By law, the U.S. Mint is obligated to deliver Silver and Gold Eagle coins in numbers adequate to reach the demand of collectors and bullion investors. In view of that, the Mint has been utilizing all of their bullion coin blanks to turn out gold and silver coins, as a replacement for collector coins as they are not necessarily required to mint these coins.

The standing of this year's collectible Gold, Platinum and Silver Eagles, in addition to their popular Gold Buffalo Coins releases has been a topic of almost continuous talk and conjecture. Earlier in the year many experts had begun to talk about the prospect that these coins might not be released this year at all. The reasoning was confirmed just a couple of months later on, as the Mint finally announced that the items were temporarily suspended. By the middle of the summer there was a momentary revival of hope for the collector coins once the Government had at last put an end to the allocation of silver and gold proof and uncirculated eagles, but it seems that the outcome has not gone the way that many of us who collect would have liked.

Gold Eagles have found strong investor interest throughout the year with many near record sale numbers achieved, including the month of September during which over 115,000 gold eagles were sold and experiencing one of it's highest selling Septembers by volume.

As investors shy away from traditional investment opportunities such as stocks and bonds, the American Gold Eagle has enjoyed a resurgence the last couple of years with no end to their popularity on the horizon. Gold Eagles not only draw the interest of investors here in the United States, they also have become one of the most revered gold bullion coins on a worldwide basis. As the global economy continues to lag, investors continue to seek a hedge against falling dollar values.

As the price of gold hovers at $1,000 per ounce, seeking ways to obtain physical gold as efficiently and safely as possible, has become a priority to many of those hoping to take advantage of potential future gains. American Gold Eagles fulfill many of those requirements as they are readily available, accepted as a quality gold bullion coin anywhere in the world and due to their convenient size can be easily and safely stored.

All in all, 2009 will go down as a great year for the American Gold Eagle coin, with many investors who were previously unaware of the benefits and enjoyment of obtaining Gold Eagles joining the ranks of the many thousands of experienced gold bullion investors.

As Federal regulations state that the raw gold used in American Gold Eagle Coins must be mined here in the United States, very few  gold refineries qualify in meeting the standards required to officially produce the blanks needed for the coin minting process. These stringent regulations created a shortage of gold uncirculated and proof coins this past summer, fueling investor demand for gold bullion products even more this year.

The United States Mint has already sold over 750,000 American Gold Eagles so far this year, outpacing last years total numbers for the entire year. As final numbers begin to filter in at the start of 2010, sales of gold bullion coins should approach all-time record numbers, and with interest in gold bullion showing no signs of slowing down currently, many experts predict that next year will be an equally strong year in relation to physical gold as an investment option.

Because of the economic downturn, investors are once again acquiring gold as an investment in various forms like gold bullion coins--which the American Gold Eagle is a type of. Amidst the financial panic, the demand for bullion has doubled since the last year as more individuals seek a secure form of investment. While the panic has receded a bit, people still do not trust the stock market and are wary of investing further in it, so have turned to gold as a safe way to invest in their future. Anxiety and worry are on the rise, however, because of the massive stimulus spending the Obama administration has put through.

Gold coin production has been increased by the federal agency in charge of making U.S. coins--the U.S. Mint. Gold coin production has been increased by the federal agency in charge of making U.S. coins--the U.S. Mint. In 2008, 800,000 American Eagle coins were sold--as of June, sales have already hit that point and have kept going. The U.S. Mint was forced to put some gold items on back order due to overwhelming demand that they could not keep up with. Because of the high demand (that is unprecedented) for the American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins, the United States Mint has temporarily suspended the production of uncirculated coins and United States Mint Eagle Gold Proof coins.

As of this moment, any gold blanks that are 22 karats have been earmarked for the American Eagle Gold Bullion Coin Program because the U.S. Mint must produce enough coins to satisfy public demand under Public Law 99-185. Once market demand has been met for the American Eagle Gold coins and inventories are built back up, the United States Mint will restart production of the Uncirculated Coins and the American Eagle Gold Proof. After careful consideration they have also decided to cease manufacturing smaller sized American Eagle Gold Uncirculated Coins.

As of this moment, the demand for gold products and investment opportunities is still very high. Interest in gold is predicted to remain strong throughout the year, in fact as of the first quarter it is 50% higher than it has ever been during this decade.

The U.S. Mint will return to producing American Eagle Gold Proof and Uncirculated Coins once sufficient supplies of gold bullion blanks are acquired to meet collector and investor demand for all three American Eagle Gold Coin products. Also, due to the results of the United States Mint's recent numismatic product portfolio analysis, production will cease on fractional sizes of American Eagle Gold Uncirculated Coins.

Gold futures in the U.S.for June delivery settled at $7.70 at $958.90 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, while experts expect that bullion is poised to make further upcoming gains.

Although a gold rally due to hyperinflation panic is not likely as the Fed has the ability to pull in money supply when the economy stabilizes, the current bull run of gold may not necessarily be a one-way street.

"This Fed is not an inflation biased... but a measured, well reasoned, rational central bank that knows that it has injected a huge sum of permanent bank reserve into the system, and that it will remove them eventually," said Dennis Gartman, independent investor and publisher of the Gartman Letter.

As evidence, a closely scrutinized marker of inflation expectations in the government bond market also shows that the expectations for long term inflation are on the rise.

"There are just not a lot of alternatives for global investors. You will see more and more investors moving into gold as a safe haven, and you will see more institutions putting money into commodities indexes," said Brian Hicks, a portfolio manager at Texas-based U.S. Global Investors, which manages over $2 billion fund assets.

Recently gold has become steadily tied in with the U.S. Treasuries market, which is generally thought to be a safe haven investment, and Treasuries prices indicated that investors need more time to come to terms with the long-range implications of the Federal Reserves actions.