New Silver Coin Goes to Dealers Today

The American Eagle gold coin, which has been soaring since it was introduced last month, is being joined by a companion silver coin, and officials at the U.S. Mint are predicting that the new silver dollars will be high fliers as well.

The new one-ounce silver bullion coins will go on sale for the first time today to bulk dealers. The coins should be available to the general public by the end of the week. About 1.4 million silver coins will be put on sale.

Donna Pope, director of the Mint, predicted that the coins would sell out with supplies probably having to be apportioned among the 26 authorized bulk dealers.

$1 Face Value

The silver coin will carry a face value of $1, but as with the gold bullion coins, its price will be determined by the market price for the one ounce of silver that it contains, plus markups added by the government and dealers’ handling charges.

On Friday, silver was selling in New York for $5.21 an ounce. With markups, the retail price of the silver Eagle is likely to be between $6.50 and $7 per coin, dealers said.

By comparison, the cheapest gold coin is the one-tenth-ounce piece, selling for around $70. The gold coins are also offered in one-ounce, half-ounce and quarter-ounce sizes. The silver dollars, which are 99.9% silver, will be sold only in the one-ounce size.