Precious Metal & Rare Coin Market News

The Case for Gold Diversification Remains Strong
Despite rising inflation, gold has traded in a choppy and corrective manner recently. Some gold investors may be wondering if gold still offers the same level of portfolio protection as it has in recent years. While gold is down about 6% year-to-date and silver is down about 10%, that comes on the heels of a 22% gold gain in 2020 and a 44% silver gain last year. Investors may not realize that gold has delivered ...

Why Did a CIA Partner Just Buy $50 Million in Gold Bars?
Palantir Technologies is a big data analytics company that serves some of the most powerful organizations in the world. One of the three main segments of the company, Palantir Gotham, is a counter-terrorism tool and has a client list including the CIA, NSA, West Point, and Special Operations Command. It is no surprise that the company wants to become “the default operating system across the U.S. government.” These relationships put them in an elite class ...

The Panama Pacific Commemorative Coin: The Dawn of a New Age
The year 1914 marked the dawn of a new age as the Panama Canal reached completion. Today, the engineering marvel remains a crucial artery of international trade as more than $270 billion worth of cargo passes through the canal every year. Those behind the project knew the legacy of the canal would be immense. Therefore, they set out to begin planning, and funding the Panama-Pacific International Exposition – a celebration to commemorate the project – ...

Shhhh….the Chinese Have Been Buying Gold
Gold's price retreat this month offers long-term investors an opportunity "to buy on the dip." Yet, you may be wondering what could be the trigger for the next swing higher in gold prices. Wells Fargo Investment Institute analysts addressed that very question in an August 9 research note to clients. Here's what they said: "We suspect gold will soon resume a leadership position." What could send gold prices higher again? Chinese and Indian gold buying, ...

How Investors Are Handling Covid’s Third Act Twist
The biggest surprises always come in the third act. Covid is no exception. The Delta variant continues to cause a surge of infections and deaths as 30% of those in the US still remain unvaccinated. As Dr. Anthony Fauci put it, “things are going to get worse.” As the seven-day average of new daily cases rises businesses and investors are tempering their outlook. Previously the U.S. was experiencing approximately 10,000 cases a day. By early ...

The Intriguing Numismatic Theory Behind This Coin
Americans had mixed feelings about the $3 gold piece. In the late 1880's the $3 Indian Princess Head was worth well over a day's pay. What's more – it carried an odd number. It turns out that very few people wanted to use coin which did not fit into the already accepted decimal calculations. Even though it was not heavily used in circulation – the $3 gold piece instantly captured the attention of coin collectors ...

Don’t Count on the Fed to Protect Your Wealth
The Federal Reserve met today and delivered once again – a whole bunch of nothing. The Fed did not raise interest rates from zero percent and indicated it would keep on buying $120 billion in U.S. government bonds each month. The Fed said the U.S. economy continues to strengthen and that the recent burst of inflation is transitory. Really? After the Fed meeting, gold traded $11.00 higher at $1809.70 an ounce. In fact, many economists ...

Gold and Climate Change
The issue of climate change has long been politicized and the effects will be experienced by those on both sides of the political spectrum. In response, countries like China have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2060. The U.S. has targeted a goal of attaining 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035. These dramatic measures have left some gold investors questioning how the energy intensive nature of mining will keep pace with a changing world. A ...

1989 Japanese Nikkei Stock Market Crash: Learning from History
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1.72%, marking its biggest one-day drop since October. While the market bounced back Tuesday, stock market breadth has been declining, which is a warning signal that a correction may be near. Wall Street defines a stock market "pullback" as a retreat of 5-10% and is a short-term dip. A "correction" phase is more serious and is defined as a 10-20% retreat from the recent high and can ...

Why Do Central Banks Intend to Increase Gold Reserves in the Next 12 Months?
A 2021 Central Bank Gold Reserves survey concluded that 21% of central banks plan to increase their gold reserves over the next 12 months. The question is why. The one-word answer: uncertainty. The same body of research found that 84% of the respondents cited uncertainty arising from the post-COVID recovery as a major influence over their decision to bolster their gold holdings. Interestingly, 52% of the survey participants indicated that they think global central banks ...