Gold Eagle Price

They say hindsight is 20/20. Is it? We passed the 10th anniversary date of the bankruptcy of the Wall Street firm of Lehman Brothers on Sept. 15, 2008. The Great Recession commenced then. Unemployment soon soared to over 10 percent. In addition to jobs lost, homes were lost to foreclosure. It was a terrible time. What do you recall? Perhaps you remember the fear. Perhaps you remember the mad scramble to buy gold and silver American Eagle bullion coins that soon followed. They were in short supply. The Mint couldn’t keep up with demand. In consequence, it struck no silver Eagle proofs in 2009 because there were not enough blanks. Consider that you now have the chance to go back to that disastrous financial day Sept. 15, 2008. What would you buy? Silver? Gold? The Dow Jones Industrial Average? I took the market closes on that day as the point from which to do some calculations. On Sept. 15, 2008: Silver closed at $11.07 an ounce. Gold closed at $780.94. The Dow Jone

By Dominc Cicio I wasn’t going to respond but decided hey, I can give an opinion. I am sure Mr. Guth has the hobby interest at heart and will be honored to have a grading scale be referred to as the “Guth scale” for the next 50 years or so. There is certainly merit in going to a 100-point scale! Everyone knows 100, 100 percent. That being said, with the hobby losing collectors every day and Mint sales declining every week, perhaps this is the shot in the arm we need? Or is it? Now, I have always suspected that there are too many Perfect MS70 and PR70 graded coins out there. Not that I could tell the difference between an MS69 to an MS70. I doubt that more than 1 percent of coin collectors could distinguish between MS69 and MS70 grades. But should we go to this new 100-point scale? How many MS70 or PR70 coins will become MS98 or 99? Or MS96 or 97? Because today they round up. So now we know for certain that it is possible and probable that coins graded as perfect coins are not perfe

Prefect weather, an enthused audience, great presentations, and related activities combined to create an outstanding James H. Laird Memorial Seminar Sept. 15 in Vallejo, Calif. With the world-famous Napa Valley as background, standing left to right are Michael S. Turrini, Debbie and William D. Hyder, Debbie and Scott Douglas, Lois and Clyde Homen, Don Hill, Xan Chamberlain, and Fred G. van den Haak. (Photos courtesy of Lloyd Chan) Hosted by the Northern California Numismatic Association and held at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, the 5th California Numismatic Seminar was renamed for Laird, who recently died and had been a primary benefactor. “We were most pleased with the attendance and the presentations. Written comments by attendees repeatedly complimented the facility and the fine programs given by our presenters,” said Lloyd. Chan, NCNA’s president. Left to right are moderator Herbert Miles, Dr. David S. Goya, William D. Hyder, Scott E. Douglas, Scott D. “Si” Griffi

(Image courtesy www.cwtsociety.com) The Civil War Token Society (CWTS) has created a scholarship to honor dealers Susan Trask and her late husband, Frank. The annual Trask Family Young Numismatists Summer Seminar Scholarship for Young Numismatists will give up to 75 percent of the cost of tuition charged by the American Numismatic Association. CWTS said the Trasks were instrumental in supporting education and outreach in the collecting of Civil War tokens. They pushed the envelope and inspired great numismatists. Applicants are required to send a written request to the scholarship committee chair by Nov. 30. The Summer Seminar occurs in late June. Winner of a scholarship must produce a self-directed project using the skills acquired from the Summer Seminar. These can be: • Publishing an article in The Civil War Token Journal • Publishing online research, commentary, or collecting notes on Civil War tokens • Giving a local presentation to a historical society or school group

(Image courtesy www.ExpertNumismatics.com) We struck pay dirt in terms of numbers of readers responding to the question of whether numismatics should change to a 100-point grading scale. “Best of Buzz” is where responses usually go. There are many appearing in the two-page section this week. However, this was not enough space. I put one well-written response in the “Viewpoint” column this week. When I say well written, in this case, it means it fit very neatly in the space allowed. Other well written responses appear in the “Letters” section. I also have more responses left than I have put into this issue, so I will devote more space to them in the Oct. 30 issue of Numismatic News . Collectors on both sides of the issue can agree that nothing should be done in haste or without extensive reflection on what adopting a 100-point grading scale could do to numismatics. Taking up the 70-point scale in the 1970s was truly revolutionary. The decision to do so was made by the American N

(Image courtesy usmint.gov) Don’t read too much into this, but silver American Eagle bullion coins have had their best September sales figure since the record-setting year of 2015. Back in 2015, the U.S. Mint sold 47 million silver Eagles. So far in 2018, it hasn’t managed 12 million. However, the September 2018 number of 2,432,500 coins is the best since 2015’s 3,804,500. Perhaps it would be better to write that September has been a bad month in more recent years. Just last year, the Mint sold only 320,000 silver Eagles in September. In 2016, the monthly tally was 1,675,000. Since 2018 has been a down year for the precious metal, it is possible this month is a turning point. Silver is at bargain prices just over $14 an ounce. It has fallen by 16 percent since it ended 2017 trading at $17.06. The Mint ran out of silver Eagle bullion coins Sept. 6. Sales resumed Sept. 17. Supplies as they are produced are being rationed. The Mint expects this situation to continue through the

Gold futures advanced Friday, paring their losses on the week, for the month and in the third quarter. Silver, meanwhile, rallied to erase both weekly and monthly losses. It still plunged for the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Who are the steady buyers of clad 2018 proof sets? This week’s sales of 7,208 is a similar number to last week. The running total for the year is 355,245. In 10 year’s time, will they complain that the price has gone down, or have they simply tuned out the secondary market and reliably add a set to their collection each and every year? The Mint needs to put a high value on steady customers. The silver 2018 proof set was up by 4,000 to 231,322. Uncirculated coin set buyers took 5,871 to bring the running total to 186,122. Buyers of proof silver Eagles this week don’t look like they distinguish between the recently available “S” compared to the “W,” which has been sold since January. The “S” is up by 2,409 to 128,010, while the “W” is up by 2,536 to 311,093. Can it be that collectors no longer care about getting the complete set?     This article was originally printed in Numismatic News . >> Subscribe today.   If you like what you’ve read here, we invite you to visit ou

(Image courtesy www.ExpertNumismatics.com) From the Sept. 21 Numismatic News E-Newsletter: Should coin collectors adopt a 100-point grading scale? Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers to Editor Dave Harper.   Absolutely Not! Our numismatic hobby/industry already has enough problems addressing the current 70-point grading scale. The sole reason a 100-point grading system would be proposed and/or implemented is simply because of the greed factor. Is it proverbially carved in stone that the seller must squeeze out every last cent from every single grade and transaction? How about leaving a few dollars on the table for the buyer to profit from so it will result in a win-win situation for both parties? Realistically, you can’t take it with you when you are gone, so why not be a bit more generous while you are still here? Sam Lukes Visalia, Calif.   Definately not. The major benefit would be to major coin dealers. Coin collectors would probably throw in the tow

(Image courtesy usmint.gov) Palladium Eagle sellout not result of favoritism Small town dealer response to: “Palladium Eagle sellout and dealer offer upsetting” (from Sept. 14, 2018, online letter to editor that I read). Don’t get mad at the U.S. Mint, as no favoritism was extended to dealers. Several large dealers offered to buy the 2018-W palladium Eagle coins from their smaller dealer and direct mail client lists. We sold ours for a quick turnover profit. Sit back and see if the prices drop and then buy on the aftermarket to save money, or wait a year or two and buy the coin if it has a proven market demand. Fred Beihl Rare Coins, Auctioneer Stewartstown, Pa.   Hobby undermined by 70 points; what will 100 do? This question has pushed my hot button. One thousand times no! The present 70-point scale has done more to undermine the coin collecting hobby than any other past decision. By making grading so difficult and complex, novice collectors are easily scared off from the

Another round of possible designs for the 2018 American Innovation $1 Coin was unveiled this month by the United States Mint. The dollar will introduce a 15-year series of coins honoring... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The finest-known 1792 half disme, graded PCGS MS68 and formerly owned by the first United States Mint Director David Rittenhouse, has been sold for a record of nearly $2 million by Brian Hendelson of Classic Coin Company. (Photo credit: Professional Coin Grading Service www.PCGS.com.) If they gave awards for the best individual coin sale of the autumn collecting season, Brian Hendelson, president of Classic Coin Company of Bridgewater, N.J., would be the first nominee. He has just accomplished a $1,985,000 private treaty sale of one of the crown jewels of American Numismatics. It is the 1792 half disme. Not only that, it is the finest-known example of it. The Professional Coin Grading Service calls it MS68. From an historical point of view, you cannot improve upon a pedigree that says the coin was once in the possession of Thomas Jefferson, who at the time the half disme was struck was serving the new federal government as the secretary of state. That position in 1792 had resp

Photo by AgnosticPreachersKid. Eight members of the Treasury Department’s Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee met at U.S. Mint headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, September 27, 2018, with two more phoning in from California and Spain. The CCAC is a congressionally mandated committee that advises the secretary of the Treasury on all U.S. coin and medal designs. On the agenda of the CCAC’s public meeting were three main tasks: to review modified design proposals for the 2020 Weir Farm quarter in the America the Beautiful program; to review designs for the 2019 American Liberty High Relief 24-karat gold coin and companion silver medal; and to review designs for the first coin in the 2018–2033 American Innovation dollar program. Hover to zoom. The Weir Farm National Historic Site coin was first reviewed in June 2018, with the committee recommending slight modifications of seven designs. The changes mainly involved the addition of the legend NATIONAL PARK FOR THE AR