Happy New Year

This is wishing every one a Happy New Year and lets hope that Gold and Silver will cont to new highs..

Gold futures jumped as much as 1.7% on Tuesday, reclaiming the $1,400-an-ounce level, as the dollar fell against a broad range of currencies.

The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 80.29, -0.08, -0.10%) , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell as low as 79.956 earlier, from 80.34 in North American trading Monday. It lately traded around 80.396. Read about dollar.
The came under pressure earlier in the day after the Case-Shiller index tracking home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in October by more than analysts had predicted. See story on home prices.
Metals, along with other commodities priced in dollars, often trade inversely to moves in the greenback because otherwise the currency move would reduce the value of the commodities. Investors have flocked to metals, especially gold, this year, on a combination of their desirability as an alternative asset and as a hedge against the risk of future inflation.
Gold hit a record high earlier this year and is up 28% for the year.
Silver — a cheaper alternative to gold — has skyrocketed nearly 77%.
Copper also has appeal as an industrial metal that tends to benefit from global economic growth. It’s gained 29% this year.

Silver Forecast to Rise to $40/oz in 2011 and $400/oz by 2015

December 15th, 2010
	Gold Gold has fallen in dollars but is flat in sterling and euros this morning. Moody's has cut Spain's debt rating on contagion concerns which has seen the euro fall. Germany's opposition to further government financed aid is leading to tensions with the ECB, which is itself now under financial pressure and may need an increase in capital if it is to continue buying sovereign European debt. Gold is currently trading at $1,388.70/oz, €1,042.18/oz and £886.54/oz. Gold in USD – 30 Day (Tick) The risk of contagion is real and many analysts believe the crisis will escalate early in 2011. This will lead to continued safe haven demand for gold and should see gold once again perform well in 2011. The growing threat of inflation due to significant increase in commodity prices will also support gold. Cotton soared by its daily limit yesterday and copper reached new record nominal highs. Sugar prices have reached a 30 year nominal high and Portugal is experiencing a sugar shortage - the first European country to do so in 30 years. Food and energy prices are rising internationally and the much heralded "wave of inflation" warned of for months may be gradually coming to pass. Gold in USD – 1 Year (Daily) Last night, the Federal Reserve, in a policy statement, said the economic recovery was still too slow to bring down unemployment, and reaffirmed its commitment to buy $600 million in government bonds. This will not do anything to restore faith in the dollar and will likely lead to commodity and precious metals making further gains.  Silver Predictions of higher silver prices in 2011 and continuing into 2015 came overnight. Standard Bank Plc said that they see silver at over $40/oz due to new applications and increased industrial demand. James Turk of Gold Money said that he believed silver would reach over $400/oz in 2015. Turk believes that this price will be reached due to massive investment demand in silver due to a possible crash in the dollar and the emergence of inflation and potentially hyperinflation. Turk also believes that the massive concentrated short positions on the COMEX held by JP Morgan as alleged by GATA and Ted Butler will propel silver prices higher in a huge short squeeze.  Silver is currently trading $28.99/oz, €21.76/oz and £18.51/oz. Platinum Group Metals Platinum is currently trading at $1,689.75, palladium at $744.00/oz and rhodium at $2,225/oz.

Buy Gold and Silver Through a Commercial Bank and You May End Up With a Vault Full of Air by JS Kim

Recent news this week again proves that bankers are among the largest charlatans in the universe.

First Jim Rickards reported that a Swiss bank refused to deliver roughly $40 million of gold bullion to a wealthy client for 30 days and only finally physically delivered his gold when the client brought in his lawyers and threatened to take his story to Reuters and other syndicated financial news networks. Then later this week, James Turk reported that he is aware of another individual that has been trying to take physical possession of approximately $550,000 of silver for two months now from a Swiss bank with zero luck. Turk further elaborated that the bank has been trying to pressure the client into accepting the cash equivalent market value of the silver rather than deliver the physical silver to the client. In both of these cases, I presume that neither of these Swiss banks ever held allocated gold and silver for their clients or if they did, had then leased out the gold/silver or sold the same gold/silver to multiple clients, and thus were forced to stonewall their clients until they could secure the physical metal. Why else would a bank take 30 days to deliver something that was supposed to be sitting in a vault in an allocated account?

Of course, none of this is really shocking as the two above cases merely mirror the circumstances of the 2005 class-action lawsuit against Morgan Stanley in which Morgan Stanley told its clients it was selling them silver in allocated accounts and storing it in its vaults. However, when one of their clients, Selwyn Silberblatt, demanded physical delivery, Morgan Stanley failed to deliver, prompting the class-action lawsuit. Morgan Stanley eventually settled the lawsuit for $4.4 million. Time after time, bankers have been caught committing likely fraud regarding the sales of gold and silver. This likely fraud extends to more than physical sales. In the futures markets, bankers have been discovered to be selling 100 ounces of paper gold for every one ounce of physical gold that actually exists in the market. With PM ETFs, it is highly likely that multiple claims exist on whatever physical gold and silver back the GLD and SLV, if any physical gold and silver even back them at all.

In addition, it’s not just banks you have to worry about these days. The incidence of counterfeit gold coins and silver coins is on the rise along with the recent steep rise in the gold and silver price. The Financial Times recently reported that a wave of hard to detect counterfeit gold coins is now coming out of China. Say goodbye to the days of gold-plated tungsten and say hello to a more complex counterfeit gold alloy consisting of 51% gold mixed with osmium, iridium, ruthenium, copper, nickel, iron, and rhodium. Tungsten is a hard, brittle grey metal that has the same density as gold but none of gold’s characteristic softness. The new fake gold apparently not only has a density similar to the real thing but also has a near identical softness and color, qualities that suggest that metal smiths with an extensive knowledge of metallurgy are producing the new fakes. In fact, Haywood Cheung, president of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society, Hong Kong’s century-old bullion exchange, said goldsmiths and jewelers in Hong Kong had recently been duped into buying between 200 and 2,000 ounces of the new fake gold.

In conclusion, if you want to ensure that you actually possess real physical gold and real physical silver, take two steps.

(1) Never entrust a bank to hold your physical gold and silver or you may end up sitting on a vault full of nothing but air; and
(2) When you buy from an independent dealer, perform your due diligence to avoid purchasing fakes.

Price of Gold and Silver

WOW!! Did you notice the pricing of gold and silver today??

Gold is once again above the 1400 mark coming in at $1413.69 / oz
Silver is making it way up to 40 mark coming in at $29.39 /oz

Got to love this market!!

Junk Silver Coins

Junk Silver Coins for sale

Circulated 90% US silver coins, minted before 1965, are often called junk silver coins.  A "bag" ($1000 face) contains approximately 715 ounces of silver and generally tracks the spot price of silver. If silver goes up ten cents, a bag of US silver coins rises $70 or so; however, junk silver coin prices sometimes lag sharp spot price changes.

Why Buy US Silver Coins?

Although many investors buy junk silver coins as bullion investments, other investors buy junk US silver coins for "survival purposes." These buyers fear the worst for the dollar, that it will be printed until it becomes worthless. If this "worst-case scenario" were to become reality, then US silver coins would be used the purpose they were originally minted: as money.

CMIGS hopes that Americans never see the day that their once proud dollar becomes worthless. Yet, we are aware that the history of paper currencies is that they are printed until they become worthless. (Actually, today the most dollars in circulation are not printed but are "electronic" or digital dollars, created by the Federal Reserve.)

Junk Silver Coins or Bullion Bars?

Although pre-'65 silver coins would be ideal for survival purposes, when junk silver coins sell at premiums below premiums on 100-oz silver bars and 1-oz silver rounds, junk silver coins hold greater upside price potential than .999 fine silver bullion products. At times, and especially during rising precious metals markets, circulated pre-'65 US silver coins pick up premiums.

On the other hand, .999 fine bullion items (1,000-, 100-, and 10-oz bars and 1-oz rounds) can be produced at any time; consequently, there are limits as to how high premiums on .999 fine silver bullion items can go. To support the assertion that bags of US silver coins hold greater upside potential than .999 fine bullion items, a little background on junk silver coin prices and silver prices is in order.

Over the last three decades, when precious metals enjoyed bull markets, US silver coins often achieved premiums of $1.20/oz to $1.50/oz over spot, sometimes as high at $2.50/oz. That is because many investors want silver in a form that they know is silver, and pre-1965 US silver coins certainly fit the bill.

In the 1980s, following silver's spike to $50/oz, industrial silver users implemented efficiency moves that slowed industrial demand for silver. Further, the rising prices of the 1970s had spurred efforts to mine more silver and to increase the recovery of silver in the secondary market. (Today, reclaimed silver is a major source of this essential metal.)

Because of these efforts, silver went into "surplus" in the 1980s, i.e., newly refined silver exceeded industrial demand. This caused investors to avoid silver in the '80s, except for a strong market in 1987. For most of the 1980s, investors were net sellers of silver, which resulted in huge quantities of junk silver coins being refined and converted into .999 fine silver. The Y2K scare caused another huge melting of circulated 90% silver coins.
 

Y2K Buying Spurs Junk Silver Coin Buyers

Fearing that the world's computers would quit working on Januarys 1, 2000, many people began preparing for the worst. Their fears were exacerbated as respected economists issued warnings and wrote books. Newsletters were dedicated to teaching people how to prepare. One recommendation was that circulated US silver coins be stashed away so that they could be used as money when banks closed and ATMs no longer spewed $20 bills.

Consequently, in 1998 and 1999 people fearing Y2K bought junk silver coins at whatever prices, and bags picked up 50% premiums. The Y2K scare showed just how quickly US silver coins can pick up big premiums and that premiums on 90% silver coins can rise while the price of silver remains stagnant. During 1999, the price of silver was essentially unchanged.

Silver Eagles, Silver Maple Leafs as alternatives

Other popular alternatives to junk silver coins during the Y2K buying were the US Mint's Silver Eagles. Silver Maple Leafs, which are Canadian silver coins minted by the Royal Canadian Mint were popular with Y2K buyers who lived along the Canadian border. Overall, Silver Eagles were much more popular and remain more popular today than Silver Maples Leafs.

Y2K Buyers Start to Sell

On January 3, 2000, as soon it became evident that the world's computers were not going to fail, investors began selling, and they sold throughout the year and into 2001, forcing down prices on US silver coins until they sold at discounts (below the value of their silver content). Untold quantities of bags were refined into .999 fine silver bullion, and now bags of pre-1965 US silver coins are in short supply.

Before Y2K, an order for 100 bags of junk silver coins could be filled with a phone call to any one of several wholesalers. By the first half of 2002, an order for 20 bags often took two or three phone calls.

While junk US silver coins held huge premiums during the Y2K buying frenzy, many CMIGS clients-at our urging-swapped their junk silver coins for 100-oz bars or 1-oz rounds and increased their silver holdings by 35% to 45% without laying out additional cash.

After Y2K became a nonevent, the premiums on bags of  US silver coins fell to where junk silver coins became cheaper than 100-oz silver bullion bars. Still, the potential for 90% silver bags to pick up big premiums justifies the buying of bags circulated silver coins by investors who can handle the bags' weight and bulk.

Buying silver, buying silver bullion for survival purposes

Silver coins and silver bullion also discussed

Investors buy silver coins, silver bullion coins, and coin silver for one of three purposes: as an investment, as an inflation hedge, or for survival purposes. Investors who buy for investment purposes look for price increases because of silver's supply/demand fundamentals. For example, in 1998 Warren Buffett purchased 129.7 million ounces of silver for Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company that Buffet heads.

Buffett's silver purchase, which became legendary among silver investors, was probably for investment purposes. However, it may have been an inflation hedge; Buffett did not say. In fact, Buffett said very little about his silver investment, even after he disposed of it. One thing is certain, however, Buffett did not buy 129.7 million ounces of silver for survival purposes.

Buying silver bullion as an inflation hedge

Investors who want protection against inflation buy silver and gold as inflation hedges. During the 1970s, silver and gold prices skyrocketed in response to price inflation that reached 13%. During the '70s, popular silver and gold investments included any form of silver bullion, from 1-oz silver rounds and pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver coins to 100-oz silver bars and 1-oz Krugerrand gold coins. When the Federal Reserve brought inflation under control in the 1980s, much of the silver bullion and the gold coins purchased in the 1970s were sold and the proceeds put back in paper investments.

Silver coinsfor the worst-case scenario

Investors who buy silver and gold for survival purposes fear the worst. Those fears include the Federal Reserve printing so many dollars that the dollar will become worthless, which is the history of all paper currencies not redeemable in gold or silver. Fear of a financial meltdown, which would close banks as in Argentina and Paraguay in 2002, is another.

Argentineans and Paraguayans who had to foresight to bail out of the banking systems and convert their assets to gold or coin silver were protected. Not only did banks close, but also when they reopened depositors were limited in the amount of money they could withdraw. Meanwhile, the Argentinean peso and the Paraguayan guarani sank in value. Shortly after those crises, Brazil defaulted on its international debt and its paper currency, the real, sank.

Those are the kinds of situations that investors who buy coin silver and small gold coins for survival purposes want to protect against. In doing so, these investors buy silver and gold in forms that can be used for money or to barter for goods and services.

Buying silver bullion and silver coins for barter

Small gold coins for barter

The best forms of silver for survival purposes are pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver coins and 1-oz silver rounds. The most useful forms of gold would be fractional-ounce gold coins, such as the 1/10-oz Gold Eagles, the 1/10-oz Krugerrands, the 1/4-oz Gold Eagles and the1/4-oz Krugerrands. But, before going forward, it is imperative that we discuss which coins to avoid. That is because hundreds of web pages promote numismatic and collector coins, as well as foreign coins. Such coins are simply wrong for survival purposes.

If the time ever comes that silver coins and gold coins were again used as money, coins would be worth only their metal content. Numismatic (collector) premiums would disappear. Anyone using gold or silver coins to buy goods or services would not be asked, "What's the mint mark on your coin?" Nor will they be asked, "When was it minted?" The question would be, "What's the gold content?" Hand someone a St. Gaudens and tell him it contains .9675 ounce of gold, and it will be difficult--if not impossible--to convince him to accept it at more than .9675 times the price of gold.

Numismatic premiums are fleeting in normal markets. (See our Double Eagle coins page.); you may also want to read our Myths, Misunderstandings, and Outright Lies page, which exposes the tactics used by telemarketers.  Additonally, The Dangers of Buying Gold is a short warning about buying from telemarketers. Numismatic coins are bad investments for the average investor anytime; for survival purposes, they are simply wrong.

If you ever need to use your silver and gold to buy goods and services, you will want silver coins and small gold coins. Additionally, those coins should have certain characteristics to ensure they are readily accepted. First, survival coins should be stamped in English. Most Americans do not read foreign languages.

Second, the coins should have their gold or silver contents stamped on them; except for the modern bullion coins, most do not. In an emergency, having the gold content stamped on a coin could go a long way toward causing someone to accept it.

Bartering with silver coins

If your furnace goes out in January, the local heating guy may have never seen a gold coin before. If you hand him a $20 St. Gaudens, how does he know it contains a little less than an ounce? If you try to get him to take British Sovereigns, how can you prove they contain .2354 ounce each? Try convincing the guy at the auto parts store that a French 20 franc contains .1867 ounce of gold.

Third, the coins you buy for survival purposes should contain amounts with which Americans are comfortable. Americans understand one-ounce, 1/2-ounce, 1/4-ounce, and 1/10-ounce coins. Americans do not easily grasp the concept of .2354 ounce or .1867 ounce.

For survival purposes, avoid arcane foreign gold coins. (Despite more British Sovereigns having been minted than any other coin, Sovereigns are not well known in the U.S.) Simply buy the popular modern bullion coins. Krugerrands are the cheapest and best known. American Eagle gold coins are also readily recognized in the U.S., but carry higher premiums (markups over spot) than Krugerrands.

Both Krugerrands and Gold Eagle come in four sizes: one-ounce, 1/2-ounce, 1/4-ounce, and 1/10-ounce. For more information, visit our Modern Gold Bullion Coins page. (If you have been told that bullion coins are subject to confiscation and that old U.S. gold coins and/or foreign coins dated before 1933 are exempt, you really need to read Myths, Misunderstandings, and Outright Lies.)

Another plus for Krugerrands and Gold Eagles is that both are basic bullion coins and sell at small mark-ups over the value of their gold content. Generally, however, Krugerrands carry lower premiums than Gold Eagles, but both Krugerrands and Gold Eagles carry smaller premiums than foreign coins of comparable sizes. And certainly, Krugerrands and Gold Eagles are cheaper than old U.S. gold coins.

Silver bullion or gold bullion?

Finally, the question arises whether to buy silver or gold. Probably both, but if you are investing $10,000 or less, go exclusively with one-ounce silver rounds or circulated pre-1965 UD 90% silver coins. Pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver coins are commonly called junk silver coins because they have no collector value and trade for the value of their silver content. If you are investing larger amounts, say $30,000 up, you may want silver and gold.

If conditions were to deteriorate to the point that silver and gold re-emerged as the preferred forms of money, you would want lots of small silver coins. If you were buying canned food, you would need silver coins because gold coins, even 1/10-ounce ones, would have great value. If you have only silver coins and need to buy something of high value, then you simply trade a larger number of silver coins.

At current prices, an investment in silver results about fifty times the bulk and weight than if the same investment were made in gold. Therefore, large investments in silver create storage and handling challenges for some people. If storage and handling is a problem for you, then go exclusively with 1/10-oz Krugerrands or 1/10-oz Gold Eagles for the first $10,000 or so. Still, try to have some silver coins on hand.

Buy silver bullion coins or junk silver coins?

When buying for survival purposes, many investors have a tough time choosing between one-ounce silver rounds and junk silver coins. Rounds have their silver content and purity stamped on them. However, circulated pre-65 US. 90% silver coins once served as money in the US. and could do so again.

Actually, US. 90% silver coins were used for money in the US as recently as the late 1960s, and many Americans remember using them. Yet pre-65 silver coins do not have their silver content stamped on them, but if the dollar were repudiated people would quickly learn the value of pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver coins.

Another differene between 1-oz silver rounds and junk silver coins: With junk silver coins, you get many more pieces of silver. For example, a $1000 face value bag of junk silver contains right at 715 ounces of silver. Buy a bag of dimes, and you get 10,000 dimes; buy a bag of quarters, and you get 4,000 quarters. Buy 715 one-ounce silver rounds, and you get 715 pieces of silver.