Wall Street Journal reports gold coin shortage, cites GATA, and the US Mint suspension of Gold Eagle Sales

Submitted by cpowell on 09:21AM ET Thursday, August 21, 2008. Section: Daily Dispatches 12:15p ET Thursday, August 21, 2008

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

The Wall Street Journal today published a long story on the cover of its Money & Investing section about the U.S. Mint’s suspension of sales of 1-ounce gold eagle coins. Like GATA, even the Journal apparently could not get an official statement out of the Mint, but the newspaper did quote from a memorandum purportedly sent by the Mint to coin dealers. The Journal’s story, appended here, quotes GATA at the end.

GATA was contacted today by an international news organization that is also interested in the story and also has been unable to get comment from the Mint. The Mint’s unaccountability is, to say the least, disrespectful and incompetent. But

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News Alert: US Mint Suspends Sales Of Gold American Eagles

8/14/2008 04:02:00 PM, Posted by APMEX

First - The Bad News.

We just received word, the US Mint has suspended sales of the 1 oz Gold American Eagles until further notice and are not accepting new orders from precious metals dealers. This is in addition to the shortage of 1 oz Silver American Eagles.

This comes at a time when many investors around the nation are scrambling to locate silver bullion and US gold coins while prices are attractively low. These low prices seem to be one of the driving factors in this recent shortage, as investor demand has dramatically increased.

Now, The Good News.

APMEX still has very limited quantities of the 2008 - 1 oz Gold American Eagles in stock and ready for immediate shipment to our customers. If you have

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U.S. mint suspends gold coin sales; futures price is a fiction

Submitted by cpowell on Fri, 2008-08-15 04:27. Section: Daily Dispatches12:25a ET Friday, August 15, 2008

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

The U.S. Mint has suspended sales of American eagle gold coins and is refusing orders from dealers, two coin and bullion dealers confirmed Thursday.

The mint’s suspension of gold coin sales follows its tight rationing of sales of silver eagle coins, begun in May, when sales to the public were terminated and sales to the mint’s 13 authorized dealers were tightly limited.

Word of the mint’s suspension of gold coin sales came from the American Precious Metals Exchange in Edmond, Oklahoma, (http://apmexdealer.blogspot.com/2008/08/news-alert-us-mint-suspends-sale…) and from Centennial Precious Metals in Denver, Colorado.

The suspension is overwhelming evidence that the futures contract price of gold

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This letter was recently sent to the Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson from Bix Weir:

Henry Paulson US Secretary of The Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20220

Edmond C. Moy Director of The US Mint 801 9th Street, NW Room 8S23-3 Washington, D.C. 20220

RE: US Silver Eagles Illegal Rationing

Dear Sirs:

It has come to my attention that 1oz US Silver Eagle coins are being rationed by the US Mint to 13 authorized dealers and not being made available to the public in adequate amounts. http://www.silverinstitute.org/news/pr29may08.html

According to US Law: 31USC5112(e) this action is illegal and I demand that this rationing program end immediately.

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+31USC5112

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall mint and issue, in quantities sufficient to meet public demand, coins which–

(1) are 40.6 millimeters in diameter and weigh 31.103 grams; (2) contain .999 fine

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