In The Lead – Old-Hat Headlines From The Old World
Spot gold dealings started off with a gain of $12.00 at $1,732.00 the ounce. Gold coin sales by the US Mint fell to almost half of the levels that were seen in September as well as compared to those reported in October of last year.
Despite incessant reports in various forums that US retail investors are "cleaning out" their local coin shops, only 50,000 coins were moved by the Mint into the marketplace. Silver coin sales were down by 1.4 million units in the month of October versus September but were nearly on par with 2010's October sales levels [...]
Gold Dips 0.8%, Silver Tumbles 4.7%
Gold futures fell for a third straight day Tuesday as strength in the U.S. dollar curbed the appeal of precious metals.
"Gold is behaving erratically with some strong currents pushing it in two directions at once," said Ross Norman, chief executive at London-based bullion broker Sharps Pixley, in emailed comments cited on MarketWatch. "Primarily, it is selling on the strong dollar pushing gold lower, and strong physical and [exchange-traded fund] buying from some investors on the other side pushing gold higher."
Gold prices closed down $13.40, or 0.8 percent, to $1,711.80 an ounce [...]
Spectrum Expands Collectibles and Coin Services with Paris Office Launch
Spectrum Group International, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is the largest global trading and collectibles network in the world and is adding yet another international location with the launch of Spectrum Group France SAS in Paris. Just weeks ago, Spectrum Group announced the opening of subsidiary A-Mark Precious Metals' new office in Vienna, Austria.
Paris operations will be headed by Kerry Pieropan, a veteran numismatist with more than 20 years experience, most of which has been at Spectrum Group subsidiary, Spectrum Numismatics International. As the senior executive in charge of the Paris office, Pieropan will be tasked with leading the numismatic buying and selling efforts as well as overseeing development and business operations [...]
In The Lead – Hollow Win
Spot New York dealings opened solidly in the red for all the precious metals. Gold fell to lows near $1,680 after it easily pierced that pivotal $1,700 mark that appeared fairly solid just yesterday. Targets being mentioned among polled traders are focusing on the $1,675 and $1,650 areas below while the new "major" support has been quietly "pushed back" to the $1,600 mark now (at least in some of the perennially starry-eyed newsletters).
There are also those among the professionals who see a swift recapture of the $1,700 level as a possibility, given the nebulosity out there. Hopefully, not too many or sizeable margin call liquidations will develop in the wake of the rout in the Dow and hopefully MF Global is not sitting on bullion contracts that might need to be unwound [...]
Silver Eagle 25th Anniversary Set Values Jump After Sell Out
Silver Eagle 25th Anniversary Set sold out within five hours. And while none of the sets have been delivered by the United States Mint yet, many are already appearing on the secondary market at incredibly high premiums.
Before those premiums are discussed, perhaps a little background is in order... The set was issued by the United States Mint to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the American Silver Eagle Program which dates back to when the first bullion and proof versions were released in 1986 [...]
Gold Pares October Gain to 6.3%, Silver Prices Surge 14.2%
Gold stumbled $22 Monday, paring its monthly gain in October to $102.90, or 6.3 percent. Silver prices dived by nearly $1 on the day, but still finished up $4.27, or 14.2 percent for the month. A stronger U.S. dollar was blamed for the yellow metal's daily loss, which silver tracked.
The monthly increases for the two major metals come on the heels of respective gold and silver losses in September of 11.4 percent and 28.0 percent.
On Monday, gold prices declined 1.3 percent to settle at $1,725.20 an ounce in the December futures contract [...]
In The Lead – I Have A Yen [Or A Few...
The second central bank currency market intervention in as many months sent the US dollar soaring and gold reeling overnight as market players rushed for various entry and exit doors to take advantage of the overt move. The selling of yen by the BoJ represented the third such event this year and it follows a fresh postwar high (at 75.35 vs. the USD) that the Japanese currency had reached just last week. The August intervention involved the selling of 4.5 trillion yen and it was the largest in seven years.
Last night's maneuver resulted in the greenback reaching a three-month high against the yen. The massive unilateral (as opposed to what the SNB and other central banks did in early September) pressured the yen some 4% lower during the wee hours and saw gold [...]
Gold Jumps 6.8% in Weekly Gain, Silver Prices Soar 13.1%
Gold futures edged lower Friday, snapping a five-day winning streak, but still registering an explosive weekly gain of $111.10, or 6.8 percent.
Gold prices dipped 50 cents to close Friday at $1,747.20 an ounce in the December futures contract on the Comex in New York. The yellow metal ranged between an intraday low of $1,733.00 and a high at $1,754.00.
"We had a really heavy week on the news front with the euro zone and U.S. GDP... the market's trying to work out where gold should be, wondering if this euro zone package has solved the problem," Reuters quoted Mitsubishi analyst Matthew Turner.
Last week gold prices swung through a range difference of $92.10. This week's range spread was [...]
2012 Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar Designs Revealed
Yesterday the United States Mint unveiled the commemorative 2012 Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar designs in a pre-game ceremony at Fort Benning's historic Doughboy Stadium in Georgia.
Taking place before the football matchup between the Fort Benning Doughboys and the Columbus State University Cougars, B. B. Craig, Associate Director of Sales and Marketing at the United States Mint spoke before the crowd and special guests representing the National Infantry Foundation and Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients [...]
Release Dates for 2012 Presidential $1 Coins
Despite an official confirmation from the United States Mint that is likely to be off into the distance, Federal Reserve Bank Services has published release dates for the upcoming 2012 Presidential $1 Coins, just as it recently listed them for the 2012 quarters. Of course, the standard caveat of "release dates are subject to change" applies, but it does give interested collectors at least a close idea of when the strikes from the sixth year of the Presidential series will be issued.
These four releases will mark the 21st through 24th of the series which honors former Presidents of the United States of America with portraits of the selected individuals showcased on the obverse of each strike. The program debuted in 2007 with a coin honoring George Washington, the first President of the United States [...]
