Monthly Archives: August 2011
US Mint Stops Selling Numismatic Gold Coins as Bullion Prices Soar
The United States Mint stopped selling its range of numismatic gold coins Tuesday, August 9, at 11:20 a.m. Eastern Time as the record high price of bullion approached their sales prices. Visitors to the coins' online product pages will see the notice: "This product is temporarily unavailable for product repricing."
The Mint said it intends to make the gold coins available by the afternoon of Wednesday, August 10, after price increases have been implemented.
United States Mint coin pricing methodology employs an average for gold based on AM and PM London fixings from the previous Thursday to current Wednesday. When the average swings outside [...]
In The Lead – Talking [Ratings] Heads: Burning Down the House
Spot gold gained $26 to start the day off at $1,743 per ounce; nearly $40 under the overnight record it established as waves of fear swept through global markets. To now expect $100+ moves on an intra-day basis might not be out of line considering how matters have shaped up.
However moves of a larger order of magnitude ought not to be discounted, either. When one loses the tethers of gravity, all outcomes are possible. Gold has not only lost said tethers; it has gone parabolic. Visit market history for a primer on how parabolas come to conclude.
Silver fell by one dollar and one penny in New York this morning; it opened at $38.02 per ounce. Questions as to why the white metal is not exhibiting $60 or $75 price prints continue to nag the [...]
1910 Chinese Yunnan Spring Dollar Featured in Heritage Long Beach Coin...
The legendary 1910 Chinese Dragon Dollar, called the Yunnan Spring Dollar in reference to the four Chinese characters that translate to "Spring 1910" on its reverse, could bring in excess of $1,000,000 as part of Heritage Auctions Sept. 8-9 Long Beach Signature® World & Ancient Coins Auction, at the Long Beach Convention Center.
"This enigmatic issue is one of China's rarest coins, with only two genuine pieces known," said Warren Tucker, Vice President of World Coins at Heritage. "It's been a coin of mystery and legend since its discovery around 1920. Despite near constant research in Chinese numismatics, time has yielded no definite reason or meaning for the term 'Spring 1910.'"
The first genuine example of this issue to appear at public auction was sold in Beijing, in April 2002, at [...]
Kingsland Hosts Gold and Silver Radio Show
Veteran financial journalist Jim Kingsland now hosts a weekly program, Gold and Silver Radio, on the air in the metropolitan New York City area on WYNM AM 970 "The Apple" and worldwide online at www.am970TheApple.com.
The one-hour program, broadcast each Saturday at noon Eastern, focuses on precious metals, rare coins and economic conditions in the United States and globally that affect metals prices and the U.S. dollar.
"Gold and Silver Radio is a program dedicated to exposing the crumbling fiat dollar and the rise of gold and silver as a place to protect wealth and grow wealth through bullion and coins. Even Lindsay Lohan realizes that the dollar is falling apart [...]
Gold Prices Top $1700, Silver Rallies 3.7%, US Bullion Coins Soar
U.S. gold prices quickly topped the $1,700 milestone on Monday following S&P's downgrade of U.S. credit to below the coveted "AAA" rating.
Gold is attractive "in this current macro environment, with high risk and uncertainty surrounding the financial markets," Bayram Dincer, an analyst at LGT Capital Management, was quoted on Bloomberg. "Gold is pricing in the one-notch downgrade as well as a component of lower global GDP growth."
December gold prices surged $61.40, or 3.7 percent, to close at $1,713.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York -- a fresh all-time [...]
Kolbe & Fanning Launch New Website, Announce Rare Numismatic Literature Sale
After months of planning and work, Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers LLC are pleased to unveil their new and improved website. The firm also announce Mail Bid Sale 122, which features over 1400 lots of rare and desirable numismatic literature.
Numismatic researchers and bibliophiles are invited to visit www.numislit.com and review new and enhanced features, including: [...]
CONECA ErrorScope Issue Features Doubled Die Cent, Double Struck JFK
The upcoming September/October issue of the ErrorScope, the bimonthly journal of the Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America (CONECA), features new finds ranging from a new 1988 Doubled Die Obverse cent to a Double Struck 1972-D Kennedy half-dollar.
Sandwiched in between are articles on subjects as diverse as who hobby pioneer James G. Johnson Jr. was to an article on a foreign doubled die, a Standing Liberty quarter cud, Ike dollar "Peg Leg" varieties and miscellaneous errors on US coins [...]
Gold Prices Rise 1.3% on Week, Silver Slides 4.7%, Silver Eagles...
U.S. gold futures ended 1.3 percent higher on the week but retreated for a second straight session Friday as investors continued to sell bullion profits to cover equity losses.
"It's a volatile period for gold," Adam Klopfenstein, a senior strategist at MF Global Holdings Ltd. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview that was cited on Bloomberg. "You would think that people would buy gold as a haven now, but they're selling it because they need to raise cash."
December gold prices retreated $7.20, or 0.4 percent, to $1,651.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gains this week have [...]
2011 Uncirculated Silver Eagle Scheduled for September Release
Following two years of silence, the 2011 uncirculated Silver Eagle is set to make a comeback next month, according to an updated product schedule from the United States Mint.
The Mint's online schedule indicates that the newest American Silver Eagle is ready for a September 29, 2011 release at a yet to be determined price. The release date is not set in stone, as the Mint's schedule has been tweaked before after a coin addition. But changes this late into the year are less common.
The uncirculated Silver Eagle is one of the most popular products offered by the United States Mint, although it is the least purchased among the three versions produced. Perhaps one reason is its youth [...]
In The Lead – What’s That Smell?
Friday's precious metals markets opened amid attempts to repair the heavy damage that had been inflicted by the throngs of panicked speculators stampeding over each other in front of the markets' exit doors.
A potentially volatile day was in the making in New York as investors awaited US jobs statistics to be released by the Labor Department. Dow futures were still as jittery as a bowl of Jell-O while crude oil lost a bit of additional ground. The US dollar fell a tad as well, retreating to just under the 75 level on the trade-weighted index.
Spot gold dealings opened at $1,657.80 the ounce, showing a $9 gain in New York while silver started the final session of the week up by [...]