It sounds crazy, I know. But what else are we supposed to think?

On September 13th, the U.S. Mint announced they were suspending Gold Eagle coin sales due to the recent rise in the gold price. And just recently, the Buffalo Gold coin series suffered a similar fate and its product page states, "Due to the increasing market value of gold, the American Buffalo Gold Proof One Ounce Coin is temporarily unavailable while pricing for this option can be adjusted; therefore, no orders can be taken at this time."

Exactly how long does a price adjustment take?

It's unlikely they ran out of gold, but it's not impossible. They're going to have a difficult time obtaining it from the open market at some point. More people are realizing every day that the U.S. dollar is becoming worth less and less (or just plain worthless) and are scrambling to purchase gold and silver. Anyone who quotes government inflation statistics as a sign "inflation is contained" is completely out of touch with reality. I mean 2% inflation, are you flipping kidding me? There has to be a point where U.S. media outlets stop reporting these numbers.

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. More than likely, they're probably trying to lessen the mini-panic into gold after the Federal Reserve recklessly cut interest rates last month. David Harper from Numismaster wrote this morning there was a surge in gold coin sales before September 13th, which gives some credence to the mini-panic scenario.

But this whole price adjustment excuse appears disgenuous.

What's the real story? If it really takes over a month to make a pricing decision, perhaps there are bigger problems at the Mint.

October 16th Update: The U.S. Mint found their gold, sales have resumed. It only took a MONTH for someone to find that darn price gun.

To find out the intrinsic value of U.S. coins (including pre-1965 silver), visit coinflation.com.