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Examining Stock Market Risk Right Now

Posted on November 18, 2021February 1, 2026 by Phoebe Wehrman — Leave a comment

While many Americans struggle with the challenges of rising inflation – at the grocery store, at the gas pump, rising rent and more, stock market investors are a complacent bunch right now.

The U.S. stock market is indeed enjoying double-digit gains in 2021, propelled higher by government spending that flooded the economy during the Covid crisis and the Fed’s rock-bottom interest rates.

Can this continue?

There is an old market adage: the stock market takes the stairs up and the elevator down.

That adage reminds us that while stock market gains tend to be slow and steady, stock market crashes tend to be violent, fast and usually quite unexpected.

There are three major risks right now hovering beneath the rosy stock market performance figures this year, which are worth examining. These include: 1) valuation levels 2) margin debt and 3) interest rate shock. Today, we’ll explore valuation levels.

You’ve probably heard that the stock market is “overvalued” by many measures.

Experts like to examine longer-term measures like the Shiller P/E or price-to-earnings ratio, which looks at average earnings over the past 10 years, as a particularly useful metric to determine stock market risk.

Stock market valuations continue to increase. In September, the Shiller CAPE ratio hit 38.34, which marked the fourth month in a row with higher valuations and the highest level since late 2000 (just before the Dot-com bubble burst in 2001).

You may recall, in the late 1990’s, internet stocks skyrocketed – the Dot-com boom, they called it. Many companies had zero earnings, yet speculators drove technology stocks higher and higher betting that someday these Dot-com firms would turn a profit.

The primary cause of the 2001 stock market crash? Overvalued stocks.

It was a painful stock market crash. The NASDAQ stock index lost a stunning 75% of its value from 2000-2002.

That means if you had $100,000 invested in the NASDAQ at the beginning of 2000, your account value fell to $25,000 just two years later.

Then, it took a very long 15 years for the Nasdaq Index to reclaim its 2001 peak. So, that means you would have had to wait 15 years for your account balance to return to the $100,000 level.

How would you feel if your stock portfolio fell even 50% right now and – then took 15 years to get back to break-even?

Let’s shift gears and look at how gold performed during that 15-year period from 2000 to 2015.

Gold climbed 554% from its 2000 low at $276 an ounce to its 2011 high above $1,800 an ounce, before entering a minor correction period and slipping to $1,226 – which registered an overall 344% return for that 15-year period.

The Bottom Line

Stock market crashes can be frightening and even traumatic experiences for investors.

It is another reminder why diversification is so important. Diversification into gold is a proven portfolio diversifier. Holding a position in gold reduces your total account drawdown level during stock market crashes, as gold tends to climb when equities fall. Learn more here.

Check back soon for another analysis of stock market margin debt risks – and why that is worth paying attention to.

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What Experts Forecast for The Economy In 2022

Posted on November 15, 2021February 1, 2026 by Phoebe Wehrman — Leave a comment

With less than eight weeks before the end of the year, many are beginning to ask what the US economy might look like in 2022.

The recovery from COVID continues to push forward but the movement is stubbornly slow. Throughout the mid-1990s and mid-2000s the annual U.S. GDP growth surpassed 3 percent. Many analysts believe this performance will be unattainable in the coming years.

There are three reasons for this low growth outlook.

First, long-term unemployment numbers have been persistently low. As a result, economic activity at the consumer level remains muted.

Second, the 2020 recession prevented many businesses from investing in their operations which dramatically slowed innovation. The effect of this interruption will be lasting.

Third, the baby-boom generation continues to enter retirement in massive numbers. This trend accelerated during COVID’s peak when baby-boomers dropped out of the labor force amid lockdowns, layoffs, and plummeting equity markets.

These reasons explain why the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects 2022 to usher in a period of slow GDP growth that will become the “new normal.” This, however, is just one opinion. What are other analysts forecasting?

Others have similarly low expectations. Goldman Sachs recently reduced their economic growth target for the U.S. to 4.0% for 2022. One reason for this outlook was their expectation of a “longer lasting virus drag on virus-sensitive consumer services.” Goldman also expects consumers to spend less because of the wide scale shift to working from home.

The outlook from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Goldman Sachs also agrees with forecasts from The Conference Board, a non-profit research organization founded more than 100 years ago. Their analysis, which examines the global GDP, suggests a deceleration as “quarterly growth rates recorded toward the end of next year will likely show a slowing global economy.”

These challenges are likely to be intensified by existing global supply chain challenges which have broken the connection between businesses and consumers.

These projections do not portend doom, but they do paint a very underwhelming picture of the future U.S. and global economy. For investors this likely means that there will be fewer ways to generate a return on their savings. Moreover, those places that do generate an adequate return may present greater risk as the world continues to adjust to a new system. This new system will be characterized by less reliance on global trade, digital disruption, a more geographically distributed workforce, and a decrease in consumer activity.

In this setting, investors should consider defensive moves that diversify their holdings across assets that are not as closely tied to U.S. and global economic growth. Additionally, investors will need to consider assets that can weather inflation. For most investors gold is the answer given that it has delivered an average return of 15% during periods when inflation exceeds 3% according to research from the World Gold Council.

2022 is fast approaching and the time to form a plan is now.

The Intriguing History Behind the 1880 Trade Dollar

Posted on November 11, 2021February 1, 2026 by Blanchard Admin — 3 Comments

What currency should be used in world trade? Over 150 years ago, China and the United States wrangled over that very question – just as they do today.

For those of you that don’t follow global economics closely, today, importers and exporters that buy and sell goods across country lines like crude oil, diamonds, cars and vehicle parts and even computers – primarily use the U.S. dollar to complete the transactions. Example: when China wants to buy crude oil from Saudi Arabia – typically those transactions are completed in U.S. dollars. (Although, China is actively exploring alternatives to cut the U.S. dollar out of that picture).

Rewinding history back to the late 1860s and early ’70s, trade between the United States and China was increasing.

Americans were increasingly purchasing and enjoying items like tea and silk from China. However, a threat to this international trade emerged from the unlikeliest of things: the Mexican peso.

It turns out that many Chinese businesses preferred the use the Mexican peso instead of U.S. currency because the peso contained more silver than the standard U.S. dollar. This meant U.S. businesses had to exchange their dollars for pesos every time they wanted to buy tea or silk or other goods from China, which generated high commission fees for U.S. business owners.

The federal government had a solution to this problem: mint a dollar-sized coin known as a “trade dollar” for use in Asian business trade.

To entice the Chinese to use the American Trade Dollar, the U.S. put more silver content into its coin.

The Trade Dollar consisted of 90% silver and weighed slightly more than the peso (420 grains vs. 416). A unique feature of the Trade Dollar is the wording beneath the eagle on the reverse of the coin” “420 GRAINS .900 FINE.” This was included to convince Chinese merchants of its value.

The U.S. minted silver Trade Dollars from 1873 through 1885. During the first two years of production, the United States sent nearly all the minted coins abroad to ease trade problems.

The Trade Dollar was a success in the Orient. Indeed, Chinese businesses took a liking to the coin and preferred its heavier weight over the Mexican peso.

Some Trade Dollars bear Chinese characters called “chop” marks indented on their surface. Experts believe that Chinese merchants punched these chop marks onto the surface of the Trade Dollars as a strategy to test their authenticity. As the Trade Dollar moved from one Chinese merchant to another it would occasionally receive multiple chop marks, adding to the fascinating history of these coins, which were used heavily in international trade.

However, mining activity at home altered the course of history for the Trade Dollar. U.S. mines in the western regions of the country were yielding enormous amounts of silver. This influx of precious metal disrupted the supply and demand dynamics in the market. Silver prices plummeted. As a result, the Trade Dollar fell to an intrinsic value of just 80 cents. Soon after, the U.S. saw large amounts of Trade Dollars flow back into the country where Americans spent the coins at their face value. In response, Congress acted and revoked the coin’s status as legal tender in July of 1876. They continued to mint the coin, but only for the purpose of exportation.

Just two years later, Treasury Secretary John Sherman ended production of the Trade Dollars. However, from 1879 forward, the Treasury issued proof strikes expressly for collectors. Eventually, in early 1887, legislators passed a law allowing those holding U.S. Trade Dollars to redeem their coins. This act brought approximately 8 million U.S. Trade Dollars back into the government’s hands.

Today, the coins are highly sought after by collectors. The 1884 and 1885 trade dollars are considered to be the rarest of these desirable coins.

Are you curious about what this intriguing coin looks like? See an 1880 Trade Dollar here.

Fed Pulls Back on Emergency Support to Economy

Posted on November 3, 2021February 1, 2026 by Blanchard Admin — Leave a comment

Nearly two years after COVID-19 hit our shores, sending our nation into an economic tailspin, the Federal Reserve announced today it is dialing back on its emergency bond-buying program.

Wall Street expected today’s announcement that the Fed would taper its monthly bond purchases. Gold registered little reaction to the news, recently trading at around $1,765 an ounce.

“In light of the substantial further progress the economy has made toward the Committee’s goals since last December, the Committee decided to begin reducing the monthly pace of its net asset purchases by $10 billion for Treasury securities and $5 billion for agency mortgage-backed securities,” the Fed said today. The Fed had been buying $120 billion in U.S. Treasury and mortgage-back securities each month since early in the COVID crisis.

The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged – at the rock-bottom 0%-0.25% level.

The Fed weighed in on inflation today, too. Americans are confronting higher prices on a range of consumer goods and inflation hit a 30-year high this year.

While the Fed has been adamant that current inflation levels are “transitory,” today’s post-meeting statement qualified that by adding in that inflation is “expected to” be temporary.

Many other economists aren’t so sure. Once inflation takes root in the economy, it can tighten its grip and spread, often ferociously.

“Our sense is that the inflation and price increases will get worse in the near term before they get better,” Kathy Bostjancic, Chief U.S. Financial Economist at Oxford Economics told CBS News today.

For now, the Fed is willing to tolerate higher inflation in an attempt to move the economy back toward full employment. Will the gamble work?

If this roll of the dice fails to produce falling inflation in 2022, the Fed will be forced to raise interest rates sharply to contain inflation. That will spell trouble, and perhaps even a stock market crash and recession. The stakes are high.

In today’s uncertain economic times, gold continues to offer investors a safe haven investment, an asset to hedge against recession and stock market volatility and also as a proven method to maintain your purchasing power in these historic inflationary times.

Where Are We In the Business Cycle?

Posted on November 1, 2021February 1, 2026 by Blanchard Admin — Leave a comment

Economists like to define business cycles through four stages: expansion, peak, contraction and trough.

What does this mean exactly? During an expansion phase of the economy – gross domestic product (GDP) is growing and expanding. Businesses are expanding, hiring new people, investing in their businesses and, typically, the stock market is climbing. By that definition – it’s easy to say we are in the expansion phase right now.

But have we peaked already?

Rising prices – or inflation – is a sign of the peak stage. Overconfident stock market investors is another characteristic of the peak stage. Sound familiar?

We did have a severe bear market in stocks after COVID hit last year – yet notably – it was the shortest bear market in history. (Bear markets are typically defined as a stock market pullback of 20% or more.)

Looking back, the S&P 500 hit an all-time high in February, 2020 – then plunged a shocking 34% the next month. The swift turnaround in stocks was unprecedented – by August 2020, the S&P 500 had fully recovered.

Was that bear market in stocks normal? Not even close. The average length of a bear market is 349 days with an average decline of 36%, according to Invesco.

Compare that to the 2008 Financial Crisis. The S&P 500 plunged a nasty 52% — and the bear market lasted 1.3 years.

As consumer prices on nearly everything rise now, and stocks climb – this typically signals a feverish type of peak to the expansion phase. Many believe we have already peaked. In fact, some economic data is already revealing a slowdown.

What comes next in the business cycle? The contraction phase.

Economists measure the contraction from the peak to the trough. The contraction phase officially becomes a “recession” once two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth occur.

When was our last recession? Yep, it was last year – from February 2020 to April 2020 – lasting an unprecedented two months.

Not only did we see the shortest bear market in history last year, we saw the shortest recession in U.S. history, as measured by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

What does that suggest? Some believe that those events were so short that they hardly count. The 2020 recession wasn’t long enough to equalize the pressures of a normal business cycle.

What could that mean going forward? The next recession could be longer. Much longer.

What can trigger economic contractions and stock bear markets you might ask? Rising interest rates are a big factor. Rising interest rates tamp down consumer activity and business investment and spending. Rising interest rates also negatively affect earnings and stock prices. The idea is that higher borrowing costs means companies are paying more to service their debt, which weighs on profits.

One of the many reasons that people like you may invest in gold or are thinking about investing in tangible assets is as a portfolio hedge. Gold and rare coins are a hedge for many economic variables including a bear market in stocks.

Historically, gold becomes inversely correlated to the stock market during times of equity market stress. That means when stock prices go down sharply, historically gold prices have climbed significantly.

While many stock market investors are overconfident right now, it can be useful to step back and view the big picture. Consider where we are in the business cycle now – and consider if you are properly diversified for what comes next. If you have questions, we can help.

Evergrande, Counterparty Risk, and Gold

Posted on October 26, 2021February 1, 2026 by Blanchard Admin — Leave a comment

In recent weeks, the crisis within Evergrande has reminded investors of counterparty risk.

Counterparty risk is the possibility that one of the parties involved in a transaction might default on their obligations. People often use the term counterparty risk and default risk interchangeably. Default risk is the possibility that one person or company will fail to make the required payments on their debt.

Evergrande is a towering example of counterparty risk. In August of this year, the Chinese property developer warned that it would default on their debts if they were unable to raise sufficient cash in time. This news sparked fear among investors. Those fears were confirmed the following month when Evergrande failed to make their off-shore bond payments of $83.5 million. In October, the company failed to meet three more payments totaling $148 million. These defaults have left many individual Chinese investors devastated.

In recent weeks, the company has attempted to remedy the problem by selling off assets to generate the capital necessary to stay afloat.

What makes this event so concerning is that it happened during a time when China appeared to be enacting a strict regulation intended to avoid these kinds of defaults. That regulation is called the “three red lines.” This refers to China’s attempt to limit how much a company can borrow based on three metrics; the company’s debt-to-cash, debt-to-equity, and debt-to-assets. Despite these regulations, Evergrande has vaporized the wealth of many Chinese households.

Many journalists have made comparisons to Lehman Brothers, which is a similar story of counterparty risk. In fact, Evergrande and Lehman Brothers have more in common than counterparty risk gone awry. Both entities were massive institutions. Both had the appearance of a monolithic corporation that could never fail. However, the fallout from both disasters is a reminder that counterparty risk is very real. When debts go unpaid, businesses fail and investors are left holding the bag.

Gold is free from counterparty risk. As a precious metal, it does not generate cash by meeting quarterly earning estimates or by satisfying debt obligations. The value of gold comes from its scarcity, global appeal, and application in jewelry and technology. Freedom from counterparty risk is a major benefit to long-term investors because over the course of decades we are all likely to experience at least some of the effects of this risk.

Consider that total global defaults on debt were $430 billion in 2008 during the worldwide financial crisis. That is what counterparty risk looks like when things go wrong.

The most threatening risks are often those that go unseen. Counterparty risk is a perfect example. It is quiet until it can no longer be silenced and when investors finally hear it, the sound is deafening.

The 1938 New Rochelle 250th Anniversary Half Dollar

Posted on October 18, 2021February 1, 2026 by Blanchard Admin — Leave a comment

In 1688, the city of New Rochelle, New York was founded by French Protestants. Colonist Jacob Leisler executed the formal agreement when he purchased 6,000 acres from Sir John Pell who originally owned the land. In return for the acreage that represents the city today Pell required “one fatt calfe” on the following year and every year after.

More than two hundred years later the Westchester County Coin Club began to rally interest in having a 250th anniversary coin minted. Their thinking was that selling such a coin would generate the revenue necessary to host the anniversary of New Rochelle. Raising the funds this way meant they would not need to rely on tax income from citizens already suffering financially from the Great Depression.

By January of 1936 a bill calling for the coins was drafted and introduced into Congress. The bill, which authorized a mintage of 25,000 pieces, passed without debate in March of the same year.

The design perfectly tells the story of New Rochelle’s humble beginnings with a roped calf in the care of a man designed to resemble John Pell. The designer, Gertrude K. Lathrop, relied on portraits of Pell which he accessed through Pell’s descendants. The reverse of the coin shows a fleur de Lis which is a symbol found on the coat of arms for New Rochelle. The decision to include the fleur de lis was also inspired by the French city of La Rochelle which features the symbol on its coat of arms.

The final design received much praise for its authentic depiction of the history behind the town. Moreover, critics cited the artist’s ability to include many visual elements in a single coin without resorting to a cluttered, over-designed piece.

By April of 1937 minting began. The Philadelphia Mint produced just over 25,000 coins, reserving the additional pieces for assessment purposes. The coins were made available to the public for $2 each at stores and through the mail. As planned, the profits from the sale of the coins funded the anniversary celebration for the city which occurred in June of 1938. The coin has steadily climbed in value over the decades with one selling for $3,593 in 2006.

While the coin lives on in the collection of numismatists across the country, Pell’s calf agreement finally came to an end during the American Revolution. The agreement was briefly reinstated for ceremonial purposes only in 1988 during the city’s 300th anniversary. During the celebration the stubborn calf refused to be led to the stage. Four men finally succeeded in pulling the animal out. After this brief appearance the calf was allowed to return to its home on a farm in Granite Springs in Westchester County.

Nearly 80% of Americans Expect Inflation to Get Worse

Posted on October 14, 2021February 1, 2026 by Blanchard Admin — Leave a comment

After nearly a decade of nearly non-existent inflation – the phenomenon of rising consumer prices is back. This spring, U.S. consumer prices saw their biggest jump since August 2008.

And, inflation is sticking around.

U.S. consumer price growth continued to climb in September, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Over the last 12 months, U.S. consumer prices gained 5.4%.

While Federal Reserve officials continue to downplay the recent jump in prices from everything from gas to used cars and trucks to furniture, to airline flights and copper calling inflation a “transitory” effect, many Americans aren’t so sure.

A new study revealed that that 78% of Americans expect inflation to get worse over the next year, and 69% say it will negatively impact their purchasing power over the coming months, according to the Allianz Life Quarterly Market Perceptions Study, Q3 2021.

Many Americans also believe inflation will impact their retirement:

72% say they are concerned the rising cost of living will impact their retirement plans
70% say they are worried they will be unable to afford the lifestyle they want in retirement

Concerns over inflation are fueling interest in so-called “protection products” or financial assets that protect wealth against stock market declines and rising inflation. Gold investors have long relied on physical precious metals to serve both of those key portfolio functions.

The Allianz study found that people are increasingly likely to say it’s important to have some retirement savings in products that protect from market loss (70% in Q3 compared with 64% in Q2). Further, nearly three quarters (72%) say they would be willing to trade off some upside growth potential to have some protection from market loss.

Higher net worth Americans – those with investable assets larger than $200,000 – are even more likely to agree that it is important to protect retirement savings from loss (83%), and that they are willing to sacrifice gains for this protection (81%).

It’s not just inflation that people are worried about now. Fifty-four percent of Americans worry that another big market crash is in on the horizon, which is up from 45% of those concerned in the second quarter of this year, Allianz says.

Risks are rising. Stock market gains, which have been fueled by the Fed’s ultra-accommodative monetary policy, could evaporate quickly once the central bank pulls back its easy money punch bowl. Inflation is real and seemingly everywhere you look now.

Are you looking for ways to protect your hard earned retirement assets and wealth?

Gold is a protection play

If you are considering additional diversification now given the rising economic risks, consider increasing your allocation to gold, which is used as an inflation hedge and also as an effective portfolio diversifier against equity market declines. More people are now looking to gold to protect their assets.

“There’s more risk aversion in the market and gold is benefiting from that, coupled with concerns about inflation and cooling of the global economy,” Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann told CNBC this week.

If stagflation talks come to the fore increasingly, gold could clock $1,900 by year-end as interest rates should remain relatively low even if the Fed starts tapering, Briesemann added.

You could benefit from a confidential portfolio review from a Blanchard portfolio manager. If you’d like personalized recommendations to match your long-term financial goals and risk tolerance levels call us at 1-800-880-4653.

Gold During Stagflation: Performance Explained

Posted on October 13, 2021February 1, 2026 by Blanchard Admin — 1 Comment

Stagflation describes an economic setting in which inflation increases while economic output slows or stops. This condition was first seen in the US in the 1970s when the country experienced five quarters of negative GDP growth. Rows of gold bars on a dark grey background

Stagflation is beginning to surface in conversations today because economic growth appears to be weakening and inflation appears to be on the rise.

Recently, the I.M.F. issued a warning that “pandemic outbreaks in critical links of global supply chains have resulted in longer-than-expected supply disruptions, further feeding inflation in many countries.” In the same report the I.M.F. reduced their US economic growth forecast from 7% to 6% while reducing their economic growth forecast at the global level from 6% to 5.9%.

Forecasts of rising inflation have also been seen outside the I.M.F. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Survey of Consumer Expectations showed that inflation expectations over the next three years have increased from 4% to 4.2%. Meanwhile, short-term expectation increased by 5.3%.

Investors are taking note of these changes because stagflation tends to lead to lower equity returns. Consider research from the World Gold Council which shows that since 1973 the S&P 500 has delivered an annualized average (stagflation) adjusted return of -6.6% during periods of stagflation. EAFE equities fared even worse during episodes of stagflation generating a return of -11.6%.

Investors are growing fearful. These negative historical returns are prompting many to seek alternative investments to offset the possible risk of a looming stagflation period. The same data reveals what assets performed well during the same stagflation periods that yielded negative returns for equities. The clear winner is gold which rewarded savvy investors with a return of 32.2%.

This return was by far the strongest of all the asset classes studied. The next best performer was the S&P GSCI investible commodity index which delivered a return of 17.5% for the same stagflation periods.

Importantly, the analysis shows that gold offers strong returns not only during stagflation but during other economic cycles as well including reflation and deflation when returns were 8.4% and 12.8% respectively.

Most investors are reaching a critical juncture as equity forecasts are dimming amid supply chain disruptions that are likely to drive up inflation for the foreseeable future. The picture that is coming into focus is not one of rebound, and recovery. Rather it is one of transition. While the COVID pandemic in the US is improving for the moment, there are certain to be reverberations felt for the years to come as the economy makes the long journey back to something resembling normal.

While the economic conditions in the US are poised for stagflation it is important to remember that knowing the when and where of such an event is impossible. For this reason, some investors may want to consider gold as a permanent part of their asset allocation strategy in the face of looming stagflation.

After all, gold has enjoyed a strong performance since 2018 and continues to act as a hedge against other threats like counter-party risk, and corporate tax changes.

The Wass Molitor $50 Gold Piece

Posted on October 7, 2021February 1, 2026 by Phoebe Wehrman — 1 Comment

Wass, Molitor & Company, a legendary California Gold Rush era private gold firm, had its origins in Hungary just ahead of the Hungarian revolution.

The firm’s founders, Count Samuel C. Wass and Agoston P. Molitor, both pursued metallurgy studies in Germany before returning home to Hungary to launch their careers in the Hungarian mining regions.

Then, revolution broke out!

In 1848, Hungarian revolutionaries seeking their independence went to war with the Austrian Empire. After the revolutionary effort was tamped down, Wass and Molitor were among those sent into exile and the pair set sail for America.

Wass arrived in San Francisco in October 1850 and began work in the gold fields. He produced and published a detailed geological report of the region in 1851, which quickly established his expertise in metallurgy and mining.

During the Gold Rush era, the population of California was growing fast and the economy was booming. Coinage was scarce and there still was no U.S. Mint branch in the West.

Californians firmly rejected any move toward paper money to fill the gap. In fact, Article IV section 34 of the 1849 California Constitution outlawed the right for any bank to “make, issue, or put in circulation, any bill, check, ticket, certificate, promissory note, or other paper, or the paper of any bank, to circulate as money.”

Yet, people in California desperately needed coinage to conduct every day transactions.

Seizing the opportunity, Wass and Molitor opened an assay office on Montgomery Street in San Francisco in October, 1851. Success soon followed as the hardworking and intelligent Hungarian immigrants created an extensive smelting operation and assay laboratory that was publicly lauded in the local newspapers for its modernity. Soon after, the pair announced they would begin coining small denominations like $5 and $10 gold pieces.

Wass and Molitor’s coinage demanded a premium in circulation and were eagerly accepted in trade.

The San Francisco Mint began operations in 1854, which halted private gold coinage. But delays were seen in the western mint’s production. In March 1855 a group of prominent merchants and bankers petitioned Wass, Molitor & Co. to resume its coining operations.

Soon after, Wass, Molitor & Co. resumed its coinage business and produced $10, $20, and round $50 gold pieces. The firm made the decision to replace the unpopular octagonal Assay Office slugs, which had sharp edges that pierced people’s pockets, with a round $50 gold piece.

The round $50 gold pieces were popular and widely circulated until the San Francisco Mint began striking federal coins in a consistent fashion. By the end of 1855, the private coin firms were no longer needed and Wass, Molitor & Co. shut down.

The 1855 $50 Wass Molitor gold piece represents a valuable piece of numismatic and Gold Rush history. Just imagine the stories these surviving coins could tell as they circulated actively during the rough and tumble boomtown Gold Rush era.

Due to their hefty gold content, many of Wass Molitor coins were melted by the San Francisco branch mint to turn into federal coinage, which makes survivors especially in high grades extremely rare. See one of these $50 gold rarities here.

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