Monthly Archives: June 2011

Congressman Ron Paul of Texas has scheduled a hearing Thursday on legislation he introduced that would direct the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct an assay, inventory, and audit of all U.S. gold reserves -- much of which is held within United States Mint facilities, including an analysis of the measures taken for their security.

"The Treasury Department has been less than transparent with the results of its gold audits. It is asking the American people to trust that all the gold is there, while not allowing site visits and not publishing all the data it holds on its audits and assays," Paul said [...]

The United States Mint today reduced the 2011 Proof American Platinum Eagle price by $100. The Platinum Eagle launched on May 27 for $2,092.00. It is low listed for $1,992.00 on the Mint website at http://catalog.usmint.gov.

The United States Mint each Wednesday will calculate changes in precious metals over the previous seven days and, if necessary, adjust the price of its collector coins composed of gold or platinum [...]

Gold prices advanced above $1,550 an ounce on Wednesday, extending a consecutive winning streak to seven sessions. The yellow metal has jumped $37.80 since June 13 and reached a seven-week high despite strength in the U.S. dollar.

August gold prices settled up $7.00, or 0.5 percent, to $1,553.40 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The metal moved from a low of $1,542.00 to a high of $1,559.30 -- its best level since May 2 [...]

Collectors were tighter with their money last week, according to the latest US Mint sales figures. Week-over-week product gains trimmed to 20 versus 61 from the previous report -- although pick-ups and losses stayed within a very narrow range.

Maintaining a trend that began with the launch of the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program in 2010, newer quarter bag and roll debut sales continue to retreat. The following table shows [...]

The largely sideways action continued to be manifest in the precious metals markets for a third session, ahead of the Fed's policy statement and Bernanke press conference due later today...

The midweek trading session in metals in New York opened with a firm... lack of conviction. Spot gold fell $2.20 to open at $1,545.00 the ounce, while silver lost 28 cents to start at $36.12 per ounce. Overnight lows were recorded at $1,540 and at $35.83 respectively. Still, the trading range in the yellow and the white metal was confined to less than $10 and to less than 75 cents ahead of "Fedsday." [...]

Precious metals futures rose Tuesday. Gold prices advanced for a sixth straight day, again, opined analysts, supported by safe-haven buying due to Greek debt concerns. A weaker U.S. dollar also spurred appeal for the yellow metal.

August gold prices rose $4.40, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $1,546.40 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices ranged between $1,539.30 and $1,549.00 [...]

The United States Mint has for years been producing gold, silver and platinum American Eagles. Fulfilling a relatively new legal requirement, the United States Mint steps into a new phase of a process that should lead to the production of American Palladium Eagles.

Named the American Eagle Palladium Bullion Coin Act of 2010 and signed into law by President Barack Obama in December, Public Law 111-303 mandates that a marketing study be completed on the feasibility of an American Palladium Eagle coin program [...]

Heritage Auctions will serve as the official auctioneer for the next four American Numismatic Association fall National Money Shows, beginning October 13-15, 2011 in Pittsburgh, ANA Executive Director Larry Shepherd has announced.

"We are thrilled that Heritage has agreed to be our official fall National Money Show auctioneer through 2014," said Shepherd. "Our new fall National Money Show is quickly becoming a premier event, and we expect Heritage will help ensure that it is truly memorable." [...]

Three of the four major precious metals advanced Monday. Platinum was the hold out. Gold prices rose for a fifth straight session, supported by Greece's sovereign-debt issues which pushed up the yellow metal last week.

August gold prices rose $2.90, or 0.2 percent, to $1,542.00 an ounce on the Comex in New York. They hit a low of $1,533.60 and touched a high of $1,548.20 [...]

U.S. Postal Service inspectors are investigating the fraudulent use of stolen American Express credit cards to purchase apparently tens of thousands of dollars of gold coins.

"The orders are placed by phone, often for $10,000 to $20,000 worth of Liberty Double Eagles or other, large-sized gold coins. The callers have a foreign accent and sometimes have problems pronouncing the name on the credit card. They'll phone dealers and will correspond by email, but no one ever answers the phones when dealers try to call them back," said Michael Fuljenz, President of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont, Texas who has been working with postal inspectors on several cases [...]