The Friday Metals
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It’s Friday again. Let’s take a look at the metals this week.
First, there’s gold:
Next comes silver:
Then, there’s platinum:
Palladium finishes the list:
Gold dropped slightly on Monday went back up on Tuesday and encountered another drop on Wednesday. On Thursday, gold rose to a 30-day high (but not the highest for the year – yet) with a small drop backwards for the Friday Wall Street close at 4:00.
Silver followed a similar path with a slight drop on Monday, an increase on Tuesday and another drop on Wednesday. Like gold, silver went back up on Thursday, however if you look at the close numbers for today, unlike gold, silver continued its rise.
Whereas gold has been climbing, for the most part, for the last 30 days, platinum has seen more volatile peaks and valleys. Platinum started the week lower than last Friday and continued downward for Tuesday. But, unlike gold and silver, platinum increased on Wednesday and further increased on Thursday. Today’s close numbers follow that upward trend. But, platinum has yet to grow past its 30 day peak value.
Very much like platinum’s performance, palladium started the week down from last Friday. On Tuesday, palladium began its growth at a much steeper rate of ascent. Plus, palladium achieved a new 30 day peak, though it is not the highest for the year (again, yet).
Remember, the charts end on Thursday. Let’s look at today’s close figures along with the 30 day highs and lows:
| 30 day high | 30 day low | Sep 3 Last | Difference between High and Low |
|
| Gold | $1,251.30 | $1,184.00 | $1,246.60 | 5.4% |
| Silver | $19.65 | $17.88 | $19.85 | 9.0% |
| Platinum | $1,590.00 | $1,494.00 | $1,551.00 | 6.0% |
| Palladium | $522.00 | $464.00 | $528.00 | 11.1% |
As the table shows, both silver and palladium gained new 30 day highs with their Friday performances.
Now, let’s look at the metals’ performance against the figures for last Friday:
| Aug 27 Last | Sep 3 Last | Percent Change | Dollar Change |
|
| Gold | $1,238.10 | $1,246.60 | 0.7% | $8.50 |
| Silver | $19.11 | $19.85 | 3.9% | $0.74 |
| Platinum | $1,531.00 | $1,551.00 | 1.3% | $20.00 |
| Palladium | $503.00 | $528.00 | 5.0% | $25.00 |
Every metal grew this week with palladium having the biggest growth in both percentage and absolute dollars.
As the November elections draw nearer and as the economy meets its challenges, the metals will continue their volatile entertainment.
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Coin Challenge Hints (More)
The next coin show will be September 12. We’ll have the answer to the coin challenge (as seen on our main home page: www.atlcoin.com) posted before the show.
In the meantime, here are a couple more hints.
- She was on another coin in 2007.
- The artist’s initials represent a business not an individual.
Do those help?
The initial hints can be found on our coin challenge page along with other additional hints on an earlier blog post.
Have fun! The answer will be posted in the next few days.
New US Mint Products
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Just in case you are not signed up to receive the US Mint’s monthly emails or you haven’t looked at the US Mint’s web site recently, here’s the Mint’s brief review of their latest products and upcoming releases:
Rolls of the James Buchanan $1 Coins are now available. Each roll is priced at $35.95 and contains 25 circulating quality $1 coins from either the United States Mint at Philadelphia or Denver. The obverse (heads side) features the likeness of James Buchanan, while the reverse (tails) design—common to all Presidential $1 Coins—features the iconic Statue of Liberty, the coin’s face value and the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The inscriptions 2010, E PLURIBUS UNUM and the mint of origin are incused on the coin’s edge.
Ouch…numismatists wish they would go back to a reeded or plain edge and restrict the printing to the obverse or reverse side of the coins. In the proof and uncirculated sets, at best, the edges are difficult to view in their protective covering. In rolls, the edges cannot be seen at all unless encased in clear plastic. The worst, however, happens to the coins in circulation. They lose their edge printing quickly.
Next on the US Mint’s recent releases:
The 2010 United States Mint Silver Proof Sets are now available. This year’s set features 14 coins, including the quarters, dime and half-dollar struck in 90 percent silver. The coins are sealed in protective lenses to showcase and preserve their brilliant and exceptional finish. These sets are priced at $56.95 each.
The proof sets’ value initially lies in the beauty of the mirror-like finish on the coins and the care taken by the Mint in their handling and packaging of the sets. But, have you noticed the value of silver recently? It’s rising.
In those 14 coins, five quarters ($1.25), one dime ($0.10) and one half dollar ($0.50) for a total of $1.85 include 1.34 troy ounces of silver. Silver closed today at $19.36 which makes the silver in the proof set equal to roughly $26 – not quite half the cost of the proof set, but close.
In addition to their recent releases, the Mint’s schedule for the upcoming months shows:
| 09/02/2010 | 2010 First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Coin – Buchanan’s Liberty |
| 09/02/2010 | Buchanan’s Liberty Bronze Medal 1 5/16″ |
| 09/20/2010 | 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters® Bags and Two-Roll Sets – Grand Canyon (AZ) |
| 09/23/2010 | 2010 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Set™ – James Buchanan |
| 09/30/2010 | 2010 James Buchanan $1 Coin Cover |
| 11/15/2010 | 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters® Bags and Two-Roll Sets – Mount Hood (OR) |
| 11/18/2010 | 2010 Abraham Lincoln Presidential $1 Coin Rolls |
The Mint’s busy with their products and releases. Plus, their Fiscal Year ends soon. It will be interesting to see what products they’ve increased and decreased year over year from 2009 to 2010 (Fiscal Years).
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Two Shops, Two Prices
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In Somewhere, USA, a nice and smart lady had some coins for sale. Of particular interest were a couple of early dollars.
She went first to the coin shop down the road and presented the dealer with one of the dollars. Being a savvy individual, the dealer asked her, “Is this a test?” She replied, “Yes. I want to see how you compare to the people on the radio who claim to be the highest buyers.”
The test coin happened to be an 1893 dollar for which he offered her $1700. She thanked him and turned to leave. With a smile in his voice, the dealer called out to her, “I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”
Turning back, she looked at him with an eyebrow raised in question. He said, “You are going to visit the coin shop up the road that claims to be the high buyer to see what they offer, right?”
“Yes, I am,” the lady said. To which the dealer responded, “Then if you are serious in selling your coins, I will see you back here. I am the highest buyer.”
A short time later, the lady returned to the first shop with her coins. The gentleman asked what his competition had offered her for the 1893 dollar.
With a frown on her face and anger in her voice, the lady replied, “They offered me $12. In addition to the 1893 dollar, I have a bust dollar for sale. They offered me $18 for it. They are not the high buyer!”
She wanted to know if he was interested in the coins and what he would pay for the bust dollar.
The dealer looked at the bust dollar and determined it was a fine specimen. He and the lady discussed options for the coins. They agreed upon the price for the 1893 dollar at his earlier offer of $1700.
For the bust dollar, the dealer is not sure if he can find an interested buyer quickly, and he does not want to offer her a lower amount because of the time he might have to hold the coin. Instead, he presented her a special deal on the bust dollar. He proposed to take the coin on consignment to find the highest buyer and split the profits with her on the coin. She agreed.
Time passes and the dealer finds an interested buyer for $4500.
What a difference a little research can make to the prices the nice – and smart – lady achieved for her coins. Both she and the coin dealer won in their sales relationship. She obtained higher prices, and he, with his fair offer, gained the business and enjoyed a profit on the coins as well.
Though not local, this happens to be a true story with a few details changed to protect the parties involved. With a little effort, you, too, can get the best prices for your coins.
Remember, coin shows offer more dealers in one place for comparison shopping.
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The Friday Metals
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Let’s see, this week’s news included existing home sales down 27%, new home sales down 12% and the economic growth for second quarter down to 1.6%. Earlier it was projected to be 2.4%, but at 1.6%, that’s more than a two percent drop from the first quarter’s 3.7% economy.
With the bad economic news, how did the metals fare this week? Well, they did some climbing.
First, there’s gold:
Next is silver:
Then, there’s platinum:
Last is palladium:
Interesting. For most of the metals, Monday dropped to a low point from Friday, and their values climbed from there. Palladium performed differently in that it grew on Monday to higher than its Friday values.
Both silver and palladium had the steepest growth spurts for the week.
Let’s look at the performance numbers.
First, the 30 day low and high values in comparison to the Friday close figures:
| 30 day high | 30 day low | Aug 27 Last | Difference between High and Low |
|
| Gold | $1,240.25 | $1,157.00 | $1,238.10 | 6.7% |
| Silver | $19.11 | $17.47 | $19.11 | 8.6% |
| Platinum | $1,597.00 | $1,494.00 | $1,531.00 | 6.4% |
| Palladium | $514.00 | $464.00 | $503.00 | 9.7% |
Next, let’s take a look at this Friday’s end-of-week numbers in comparison to a week ago:
| Aug 20 Last | Aug 27 Last | Percent Change | Dollar Change |
|
| Gold | $1,228.00 | $1,238.10 | 0.8% | $10.10 |
| Silver | $18.02 | $19.11 | 6.0% | $1.09 |
| Platinum | $1,508.00 | $1,531.00 | 1.5% | $23.00 |
| Palladium | $474.00 | $503.00 | 6.1% | $29.00 |
The metals continue to be interesting to follow along with the economic and political news of the day. Some pundits think the metals will continue to climb from here with a few dips along the way but with continued growth being dominant.
Yes, history does prove that tough political and economic times make the metals increase. But, circumstances are never exactly the same as history. Today’s politics and economics are more on a global scale than in past times. Plus, the internet does play a large role in business and politics as well.
Whose crystal ball is correct about the metals’ future performance? Only time will tell whose “guess” is right.
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Jackie Robinson Dollar
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Have you ever looked at the details on a Jackie Robinson dollar coin? It’s amazing what the artists of the US Mint are able to accomplish in such a small space as the face of a coin. Yes, it’s the dollar, but still it’s a small space.
For the coin commemorating Jackie Robinson, the artist shows him sliding into base. But, just look at the detail.
Look at Mr. Robinson’s clenched right hand. It’s as if that clenched fist can help him slide safely into home plate. You can clearly see the fingers curled into the palm along with the thumb. His arm muscles and tendons, strengthened from his workouts and play with the team, show on the larger view.
On the opposite side, he throws his left hand out to help balance him as he slides into base. Again, the artist shows the curled fingers, but this time, you can also see the thumbnail.
At the top of the image, the face shows Mr. Robinson’s focus and determination to score. Looking closely, you can see the seams in his cap with its curved bill along with the “B” on the front for his Brooklyn team.
On a broader scale, there’s just as much if not more detail on his uniform. “Dodger” for his team shows on the front of his shirt along with his belt threaded through its loops on his pants. Even a couple of buttons are visible on his shirt. Of course, an active player’s uniform has wrinkles associated with his movement, in this case a slide into home plate.
Following down the coin for the rest of the story, his right foot kisses home plate as his left knee and foot hide behind the dirt and dust from his slide. With his determination and focus, he succeeds in gaining another run for his team.
Looking at the whole picture, this commemorative coin honors Jackie Robinson by telling the story of his ball playing successes.
In summary, the US Mint’s artists provide wonderful insights into their subjects on small round disks. Their skill and artistry frequently astounds. No wonder people like to collect coins!
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Coin Challenge – New Hints
Have you figured out the coin challenge? The initial challenge is on our home page, or you can click on the “answers” link which includes some hints but does not have the answer yet.
For those of you still thinking about the coin, here are a couple more hints:
1) The coin is a modern commemorative
2) The coin has an ampersand (&) in the artist’s initials.
Have fun! The answer will be posted soon.
2003 Silver Proof Set Certificate
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First, do you know how to make a grown numismatist cry? Well, not really literally, but figuratively at least.
You’ve seen the metals markets’ activities over the last few weeks. For some proof sets, the price of the silver coins – dimes, quarters and halves – is higher as bullion rather than as part of a proof set. But, in order to sell the silver coins, they must be removed from the set. Heaven forbid, that means you have to touch proof coins!
For true numismatists, touching proof coins is very difficult – even though they are going to the bullion dealer as silver for melting.
The 2003 Proof Set just happens to be one of those sets that breaks to be worth more as individual coins rather than the set. In 2003, the Mint had a minor editing issue with their certificates. See if you can spot the problem in the certificate below.
First, the front of the certificate can be readily recognized:
Next, opening the certificate shows the message from the Mint and the description of the State Quarters included in the 2003 set:
Turning over the certificate shows more information about the rest of the coins in the set:
Have you spotted the issue yet? The small size of the pictures makes it difficult. Here’s a close-up:
Now, do you see the problem? For those who are new to numismatics, the next picture points out the issues:
In a silver proof set the metal composition of the dime, the quarter (either one or more) and the half will be 90% Silver and 10% Copper. Scrolling back up, the inside of the certificate shows the correct composition for the five quarters in 2003, but the certificate’s back mistakenly shows the clad composition for the dime and half.
The Mint, once they discovered the composition mistake, printed new certificates and sent them to the people to whom they had already mailed their proof sets.
Of course, numismatists with that collector gene made the error certificates a collectible as well. At one time, people paid money to obtain the error certificates. That time has passed. There may be a few collectors for the error certificates, but in general, the errors no longer command a value.
It’s interesting what you find when you go through quite a few proof sets.
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The Friday Metals
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This week, the metals show some hill climbing, some peaks and valleys, but perhaps more interesting is how the charts vary from metal to metal. In short, the metals’ charts do not follow consistent patterns.
First, there’s gold doing some climbing:
Silver is next with a short climb then a drop back:
Then, platinum goes up and down, too:
Palladium ends the list with another climb and a drop:
Generally, the platinum and palladium charts follow the same path just at different numbers. Looking at the charts above, their 30-day performance paths differ more than their usual patterns. The platinum chart includes more dramatic spikes and decreases as compared to palladium
In reviewing last Friday to this Friday, once again gold increased over the last week’s close where the other metals show slight decreases. For silver, platinum and palladium, increases occurred during the week with peaks on Tuesday for silver and platinum and Wednesday for palladium, but they dropped back below their last week’s numbers at the end of the week.
Gold, on the other hand, chose to climb during the week with only a slight drop at Friday’s close from Thursday’s performance.
The 30 day high and lows were:
| 30 day high | 30 day low | Aug 20 Last | Difference between High and Low |
|
| Gold | $1,233.50 | $1,157.00 | $1,228.00 | 6.2% |
| Silver | $18.54 | $17.47 | $18.02 | 5.8% |
| Platinum | $1,597.00 | $1,502.00 | $1,508.00 | 5.9% |
| Palladium | $514.00 | $438.00 | $474.00 | 14.8% |
Plus, here are the Friday close number comparisons:
| Aug 13 Last | Aug 20 Last | Percent Change | Dollar Change |
|
| Gold | $1,215.40 | $1,228.00 | 1.0% | $12.60 |
| Silver | $18.14 | $18.02 | -0.7% | -$0.12 |
| Platinum | $1,521.00 | $1,508.00 | -0.9% | -$13.00 |
| Palladium | $476.00 | $474.00 | -0.4% | -$2.00 |
Gold continues to be volatile and interesting from week to week. As such, TheStreet.com offers advice about gold in their article: Buying Gold: Avoid These Three Mistakes. They claim, “The gold market is ripe with peer-pressure buying. When gold makes a big double-digit move up or down, panicked retail investors can be tempted to either jump into the market for fear of missing the rally or to sell their positions because they don’t want to be stuck owning ‘cheap’ gold.” In summary, they state, “The three money-losing mistakes many investors make are overpaying for bullion, picking bad stocks, and buying ETFs for the wrong reasons.” Further, they provide advice on how to avoid the main mistakes.
Enjoy the entertainment of following the metals’ individual performances. If you want to invest in any of the metals, perform your due diligence research to make the best choice for your situation.
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Coin Show – BRNA This Week
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For those interested, the Blue Ridge Numismatic Association’s coin show information is:
51st BRNA ANNUAL CONVENTION INFORMATION
The Blue Ridge Numismatic Association (BRNA) invites you to participate in its 51st Annual Convention.
Friday August 20 8 AM to dealers with tables General Public: 10 AM to 6 PM
Saturday August 21 8 AM to dealers with tables General Public: 10 AM to 6 PM
Sunday August 22 9 AM to dealers with tables General Public: 10 AM to 3 PM
Security: 24 hour Armed Security from Wednesday Noon thru Sunday 4 PM
The show is held in the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center in Dalton Georgia. The convention center is just off I-75 at exit 333. From the center’s web site:
The Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center is easily accessible from either Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) or Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The facility is 1/4 mile from Interstate 75 at exit 333 in historic Dalton, GA.
After exiting I-75 at Exit 333, turn West onto Walnut Avenue. Continue 1/4 mile up the hill and turn left into the convention center parking lot.
The show hosts roughly 200 tables with a wide variety of collectible and investment numismatics on display for buying, selling and trading.
To use a cliche, remember, “the early bird gets the worm.” The dealers will buy and sell throughout the three-day show. However, what they sell will be gone, and what they buy may not be on display. Arrive early to find the widest variety of numismatics to match your interests.
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