Market News

A Celebration Cast in Silver Some coins commemorate presidents. Others honor military victories, world expositions, or great moments in American history. Then there are coins like the 1936 Columbia, South Carolina Sesquicentennial Half Dollar. At first glance, it may seem like just another silver commemorative from the 1930s. Yet behind its intricate design lies a…

Federal Reserve Bucks 1-3 Odds of Rate Hike Today Under the leadership of new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, the central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady in the 3.5%-3.75% range today. Wall Street traders had estimated there was a one-in-three chance the Fed would hike interest rates to fight back against still-high inflation…

Platinum is thirty times rarer than gold. This scarcity defines the platinum coin market, where annual production measures in thousands rather than millions of pieces. Government mints began striking platinum bullion in the late 1980s, responding to investor demand for this industrial and precious metal. Today’s platinum coin market centers on a handful of government-issued…

Gold and silver surged higher following news that consumer inflation eased in June. The drop in consumer inflation splashed cold water on ideas of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in July, which is a positive factor for precious metals. Steady to lower interest rates tend to be supportive to precious metals, which don’t pay…

When Gold Changed Everything In January 1848, a carpenter named James Marshall was inspecting a sawmill under construction along the American River near Coloma, California, when he noticed something glimmering in the water. At first, it appeared to be nothing more than a few small flakes of metal. But as word spread and the discovery…