Monthly Archives: January 2012
2011 Silver Eagle Annual Bullion Sales Record Stops Near 40 Million
A sluggish final two weeks in December stopped sales of American Eagle Silver bullion coins from reaching 40 million in 2011. But it was close. The all-time Silver Eagle annual sales record finished at 39,868,500.
Having already sprinted past the old annual record back on October 6, the bullion coin series failed to show much excitement in ending the year -- November's Silver Eagle monthly total of less than 1.4 million was the worst since July 2008 and December's sales total of just over 2 million was the second weakest of the year [...]
Gold Rises 0.8%, 2012 Gold and Silver Eagles Maintain Momentum
Gold futures on Wednesday advanced for a third straight session and reached a two-week high. Safe-haven buying was again in focus as European governments agreed in principle to embargo Iranian crude due to the country's nuclear program.
"The safe-haven story is back because of the political developments," David Meger, the director of metal trading at Vision Financial Markets in Chicago, said in a telephone interview cited on Bloomberg. "Also, we are seeing some bargain hunters return at current levels."
Gold prices rose $12.20, or 0.8%, to $1,612.70 an ounce in the February futures contract on the [...]
Annual 2011 Gold Eagle Bullion Coin Sales Hit 1 Million Ounces
December 2011 bullion sales of American Gold Eagle coins from the United States Mint came in at 65,500 ounces, the first monthly increase since August and 59.8% higher than November. The tally strengthened the status established a few months ago when 2011 moved up to the seventh best annual slot in the history of the American Eagle program.
During 2011, buyers ordered exactly 1,000,000 ounces of Gold Eagles. Of that total, the majority was the one ounce coins with 910,000 sold [...]
In The Lead – [Reality] Check, please!
Gold's best rally in ten weeks came to a halt and prices reversed course early this morning as the reality check that most markets were being subjected to by global investors took its toll. The yellow metal slipped back to under the $1,600 pivot point after having run into resistance near the $1,605 level and after thus far having been unable to recapture the important $1,620+ value zone.
Spot dealings in New York this morning opened with gold down by $10 per ounce at the $1,593.50 level while spot silver fell 2.4% or 70 cents to a quote on the bid-side at one penny above the $29 mark [...]
2012 American Gold Eagle and Silver Eagle Bullion Coins Released, Sales...
Tuesday, January 3, the United States Mint began taking orders for its 2012 American Gold Eagle and 2012 American Silver Eagle bullion coins.
Kicking off the new year on a high note, opening sales on day one jumped out of the gate. The United States Mint reported that it has already sold 3,197,000 of the .999 fine silver bullion coins and 37,500 ounces of the 22-karat gold bullion coins [...]
Gold Retakes $1600, Silver Prices Jump 5.9%
Gold reclaimed $1,600 an ounce Tuesday, the first trading day in 2012. Bargain hunting and a weaker U.S. dollar were largely attributed to the yellow metal's rise.
"With the sell-off that we had based on very low volume to end the year, the gold market snapped back and a significant amount of bargain hunting is coming in at those lower prices," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of metals trading at futures brokerage Vision Financial Markets.
Gold prices advanced $33.70, or 2.2%, to $1,600.50 an ounce in the February futures contract [...]
Congress and Numismatics in 2011
As the 112th Congress gets ready to open its second session, let's take a look back at the numismatic-related legislation that were involved in the first session.
The characterization of the 112th Congress as a "do nothing" congress can apply to how they have handled numismatic legislation. Of all the bills submitted in both chambers, none have become law. The only bill that was of a concern to coin dealers was Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011 (H.R. 4, Public Law No.: 112-9). The new law changes the provisions in the Affordable Healthcare Act (Healthcare Reform) to eliminate the requirement to file Form 1099 after any transaction anyone makes of more than $600 [...]
In The Lead – Deja Review
Spot gold started the abbreviated business week with a gain of more than $20 and it once again approached resistance levels thought to be residing from the $1,588 up to the $1,600 value zones. Silver added from 75 to 85 cents per ounce and traded near the $28.75 up to $29.00 markers. Platinum and palladium each rose $8 to touch $1,403 and $662 respectively, while rhodium opened at $1,350 with no change in quoted bid prices.
US auto sales in December were the best in five years and have placed the industry on track to perhaps record annualized sales levels of near 13.4 million-very near the November metric running at 13.6 million in annual sales. In the background, the US dollar fell [...]