Monthly Archives: July 2011
In The Lead – Let’s [Not] Get Physical
This morning's metals markets opened mixed; gold was down, silver was up, the nobles were off, but oil was up. Spot gold fell $5.10 to start off at $1,581.90 per ounce as against a 0.21 gain in the US dollar on the trade-weighted index. Gold's underpinnings appear to have taken somewhat of a turn at this juncture in price. We mentioned yesterday the drying up of interest in physical bullion in certain key markets.
The analytical team at Standard Bank (SA) notes that- based on what it tracks in the physical markets for gold - "with gold below $1,530, physical demand was strong, which supported the gold price. But now, support from the physical market has turned into resistance. Since the start of the week, following gold's push above $1,580, we have been witnessing growing resistance from the physical market." [...]
Canadian Mint Announces Latest 2011 Collector Coins
As it finds new and exciting ways to capture Canada's vast historical, cultural and natural heritage, the Royal Canadian Mint is pleased to launch a new selection of collector coins designed to attract buyers of precious, finely crafted keepsakes and spark the interest of collectors in Canada and abroad.
This newest array of precious metal collectibles includes: a special-edition silver dollar and proof set commemorating the centennial of Canada's first silver dollar; a new one kilogram $250 pure silver coin marking the 375th anniversary of the first European observation of Lacrosse; a $10 "Maple Leaf Forever" pure silver coin; a new $20 pure silver crystal raindrop coin featuring the Bigleaf Maple; and a square $3 gold-plated silver Wildlife Conservation coin, featuring the Black-Footed Ferret [...]
NGC’s 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins Registry Set Debuts
The NGC Collectors Society has launched a new registry set based on the recently published 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins by Scott Schechter and Jeff Garrett (Whitman, $29.95).
The book ranks the top 100 United States coins from 1964 to date. It explores the most fascinating, rarest, most popular, and most valuable U.S. Mint products of recent generations.
This new competitive registry set, listed under the 100 Greatest category in the NGC US Coin Registry, is a new and exciting way to collect and showcase some of the most popular modern coins [...]
Gold Rises to Record in 8th Day of Gains, Silver Hits...
U.S. gold rose modestly Thursday, marking a third straight day of records and notching eight consecutive session increases.
August gold prices edged up $3.80, or 0.2 percent, to $1,589.30 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold traded from a low of $1,579.40 to a high of $1,594.90 [...]
US Mint Sales: Proof Silver Eagle and 2011 Mint Sets Top...
The latest round of US Mint sales figures highlights several product milestones and the debut performance of the Grant Presidential $1 Coin & Medal Set. Notably, 2011 Proof Silver Eagles and 2011 Mint Sets topped 400,000 in sales.
The popular Proof Silver Eagle achieved the milestone much quicker, having only been released on June 30. The collector .999 fine silver coin rose 40,368 during its first full week of availability. It now sits with US Mint sales of 407,991. At $59.95 a pop, the Proof Silver Eagle dollar total is a smidgen under $24.5 million. [...]
In The Lead – Mood[y] Rings
Gold prices opened at the $1,587.00 mark in New York this morning, gunning for a ninth consecutive session of gains on the back of the global debt maelstrom that appears to be sweeping up everything and everyone on its destructive path.
The yellow metal touched a high of $1,595.60 overnight and it did so despite a mild recovery in the US dollar on the trade-weighted index. Gold is now bumping up against a long-term resistance line that is formed by the interconnected previous peaks of 1999 and 2008. Albeit such a line crosses very near the $1,600 mark, the potential for an overshoot ($1,615 - $1,630) remains viable [...]
Gold Rallies $23 to Fresh Record, Silver Prices Soar 7.1%
U.S. gold futures settled to a fresh record on Wednesday, extending its string of daily advances to seven. Meanwhile, silver prices soared 7.1 percent to a six-week high. Widening euro zone debt woes coupled with hints of quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve sparked safe-haven precious metals buying.
"People are getting currency exhaustion," Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago, was quoted on Bloomberg. "With the Fed mulling over a possible QE3, which will dilute the dollar, gold is the main beneficiary." [...]
Chickasaw Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin Release
The United States Mint on Tuesday let its distributors know that they may order 2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins on Monday, July 18, 2011.
Marking the fifth and final five ounce bullion issue of this year, the Chickasaw Silver Bullion Coin follows the 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park Silver Bullion Coin for Mississippi, which was released on June 20, 2011 [...]
In The Lead – The Moody’s Blues: Tuesday Afternoon
Metals markets opened firm and continued firmer on Wednesday as reverberations of the European crisis coupled with the parsing of the Fed's meeting minutes released yesterday prompted additional buying by momentum players as well as the retail investor segment.
Spot gold dealings opened their midweek session only some $3 beneath their previously set record and were showing a gain of $7.30 per ounce in New York. The tilt in the market appeared set to yield a challenge of that previous high and also appeared leave open the potential for a vault to the $1,580 - $1,630 price band [...]
Yosemite 5 Oz Silver Coins Remain Available, US Mint Lifts Order...
Yosemite National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins are not sold out and household order limits have been removed, the United States Mint said Tuesday.
Yosemite Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins remain available for more than a month after their June 9 launch. The first two coins in the series sold out in about two weeks. It appeared the third Yosemite issue did as well when on June 23 the United States Mint indicated its orders were maxed and that new ones would be added to a waiting list -- processed only if an old order was canceled. However, the waiting list notice was in error. The Mint described what happened on Tuesday [...]