US Rations Silver Dollars as Investors Scoop Them Up

Investors and coin collectors are hopping mad at the US Mint for placing quotas on purchasing silver dollars, the Wall Street Journal reports. The price of silver has more than doubled in the last three years, and investors looking to cash in on the boom—and avoid the stock and real estate markets—are snapping up this year's "silver eagles" much faster than the mint can make them. 

The coins have a $1 face value—but with the high price of silver and dealer markups, the eagles are currently trading as high as $20. Mint officials consider the coins among the most beautiful ever made. "I just need bullion," one collector said. "I wouldn't care if the coins were ugly." (More metal prices stories.)