Friday news broke that the US Mint had suspended sales of American Gold Eagle bullion coins. Until further notice, they are not accepting new orders from precious metals dealers. The news was first reported on the APMEX Blog and later more broadly circulated through a daily dispatch from GATA.

For clarification, the suspension is related to the American Gold Eagle bullion coins sold by the US Mint to a network of authorized dealers. The bullion coins are sold to the dealers at a set premium above the market price of gold. In turn, the authorized dealers sell the coins to other dealers or individuals.

and gold miners reserves shrinking:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/miners-were-running-out-of-gold-20091125-jqqy.html