US Rations Silver Dollars as Investors Scoop Them Up

Soaring silver demand means mint can't make coins fast enough
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 23, 2008 9:31 AM CDT
US Rations Silver Dollars as Investors Scoop Them Up
Silver Eagle dollars, each containing an ounce of silver, have a face value of one dollar but as the price of silver soars, buyers would be lucky to get change from $20.   (Shutter Stock)

Investors and coin collectors are hopping mad at the US Mint for placing quotas on purchasing silver dollars, the Wall Street Journal reports. The price of silver has more than doubled in the last three years, and investors looking to cash in on the boom—and avoid the stock and real estate markets—are snapping up this year's "silver eagles" much faster than the mint can make them. 

The coins have a $1 face value—but with the high price of silver and dealer markups, the eagles are currently trading as high as $20. Mint officials consider the coins among the most beautiful ever made. "I just need bullion," one collector said. "I wouldn't care if the coins were ugly." (More metal prices stories.)

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