

At FreedomFest, our annual conference in Vegas in July (www.freedomfest.com), the American eagle silver dollar is our official symbol of liberty and sound money, and I encourage everyone to buy one or more coins. Then on the last day of the conference, right after the closing panel, we invite everyone who has a silver dollar to come up on stage and have a picture taken with Steve Forbes and other speakers. Here’s the photo of us in 2014:

 
Speakers and attendees hold up silver dollars at FreedomFest (July 2014).

I've given out hundreds of these silver dollars myself and told recipients:  Now don't put these away in a safe deposit box, never to be seen again, but keep them in your pocket or purse; it will give you good luck! Bring them out and admire them and recall what they symbolize -- liberty and sound money -- two principles we are often lacking today.

Sadly we went off the gold standard in 1933, when we stopped minting $20 double-eagle Saint-Gaudens gold coins; the Morgan and Peace dollars continued to circulate, and silver dimes, quarters and half dollars were minted until 1964.
 
When people ask "Do you think we can ever return to the gold or silver standard?" I reply “We already are back on a gold and silver standard in America since 1985!” That’s when President Ronald Reagan signed the American Eagle Gold and Silver Act, giving the U.S. Mint the authority to once again produce legal tender gold and silver coins. The federal government has minted millions of these coins. Now all we have to do is circulate them.

Every time I teach college, I hand every student who finishes the course an American eagle silver dollar in the year they took the class. Here’s a picture of students at Chapman University at the end of the semester in front of the Adam Smith statue:

Now during the holiday season, why not buy some of these beautiful silver dollars and give them away as a Christmas gift to family, friends, employees and business associates. Silver is at a six-year low, and these uncirculated American eagle silver dollars can be purchased from coin dealers for less than $20 each. Each coin contains exactly one pure ounce of silver. What a bargain!

Where to buy? Go to any reputable local or national coin dealer, or coin show (the U.S. Mint does not sell eagle coins directly to the public). Good luck!

Yours for sound money, AEIOU,

Mark Skousen