Gold, Silver Advance on Week; US Silver Coins Higher

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Gold Bars, Silver Bars, Silver Coins and Money
Gold and silver prices advanced this week. Demand also grew for silver coins from the U.S. Mint.

Gold dropped for a third day in four Friday, but the precious metal still notched a strong weekly increase.

Gold for June delivery dipped $5.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,386.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Large pick-ups on Monday and Thursday offset other daily losses, boosting gold prices for the week by $21.90, or 1.6%.

Gold surveys from last week leaned heavily bearish for prices this week. The newest surveys look a bit more favorable for the yellow metal going forward.

"In the Kitco News Gold Survey, out of 36 participants, 28 responded this week. Of those 28 participants, 14 see prices up, while nine see prices down and five see prices moving sideways or are neutral," reports Kitco News.

"Those who see higher prices said the market could continue its bounce from the $1,350s-an-ounce area, which is where gold prices found support for two days this week…"

Bloomberg’s weekly survey is the most bullish in a month with 12 participants expecting higher prices next week, 9 looking for weakness and 8 neutral.

There is a lot of ground to make up. Gold’s weekly gain sliced away only a small portion of its losses this year. Prices are down $289.20, or 17.3%, from their end of 2012 closing of $1,675.80 an ounce.

Silver, Platinum and Palladium Futures

Silver tracked gold on the week, rising 0.6%. PGM’s, however, moved opposite with platinum losing 1.1% and palladium shrinking 1.9%. In breaking down the changes on Friday:

  • Snapping a two-session winning streak, silver for July delivery slid 1.2 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $22.496 an ounce.

  • Platinum fell a dime more than gold with July platinum futures at $1,451.90 an ounce, down $5.30, or 0.4%.

  • Sinking the most among precious metals, palladium for June delivery lost $12.20, or 1.7%, to $726.45 an ounce.

In 2013 so far, silver has plummeted 25.6% and platinum has declined 5.9%. Thanks to palladium’s week-ago surge of nearly 5%, it alone stands higher for the year. The PGM is up 3.3%.

London Fix Precious Metals

London Fix precious metals split Friday and for the week. When comparing the Thursday PM to Friday PM London Fix prices:

  • Gold gained $9.75, or 0.7%, to $1,390.25 an ounce,
  • Silver dipped 9.0 cents, or 0.4%, to $22.38 an ounce,
  • Platinum was unchanged at $1,455.00 an ounce, and
  • Palladium fell $10.00, or 1.4%, to $729.00 an ounce

As for the week, gold advanced 1.6% but other precious metals declined. Losses were 0.6% for silver and 1.0% for both platinum and palladium.

US Bullion Coin Sales in May

The U.S. Mint has not reported any bullion coin sales since Wednesday, making it appear that they or their dealers took an early jump on the extended Memorial Day weekend. In the latest weekly bullion breakdowns:

  • Gold coins eased, gaining 9,000 ounces after jumping 36,500 ounces in the previous week. Splits were 7,000 ounces in 22-karat American Gold Eagles and 2,000 ounces in 24-karat American Gold Buffalo coins.

  • Silver coins were stronger, advancing 919,500 ounces versus the prior week’s 897,000 ounces. Splits were 866,500 ounces in American Silver Eagles and 53,000 ounces in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins.

The following are the latest daily, May and year-to-date bullion coin totals as published by the United States Mint.

American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales
  Friday Sales Last Week Weekly Sales May Sales YTD Sales
$50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 28,000 7,000 50,000 484,000
$25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 2,000 0 2,000 42,000
$10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 4,000 0 4,000 76,000
$5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 0 0 0 300,000
$50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins 0 6,500 2,000 11,000 143,000
White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 12,700 10,600 23,300 23,300
American Eagle Silver Coins 0 833,500 866,500 2,600,000 20,910,000

 

In related coin news about the U.S. Mint, the bureau on Wednesday cut prices on silver sets as their melt values retreated since their release. The United States Mint monitors London fixings to judge pricing levels for its silver, gold and platinum products.

Closely watched by others are melt values of older American coins that are still occasionally found in circulation. A great deal of these coins have little to no numismatic value because they are too worn and/or too common, but they are still valuable due to their silver content. This week, the melt values for these coins changed only slightly.

The following table shows melt values of older circulating U.S. silver coins. Values are based on the London silver fixings on Friday, May 17, and Friday, May 24. For reference, melt values of newer bullion silver coins are also provided.

US Silver Coins Silver Coin Melt Value (5/17) Silver Coin Melt Value (5/24) Net Change
1942-1945 Jefferson Nickels $1.27 $1.26 -$0.01
1892-1916 Barber Dimes $1.63 $1.62 -$0.01
1916-1945 Mercury Dimes $1.63 $1.62 -$0.01
1946-1964 Roosevelt Dimes $1.63 $1.62 -$0.01
1892-1916 Barber Quarters $4.07 $4.05 -$0.03
1916-1930 Standing Liberty 25c $4.07 $4.05 -$0.03
1932-1964 Washington Quarters $4.07 $4.05 -$0.03
1892-1915 Barber Half Dollars $8.15 $8.09 -$0.05
1916-1947 Walking Liberty 50c $8.15 $8.09 -$0.05
1948-1963 Franklin 50c $8.15 $8.09 -$0.05
1964 Kennedy Half Dollars $8.15 $8.09 -$0.05
1965-1970 Kennedy Half Dollars $3.33 $3.31 -$0.02
1878-1921 Morgan Dollars $17.42 $17.31 -$0.11
1921-1935 Peace Dollars $17.42 $17.31 -$0.11
1971-1976 Silver Eisenhower $1s $7.12 $7.07 -$0.04
1986-2013 American Eagles $22.52 $22.38 -$0.14
2010-2013 ATB Silver Coins $112.60 $111.90 -$0.70

 

For live daily prices, visit our sister site on melt values for silver coins.

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