Across the Board Gold Coin Sales Collapsing

The U.K.’s Royal Mint, established in the 13th century, said first-quarter gold coin production shrank 50 percent, reports Business Week.

Muenze Oesterreich AG, the Austrian mint that makes the best-selling gold coin in Europe, reported earlier that sales fell 80 percent in the first two months of 2010, for its coins.

Sales of American Eagle gold coins by the U.S. Mint slipped 21 percent to 271,000 ounces in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to calculations from BW and made based on the Mint's web site.

Given the extremely tight money conditions, the fall in demand for the coins should not be a surprise. I do not expect gold coin sales to return to recent highs until the Fed starts to monetize the Treasury debt.