Monthly Archives: November 2011
In The Lead – Arrivederci, Roma!
Metals markets opened firmer on Monday as the on-going eurozone drama continued to play out without signs of a resolution despite the G-20 summit's end. Gold moved higher despite a slip in the euro and a slightly stronger US dollar. Spot gold dealings started off at $1,776 and remained within the $1,775-$1,780 resistance zone while silver added 45 cents (to open at $34.54) and then remained nearly static for the first hour of trading action.
Potential attempts to touch the $1,800 mark might be in the works for the day/week in gold but nervousness prevails and European news will play the pivotal role in the market, perhaps more so than the dollar's gyrations. On the other hand, silver does appear to be struggling somewhat at this juncture [...]
CAMI Plans $250 Million Rare Coin Fund
A new joint venture, Certified Assets Management International, LLC (www.CertifiedAssets.com), "CAMI," has been launched by a team that includes a veteran professional rare coin dealer and a Wall Street money manager to assist investors with acquisition and management of numismatic and precious metals items.
CAMI is creating an assortment of products, services and investment funds including one that is looking to acquire up to $250 million of rare coins [...]
October 2011 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin Sales Top 3M Milestone
American Eagle Silver bullion coins cleared the three million marker in October, a formidable milestone that assured certain notable rankings. However, the sales pace was down 31.3 percent from the previous month and off 2.7 percent from the same time last year.
36,475,500 Silver Eagles sold between January and October, a figure which continues to add to their annual sales record. 2011 earned the title for their highest selling year in the first six days of October when year-to-date sales passed the old annual record of 34,662,500 from 2010 [...]
Gold Prices Dip Friday but Log Weekly Gains, Silver Falls for...
Gold prices edged lower Friday, snapping a two-day winning streak. Still, the yellow metal registered a modest weekly gain of $8.90, or 0.5 percent, while other precious metals retreated.
In closing the week, gold prices declined $9.00, or 0.5 percent, to $1,756.10 an ounce in the December futures contract on the Comex in New York. The yellow metal ranged from an intraday low of $1,749.80 to a high of $1,766.50 [...]
Nisei Soldiers of World War II Bronze Medals Available
Acknowledging the dedicated service they provided to the United States of America during World War II, the Congressional Gold Medal was presented Wednesday, November 2, 2011 to members of the U.S. Army's 100th Infantry Battalion (INF BN), the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) and the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). These individuals, also known as Nisei Soldiers, were given the highest honor that the U.S. Congress can bestow during a ceremony held in the Capitol Visitor Center's Emancipation Hall.
On Wednesday, the United States Mint also made available bronze medals that are reproductions of the Congressional Gold Medal. These medals may be purchased directly from the Mint [...]
In The Lead – Ridi, Pagliaccio!
The countdown to the end of a tumultuous market week (haven't they all been that lately?) commenced with this morning's opening in New York. Precious metals headed lower (all but platinum) as the US dollar picked up a tad of energy and the euro ran into a wall of overhead resistance amid the still (!) on-going crisis.
Market participants have plenty to keep an eye on today but are exhibiting fatigue syndrome from what has been a roller-coaster of a string of trading sessions. Spot gold opened $10.20 lower at $1,754 per ounce and albeit it has not pierced the $1,750 support level it has also not managed to vault above the $1,775 mark yet [...]
eBay Halts American Silver Eagle 25th Anniversary Set Auctions
The online auction site eBay has added yet another interesting twist to the short but intriguing story of the American Silver Eagle 25th Anniversary Set released last Thursday, October 27. Apparently, the site has chosen to place restrictions on listings of the anniversary set, leading to numerous cancellations of current auctions.
A recent visit to eBay found slightly over two dozen of the sets available which immediately indicates a change from just a few days ago. When secondary market values of the sets were recently evaluated, the site had well over a hundred listed [...]
US Mint Raises Platinum and Gold Collector Coin Prices
Prices are now higher for United States Mint platinum and gold coins produced for coin collectors. The Mint raised them as a result of rising metal values.
Coin prices can get adjusted weekly based on the Mint's product pricing policy and the direction of precious metals. Those metals have been volatile, but they had managed to maintain an average which had kept coins at their same prices since October 12 -- the last of six straight weekly adjustments [...]
US Mint Reviews American Silver Eagle 25th Anniversary Set Rollout
In an e-mail message to its customers Thursday, the United States Mint acknowledged the difficulties buyers experienced in ordering or attempting to order an American Silver Eagle 25th Anniversary Set.
The sets went on sale Thursday, October 27, and all 100,000 sold out within about 4 and 1/2 hours. The quick sellout would be less of an issue if every customer who wanted one was able to place an order.
However, as has happened in the past when tens of thousands of customers are attempting to order an extremely popular [...]
Gold Hits 6-Week High, Silver Prices Rise 1.6%
Gold futures advanced for a second straight day and to a six-week high Thursday as its appeal intensified following an unexpected interest rate cut by the European Central Bank which reignited inflation chatter.
"Gold has started to revert back into its role as a safe-haven play and this (rate cut) is not changing that," Reuters quoted Ole Hansen, senior manager at Saxo Bank. "Also it's indicating that we're going to see lower rates for longer in the future and that is obviously the main supporting factor for gold."
Gold prices jumped $35.50, or 2.1 percent, to $1,765.10 an ounce in the December futures contract on the Comex in New York. The close was gold's best since [...]