It was a struggling week for silver, gold and platinum. Each faltered with the overall strength in the US dollar, declines in crude oil prices, and sell-offs for profit taking.

However, gold and platinum regained on Friday a portion of their week’s losses, and there seems to be a stronger mix in the air for potential upsides with voiced smatterings of inflation worries.

London Platinum closed to $2,008 an ounce, which was down $174 compared to its previous Friday close.

Silver slid the entire week closing to $16.85 an ounce on Friday. It dropped by $1.25 compared to last week’s close.

Gold creeped slightly up Friday, and closed to $886 an ounce It was down $42 over last Friday.

“Gold has had a difficult week, experiencing a sharp sell off due to profit taking, dollar strength and oil weakness,” said Mark O’Byrne, a director at Gold and Silver Investments Ltd.

“However, these would seem to be short-term phenomenon and the primary trends in oil and the dollar remain up and down, respectively, which should result in gold being well supported above $850 per ounce,” he said in emailed commentary.

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. The weekly business recap video from Reuters and three related precious metal articles are listed as well.

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Numismatic News today announced the launch of an online Business Directory for coin collectors and numismatic professionals.

In a statement, associate publisher of Numismatic News Dean Listle said,

“No matter where you’re located or what services you’re looking for, the Industry Directory will help you find it. We’ve collaborated with our partners across the country to compile a database of information that’s an invaluable tool for our site users.”

The extensive Numismatic Directory, located at http://directory.numismaticnews.net/, provides quick and easy searching capabilities to track down information on numismatic products, services, dealers, events, and clubs. It also includes browsing by major directory sections of:

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U.S. treasure hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration struck gold twice in a single week. The company announced Thursday it had discovered new shipwreck sites near the English Channel containing Colonial period artifacts.

That announcement came on the heels of Tuesday’s revelation that Odyssey’s adventures will be spotlighted on a Discovery Channel shipwreck series that will be seen around the world.

Odyssey has been fighting a huge legal battle with Spain over ownership of 17-tons of Colonial-era coins recovered in May of 2007. While those legal battles will wage on with several hundred million at stake, the latest news from Odyssey is fortuitous in its timing.

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Dallas, TX. More than 350 rare coins from the inventory of noted Dallas firm Anaconda Rare Coins will be offered by Heritage Auction Galleries in their Summer FUN Signature® Auction catalog. The auction will be held June 25-28, 2008 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The catalog will be posted by Heritage on their HA.com website.

“Heritage thanks our friends Adrian Crane and Brandon Kelley for entrusting us to auction the inventory of Anaconda Rare Coins at the Summer FUN without reserve,” commented Heritage President Greg Rohan.

“Most of the remaining assets of Anaconda Rare Coins, established in 1999, are expected to be sold on eBay in a ten-day, unreserved auction beginning on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 and ending Sunday, July 6th, 2008. For details visit www.AnacondaRareCoins.com.”

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First Fidelity Reserve has announced today the launch of its new coin web site dedicated to coins described in the book "The Money of the Bible."

The site is named after the book and provides information on Tyre Shekel or "Judas Coins" — coins believed to be the same type offered to Judas for betraying Christ.

In a release statement, CEO of First Fidelity Reserve Jason Whitney commented,

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A few days ago the U.S. Mint announced the release ceremony for the Arizona state quarter. On the same day of the ceremony, June 2, 2008, millions of Arizona state quarters will have been minted.

Demand dictates how many Arizona quarters there will be in total. Based on previous state quarter production figures, around 500 million is a likely bet.

Getting hundreds of millions of coins into circulation takes time. Instead of waiting for the Arizona quarter, collectors will have the opportunity to buy special Mint-sewn bags and a two-roll set of them directly from the U.S. Mint.

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New Zealand has issued commemorative silver and gold proof coins honoring the life achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary. The release of the proof coins mark the 55th anniversary of Hillary’s adventurous climb of Mount Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953. The two were the first climbers to conquer Everest.

Sir Edmund Hillary was 33 then, and lived on to accomplish other extraordinary feats during his 88-year lifetime. According to the New Zealand Post, who released the coins,

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The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) had announced Monday’s release of the 2008 Cleveland $2 Single Notes for collectors. However, a follow-up message sent to customers on Tuesday, May 27, indicates there will be an unspecified delay in their sale.

The BEP message said in part,

"Due to system maintenance the Bureau of Engraving and Printing will postpone the release of the 2008 $2 Single Cleveland Note. Please check our website"

After two days, there is no indication of a new date for release, and the original sale date for the note was changed to: "to be determined".

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Silver, gold and platinum — all precious metals, for that matter — are experiencing sharp declines this morning.

A slide in crude oil prices combined with a strengthening U.S. dollar are sighted as reasons for bullion declines.

Spot gold has fallen 2 percent, and platinum by 3 percent. Prior to 11:00 a.m. (ET), New York spot silver was at $17.46 an ounce, gold dropped to $897.10 per ounce and platinum was down to $2,049 an ounce. Precious metal futures declined as well.

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2008 First Spouse gold coins and bronze medals honoring Louisa Adams may be purchased from the United States Mint Thursday, May 28. The Louisa Adams gold coins are the second for 2008 and sixth in the First Spouse Gold Coin Series - a series that started off blazing hot, but have drastically cooled due to prices and demand.

Martha Washington, Abigail Adams and Jefferson’s Liberty First Spouse gold coins flew of the Mint shelves and sold at records speeds — within hours of their availability.

The fourth and fifth coins — Dolley Madison and Elizabeth Monroe — sputtered. Their demand in the secondary market cooled and the high price of gold made buying them a larger obstacle.

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