Recent sales of 2009 Proof Sets hiccup, Braille Silver Dollars crawl, Lincoln Rail Splitters lose luster and, well… the list goes on for nearly every US Mint coin or set.
Collectors appear to be sleeping through the summer when it comes to buying modern coins. There is one, no make that two notable exceptions: American Eagle Gold and Silver bullion coins. They are screaming along this month.
The Mint has sold a whopping 15,449,500 silver and 721,000 gold American Eagles this year. The following tables sum up the current eagle mania, and recent slower sales of the coins discussed above: Read the rest of this entry »
It was a banner day Wednesday for precious metals, oil and U.S. stocks. Gold briefly climbed above $941 and silver topped $13. In the end, the yellow metal retreated from its intraday high but still closed to its best level in nearly two weeks. Platinum advanced as well while crude-oil broke a three-day losing streak on news of increased demand from refiners. U.S. stocks rallied with all three major indexes rising at least 3 percent.
In New York trading futures for bullion:
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Silver for September delivery jumped 35.3 cents, or 2.7 percent, to 13.208 an ounce.
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Gold for August delivery rose $16.60, or 1.8 percent, to $939.40 an ounce.
- October platinum gained by $22.80, or 2.0 percent, to $1,157.90 an ounce.
Read the rest of this entry »
The U.S. cost of living jumped in June while year-over-year inflation declined by the sharpest amount in 59 years, new government data shows.
Consumer prices rose 0.7 percent last month, largely due to a 17.3 percent surge in gasoline prices, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
While gasoline prices peaked, they were no match for prior year figures when unleaded gasoline reached over $4 a gallon. The twelve-month decline in energy prices is greatly responsible for annual inflation falling 1.4 percent – the largest drop since January 1950.
Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.2 percent in June. The core CPI is up 1.7 percent over the past year and is well within the Federal Reserve’s comfort zone of 1-2 percent. Read the rest of this entry »
With the US Mint announcing the upcoming 2009 US Mint Silver Proof Set launch, coin collectors are reminded of the still available — but for a short time only — 2008 Silver Proof Set.
For marketing focus and to avoid confusion, the US Mint generally ends the sale of prior year proof sets immediately before new year replacements are issued.
The 2009 silver set goes on sale Friday at noon ET so expect the Mint to pull the 2008 set from its online store before then — likely Friday morning.
Demand has been strong for the 14-coin proof offering, although easing of late to around 2,000-3,000 sold per week. In total, collectors have purchased 774,874 sets between its release on Aug. 26, 2008 through to Sunday, July 12. Read the rest of this entry »
