Gold hits highest level since 1996 (Why Gold Coins Are A HOT Item)

AFP via Yahoo! News ^ | December 31, 2003

[PJ-Comix]

LONDON (AFP) - Gold prices rose to a new near-eight year high in London as the continued weakness of the dollar, coupled with fears over terrorism, pushed the metal ever higher.

On the London Bullion Market the price of an ounce of gold stood at 417.25 at the morning fixing, up from 416.25 dollars on Tuesday.

It is the highest price since early February 1996, when gold rose to 417.70 dollars.

However that was an interim, or "spot", gold price. Wednesday's fixing -- two of which are made per day on the London market -- is the highest such price since February 7, 1990, when the price hit 423 dollars.

The main factor behind gold's recent rise has been the slump of the dollar, which has fallen to a series of recent lowest-ever levels against the euro due to concerns over the size of the US current account deficit and low American interest rates.

A weaker US unit makes dollar-traded gold more affordable to investors outside the United States.

Additionally, fears over possible terrorism attacks over the holiday period have tempted investors to put some of their money in the safe-haven option of gold.

More rises could be ahead, said analyst James Moore from specialist website TheBullionDesk.com.

"Four hundred and eighteen dollars should keep the metal capped for today (Wednesday) but a drive to 422-5 dollars could well be on the cards as full trade resumes next week," he said.

[PJ-Comix]

This is why the gold coins I've been selling lately on eBay have been selling so great. I recently sold an 1852 gold liberty coin for $137.50. And YET the woman I sold this coin for still gave me grief for charging the 25% for selling it for her. She wanted a complete rundown on why I "deserved" 25%. Instead of a long arguement I just sent her the eBay search engine results showing that the coin I sold had the HIGHEST non-AU sales price of any coin of it's type for the past month. If she had sold it herself she would have only gotten about $110 for it PLUS she would have had to pay the eBay and PayPal fees (which I pay out of my 25%) which would have resulted in her getting LESS than $100 net instead of the $103 net which I gave her. Plus I also had to do ALL THE WORK.

Sorry for the rant but folks who agree to let me sell their eBay items for them and then second guess the fee is a big pet peeve of mine.

Anyway, owning gold coins is always a good idea.

[.cnI redruM]

True. They impress your friends, even when the specie backing them is in the toilet.

[coloradan]

Is it possible that people are starting to think that greenbacks are just so much ink on a piece of paper, as if the government just printed them at will?

[William McKinley]

Buy low, sell high.

[Protagoras]

Anyway, owning gold coins is always a good idea.

Doesn't help much when the government decides to confiscate it. You better bury it in the backyard if you want to keep them away from your emergency funds.

[PJ-Comix]

There was an interesting History Channel show yesterday about gold coins. Lack of minting facilities during the gold rush meant that most miners had to pay for things with gold dust. The mormons in Salt Lake city also had their own mint back then and any of those mormon gold coins are worth quite a bit now.

What I find fascinating about gold coins is how little wear they show despite their age. The gold 1852 libery dollar I now have looks almost freshly minted despite its age. I love looking at it under the magnifying glass. In fact, I think I'll take another look right now.

[PJ-Comix]

Doesn't help much when the government decides to confiscate it.

They did back in the 1930s when ownership of gold coins was declared illegal. What percentage of gold coin owners actually turned them in? Also what did the government do with the coins that were turned in? It is painful to thing that they melted them down.

[Pikamax]

what are the reputable sites/companies to get gold coins/products? Interested in building up some assets and Gold looks to be one way.

[Protagoras]

I don't know all the stats, but I know if you kept them in a security lock box at a bank or S&L you were not allowed to open them and take their contents out without a federal agent observing you. If you had gold, they took it and gave you pieces of green paper for it.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Buy low, sell high.

Those are certainly words to remember.

Gold is not merely symbolic of wealth; gold IS wealth".

I purchased all but two of my $50 Eagles in 1996-1997; if I remember correctly, spot price for some of those Eagles was absurdly low; maybe around $264-ish. I bought a total of 10 and just sold my first one on Ebay for $433.50. (yay)

Auri Sacra Fames
-Virgil


But...I really, really REALLY wish that I'd invested in PLATINIUM (current- $812/oz) a few years ago, when spot was something like $360/oz.

Oh well.

[William McKinley]

I am more of a stocks man myself. But if I were going to invest in metals, I think I might go palladium.

[PJ-Comix]

what are the reputable sites/companies to get gold coins/products?

eBay is a good place. Look for the feedback rating of the sellers. There is no way a seller with a high eBay rating will jeopardize himself by selling you fake gold coins. What I do is to magnify the pics of the gold coins very large and post them on Vendio.Com.. The normal eBay pics are too small. When the bidders supersize my eBay coins that I posted from Vendio, they can see every little detail.

One thought I had was going down to South America and buying gold coins with U.S. dollars. For example, the 1930 Uruguay 5 peso gold coin sells on eBay for between $105 and $120. I was wondering if it would be possible to buy that same coin down in Uruguay for $90 U.S..

My overall suggestion is to NEVER buy gold coins (or anything gold) from a company that will only give you a certificate for them. You definitely want to have the actual gold coin in your hands.

[robertpaulsen]

The gold charts track the highs and lows of gold prices from the 1975 historic gold prices to year 2000 gold prices

[djf]

This whole situation is very interesting. I have heard there are contracts for gold delivery (written on paper), and the sun total of the amount of gold represented by these contracts is equal to five times the actual amount of physical gold on the planet. If people should decide that they demand delivery of the physical, the price could go... oh well, you get the picture.

[PJ-Comix]

I bought a total of 10 and just sold my first one on Ebay for $433.50. (yay)

Psst! Scan your next coins at 1200 dpi and then upload them to Vendio. Then link those Vendio images to eBay so your bidders can supersize them. It gives them a lot more confidence to view them that way than by the small eBay images. Also start your auction at an initial bid price of $9.99 with NO RESERVE. It pays to spend the extra small amount on a 10 day auction and make sure it ends on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. (I ended some auctions the evening of Christmas Day with good results). Anyway, use those tips and your next few gold coin auctions just might end up nearer to $500.

p.s. And hold off on listing any more coins until AFTER about Jan. 15.

[PJ-Comix]

I have heard there are contracts for gold delivery (written on paper), and the sun total of the amount of gold represented by these contracts is equal to five times the actual amount of physical gold on the planet. If people should decide that they demand delivery of the physical, the price could go... oh well, you get the picture.

This sounds like a formula for getting ripped off. Gold coins IN HAND are the way to go.

[FReepaholic]

>>...Buy low, sell high....<<

Which is why now might be the time to buy the dollar.

[FReepaholic]

>>...One thought I had was going down to South America and buying gold coins with U.S. dollars...<<

Any problems/restrictions on bringing gold into the US?

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

I've been watching palladium as well and have to agree with you.

I just think platinum is SO beautiful!

[Chewbacca]

Try www.usagold.com (1-800-869-5115 in Denver, CO)

Or

www.southwesterngold.com (1-800-545-6575 in Albuquerque, NM. Ask for Phil. He is the coin guy.)

[Chewbacca]

http://www.usagold.com

http://www.southwesterngold.com

[PJ-Comix]

Any problems/restrictions on bringing gold into the US?

I dunno but if I thought there were I would just fly in to Baja California then cross the border on foot at TJ just like any other drunken American tourist.

Of course, this would all depend on how much of a discount I could get for buying gold coins in S.A. with American money.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Thanks for the scanning tips.

I'm very new to ebay; meaning of course, that I am trying to learn it all as I go!

When I listed my $50, I did exactly what you just mentiond; I listed it as a NO reserve auction and started the bidding at $9.99.

I actually will consider a 10/day auction; it could be interesting to see a difference that the extra days might make...hmmm

And since I know that I can't figure it out on my own; please tell me the reason for mentioning having an auction end on Tues/Wed nights?

[arete]

Ping to the (un)usual suspects.

Exploiting the Delusions of Money

Richard W.

[Indrid Cold]

Do you just use a regular computer scanner for that, or what? I've got a pile of high-grade coins I need to sell on eBay, but I've been holding back because my digital camera can't provide enough detail.

[PJ-Comix]

And since I know that I can't figure it out on my own; please tell me the reason for mentioning having an auction end on Tues/Wed nights?

Because Tuesday/Wednesday nights are when most people are home. Actually Wednesday night is probably a little better. At the other extreme you would NEVER want to end an auction on a Saturday night because most people are out at that time. Best times for auctions to end are between about 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM EST so you can get folks home on both coasts watching. Oh, and don't have your auctions end until after January 15 since early January isn't a good time to have items selling (folks have spent their $$$ on the holidays).

And don't forget to scan at 1200 dpi and upload the pics at Vendio. It's free to register there and they show you how to link uploaded images to your auctions. It costs about 10 cents per image which is still a bargain over eBay's 15 per image price (after the first free image). You will still want to upload a couple of images to eBay so you can have an image in the eBay gallery (very important). That closeup view for the buyers makes a huge difference.

Use these tips and I predict about an extra $50 bid per coin. The extra SMALL costs of a few cents for Vendio and for the eBay gallery are well worth the minor price.

[headsonpikes]

Gold - #79 on the Periodic Table, but #1 in our hearts!

[ColdSteelTalon]

Money will always be paper but gold will always BE GOLD.

[PJ-Comix]

I've got a pile of high-grade coins I need to sell on eBay, but I've been holding back because my digital camera can't provide enough detail.

AVOID using a digital camera for coins. They just don't get the detail that a scanner can provide. Does your scanner provide 1200 dpi? Mine does and it is old. I think you should be able to do it that way. Remember, if you provide HIGH DETAILED magnification of your coins, it makes your bidders feel more confident. I hate those coin auctions taken with a camera or that don't provide supersizing (via Vendio) where you can't see any real detail. It leaves the buyers in the dark.

[PJ-Comix]

Oh, and another tip. NEVER list your coin auctions (for the same type and year of coin) simultaneously. It only causes your auctions to compete with each other and keeps the final price of each auction down.

[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

"Anyway, owning gold coins is always a good idea."

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

Sorry PJ....but nearly nothing is always a good idea.

Fwiw-

[PJ-Comix]

Sorry PJ....but nearly nothing is always a good idea.

HUH!!! Explain when owning gold coins was ever a bad idea.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

SouthWesterngold.com

Highly recommended.

I have found this place to be great to do business with; and although I've only delt w/them a few times so far, they have been quite helpful with my newfound interest in gold trading and investing.

If memory serves me correctly, when looking to sell my proof, I believe Phil is the one who pointed out additional specifics regarding the mintage of the coin before suggesting to the *other* coin guy (Charles) that he offer (me) a buy price that was $70 higher then the one that I was first quoted.

[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

"Because Tuesday/Wednesday nights are when most people are home. Actually Wednesday night is probably a little better. At the other extreme you would NEVER want to end an auction on a Saturday night because most people are out at that time"

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PJ....I sell items on Ebay...and have found that using the 10 day auctions, and starting them on Wed, or Thur. evenings....so they end on Sat, or Sun....is the best. I've sold way more stuff on the week-ends...than the week days.

Granted this is just anecdotal evidence on my part...but I'm interested in hearing how you came to your conclusion. I've wondered in the past if there was a way to track "eyeballs" on Ebay....

Fwiw-

[AdamSelene235]

Any problems/restrictions on bringing gold into the US?

Any amount over $10,000 must be declared under pain of confiscation, Comrade. Any domestic cash transaction over $3000 is reported to the Feds. The Patriot Act and Patriot II are targeting gold dealers.

[arete]

From the Barron's interview with Hugh Hendry --

"The authorities have broken their trust with us. Middle-class society preserves its wealth in paper assets and the honesty of the paper asset is that the central banks will not dilute your financial assets by printing too much money. We're having to go to extreme measures to preserve our wealth by owning gold, a barbarous relic. Greenspan is the smartest guy on the planet, but you know what? Wise guys make mistakes. That's what LTCM [the Long Term Capital Management hedge fund] was all about. In 1998, the Fed made the same mistake it did in 1927, used an overseas agenda to determine its interest rates. The Asian economies are on their backs. Russia does the unthinkable and defaults. LTCM defaults. And Greenspan, acting like James Bond, saves the world by cutting interest rates when the U.S. economy is expanding at 7½%. In doing so, he throws petrol on the flames. Nasdaq goes exponential. He unlocks a bubble in domestic stock markets and we've been paying for it ever since. He knows the consequences are a period of prolonged economic weakness and that terrifies him because he's got so much debt in the economy. Debt today is 360% of GDP. Not just in America but elsewhere. We're ill-prepared for a rise in savings. And so he's done everything to prevent a rise in savings."

Richard W.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Ahh...makes sense, thanks.

I also am beginning to understand how listing an item at 1:50am when the insomnia is really on a kick is a bad idea.

(Auction Ended Dec-29-03 01:56:10 PST...d@mn)


;*)

[PJ-Comix]

Sometimes gold coins can be found at yard/estate sales. A lot of the times the folks just want to dump the coins and aren't all that concerned about market value. I personally haven't found such gold coins yet but I've heard stories from friends.

[PJ-Comix]

PJ....I sell items on Ebay...and have found that using the 10 day auctions, and starting them on Wed, or Thur. evenings....so they end on Sat, or Sun....is the best. I've sold way more stuff on the week-ends...than the week days.

I agree with you about Sunday (I have a gold coin auction ending this Sunday night) but I just can't agree with you about Saturday. Saturday night is about the worst time to end an auction. More folks than usual are AWAY from their computers.

Yes, you can track "eyeballs" on eBay by using their free counters.

[PJ-Comix]

(Auction Ended Dec-29-03 01:56:10 PST...d@mn)

OUCH! You definitely could have had a higher final price if your auction had just ended about 7 hours earlier.

[null and void]

Explain when owning gold coins was ever a bad idea.

1933, when the feds recalled all of them from circulation...

[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

"HUH!!! Explain when owning gold coins was ever a bad idea."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

I understand from reading your posts...that you appear to have a numismatic love for the coins...You appear to appreciate the artistic value of them. I too enjoy viewing most MS65,66,67 coins.....And have owned many.

That being said.....as investment vehicles, there have many times over the last 20 years when they were extremely bad investments. And in that vein....sprung my comment.

FRegards,

[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

"I agree with you about Sunday (I have a gold coin auction ending this Sunday night) but I just can't agree with you about Saturday. Saturday night is about the worst time to end an auction. More folks than usual are AWAY from their computers."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Is that verifiable...or opinion..based on anecdotal evidence..?

"Yes, you can track "eyeballs" on eBay by using their free counters.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Yes....I use "counters". What I meant was is there a way to tell when the most people are logged on to certain catagories?

FRegards,

[fightu4it]

"This whole situation is very interesting. I have heard there are contracts for gold delivery (written on paper), and the sun total of the amount of gold represented by these contracts is equal to five times the actual amount of physical gold on the planet. If people should decide that they demand delivery of the physical, the price could go... oh well, you get the picture."

Since the United States no longer backs it's money with gold and since that same government is sitting on a hord of gold that would boggle the mind; what could keep the US from flooding the market and driving down the price any time they deem it necessary?

The next time they see fit to remove some of the wealth from the economy in order to regulate their currency they might just pick on the gold owners instead of us poor stock owners. Tech bubble my *ss!

[PJ-Comix]

1933, when the feds recalled all of them from circulation...

And you would be silly enough to turn them in? Let me ask you, if you had gold coins now and the government asked you to turn them in, would you actually comply? Plus if you wanted to "cash out" those coins I'm sure you could find a lot of Canadian buyers.

[PJ-Comix]

Yes....I use "counters". What I meant was is there a way to tell when the most people are logged on to certain catagories?

I dunno but I think there is a way to track traffic here on the FR. My instincts tell me that traffic here on the FR is WAY DOWN on Saturday night compared to other times. Maybe one of you can find out for sure. And if traffic is down on Saturday night on the FR we can assume the same situation would apply to eBay.

[arete]

Since the United States no longer backs it's money with gold and since that same government is sitting on a hord of gold that would boggle the mind; what could keep the US from flooding the market and driving down the price any time they deem it necessary?

In order for the central bankers and governments (that's central planners IMO) to get around international agreements such as Bretton Woods and other restrictions limiting gold sales, most countries including the US have entered into so call gold lease programs with buillon banks. What happens is that the government leases out its gold (supposedly to be replaced later) to a buillon bank that then sells it on the open market and reinvests in things like treasury bonds. As far as anyone knows, there is nothing buy a pile of dusts IOU's sitting in the US Treasury vaults.

Richard W.

[templar]

Is it possible that people are starting to think that greenbacks are just so much ink on a piece of paper, as if the government just printed them at will?

Unfortunately many people are starting to think that way. Wish they'd realize that greenbacks (all dollars, virtual or paper or coin in reality) represent not just worthless paper, but debt that you and I, the taxpayers, are responsible for makng good on with out incomes and property. OK, so maybe not all the "taxpayers", just those that have been responsible and successfull enough to acquire a good income, savings, investments and (identifiable) property.

[PJ-Comix]

Judging from your price and stated ending time, I tried to find your auction on eBay but couldn't find it. What section did you list your $50 gold eagle in?

[PJ-Comix]

My mistake. I just found it. That Gold Eagle looks great but it would have been even better if you had supersized it via Vendio so the bidders could be really impressed by its quality. Also I'm not so sure that listing "Over The Rainbow" as your location is such a good idea. I use humor in my auctions all the time but I think listing your location that way makes people nervous. They want to know WHERE you are. However, your auction description and layout looks really good.