Precious Metal & Rare Coin Market News

The NFTs and cryptocurrencies of today might signify a growing desire to move away from government-issued currency. However, as modern as these innovations may be, the independent spirit behind them has long been part of American history dating back to the California gold rush. During that era (1848–1855) private minting was legal.  There were several reasons for this. First, at the time, the western frontier of the US had very little government oversight. Few laws ... >> Read More        

Imagine you were struggling financially during the Great Depression. In that scenario, a government offer to move you to Alaska to farm a 40-acre plot of land could have sounded like a good deal. Indeed, 203 pioneer families did just that in May 1935 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal plan to help move the country out of the Great Depression through massive public works projects.  The adventuresome pioneers moved to Matanuska ... >> Read More        

For decades, the standard advice from investment professionals was to invest a portion of your portfolio in bonds – for safety and security. The general investment idea was that if the stock portion of your portfolio goes down, bonds will go up. In recent years that correlation has failed—leaving investors with big losses on both the stock and bond sides of their portfolio. Looking back In 2022, the S&P 500 fell 18.01%. That's when bonds ... >> Read More        

1892 Columbian Exposition half dollar 1915-S Panama Pacific Octagonal 1921 Missouri Centennial Half Dollar 1986 U.S. Statue of Liberty 2000 $10 Library of Congress Bi-Metallic Coin From time to time, Congress authorizes the minting of commemorative coins that celebrate and honor American people, places, historical events, and institutions. These coins are legal tender, but they are not created for general circulation. The U.S. Mint produces these commemorative coins in limited quantitites and the coin sales ... >> Read More        

During the 1848 California gold rush, many Oregon settlers headed south to join the fray, seeking their fortunes. Some found success in the California gold mines and returned home to the Oregon Territory with bags of gold dust. Yet, as in other Western territories, conducting commerce in gold dust created a lack of uniformity for simple everyday purchases. Gold dust was also easily contaminated and subject to fraud. During this time, items like beaver skins, ... >> Read More        

In past decades gold has experienced positive and statistically significant gold price changes in September and November. This finding was first popularized by economics and finance professor Dirk Baur. He called it the “Autumn Effect.” His research examined daily gold returns (spot and futures) over a 30-year period from January 1981 until December 2010. The data showed that September generated an average return of 2.2% and that November generated an average return of 1.8%. In ... >> Read More        

Many investors use gold as a way to limit portfolio losses during down markets. This approach, however, begs one question: What portion of the holdings should be gold in order to provide protection without sacrificing a return? Researchers at the Lancaster University Management School decided to find out. The researchers examined annual real returns for hypothetical portfolios consisting of equities, bonds, and gold. Their analysis was designed to allow all three investments to compete “head-to-head ... >> Read More        

Almost half of Vanguard 401(k) investors—over the age of 55 who manage their own money— hold over 70% of their portfolios in stocks. That's up from 38% in 2011. At Fidelity Investments, nearly 40% of investors between the ages of 65-69 invest about 67% of their portfolios in the stock market. Are older investors becoming too aggressive? Many experts say yes. By any measurement owning 70% or more of your portfolio in stocks for folks ... >> Read More        

In 2022, central banks purchased a staggering amount of $70 billion in gold, the most since 1950, as governments around the globe clamored to add more precious metals to their coffers. This year, the gold buying hasn't let up. The world's global central banks—led by the People's Bank of China—were back in the market to buy gold in June, adding a total of 55 tonnes of the precious metal to their vaults. Overall, in the ... >> Read More        

While official government inflation numbers have fallen from their peak, Americans still feel the economic pain from rising prices. The annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 and has come down in recent months, yet it's still sharply higher than two years ago. Inflation Impact: Americans Spend $709 More Each Month The average American household spent $709 more in July 2023 than they did two years ago to buy ... >> Read More