Americans pile into silver, gold coins

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2013/0406/Americans-pile-into-silver-gold-coins

The happy result: Even though precious metals prices have been falling lately, "my holdings of them are up [in value] about 100 percent since early 2008," says Mr. Mitchell, the owner of Startupbros.com in Tampa, Fla., a resource for entrepreneurs seeking to create an online business. "You can't ask for more than that."
Interest in these glittery investments – which soared five years ago – has been especially hot this year. In January, the US Mint sold 7.5 million American Eagle silver bullion coins to dealers – a monthly high, and not far from the 9.9 million silver American Eagles it sold in all of 2007. Demand was so strong that the Mint temporarily ran out of supplies and had to suspend sales for roughly 10 days. In addition, sales of American Eagle gold bullion coins hit highs not seen since June 2010.