Total sales of bullion coins by the U.S. Mint slowed from their torrid pace in March, but they are still up strongly above the same five months in 2019.

For the first five months of 2020, sales of American Eagle gold coins total 335,000 Troy ounces, up 222% from the 104,000 ounces sold last year. This May, the Mint sold 11,500 ounces, down from April, but 187% above the 4,000 ounces sold in May 2019.

Sales of American Eagle silver coins reached 490,000 ounces in May 2020. Although down from April and from last May, this brings the total American Silver Eagle sales for the year to 11,218,500 one-ounce coins, which is 25% more than the 8,987,000 coins sold through the same five months in 2019.

American Buffalo gold coin sales totaled 2,500 ounces in May, lifting their year-to-date total to 118,500 ounces, which is 166% above their sales level for the first five months of 2019, when they totaled 44,500 ounces.

One reason bullion coin sales were down in April and May was the Mint was often closed due to coronavirus concerns. If the Mint were open more days, sales would likely have been much higher.

Gold still leads all other major investment asset categories through the end of May, although stocks have made a strong comeback in April and May. Gold is up 15% year-to-date vs. double-digit declines in the Dow Jones Industrials and European stock market, while the widely quoted S&P 500 is down 8.3% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ composite has delivered a positive performance of just +5.76% through May 31.

The biggest story in the precious metals market during the second quarter, so far, is that silver came back from $12 in mid-March to $18 in a little over two months. At one point, the gold-to-silver ratio spiked to 130-to-1, when silver dipped to $12 on March 19 while gold traded at $1,560.

That was also the week of maximum panic in the stock market, when gold was the only asset that held its value. Silver has now risen 50% in a little over 10 weeks based on rising industrial demand and rising investor demand.

The current gold-to-silver ratio has now dipped to 95-to-1, the first time it has been below 100-to-1 since mid-March. The average gold-silver ratio during 2019 was about 85-to-1.

Mike Fuljenz is a member of the Newsmax Finance Brain Trust. He is also the editor of the NLG award winning Michael Fuljenz Metals Market Weekly Report. Discover more by Clicking Here Now.