Great River Journeys Silver Coin Set

For those looking for a way to travel the world from the comfort of their coin collection, the Perth Mint has released a new five coin set allowing just that. Each colorized coin of the Great River Journeys Silver Proof Coin Set features a different river from around the globe.

 

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© Silver Coins Today Staff for Silver Coins Today, 2009. |
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Post tags: Australian Silver Coins, Silver Coins, Tuvalu Silver Coins

Gold, Silver, Metal Prices: Commentary – 11/30/2009

C.A.R. & Drivers

Good Day,

The Dubai-based financial sandstorm that roiled the markets late last week showed some signs of dissipating as the new trading week got underway. While the Dubai finance minister indicated that the emirate will not guarantee anything when it comes to local banks, such banks appeared to receive verbal support from Abu Dhabi. The UAE’s stepping up to the plate to support institutions that have exposure to what was to be the ultimate amalgam of Disneyworld/Las Vegas ultimately led to a bounce in emerging market stocks and a resumption of the trend in the dollar and commodities.

As Monday’s markets got underway, the US dollar had broken back to under the 75 mark on the trade-weighted index and had slipped to the 1.50 level against the euro as well. Oil prices did not manage to recoup much of their Friday losses, but equity markets appeared promising in the wake of a 264-point gain in the Nikkei overnight, and judging by a bounce in the emerging market indices.

Gold’ scary $60 Friday range gave way to a more moderate pattern to Monday morning’s initial price action. The yellow metal appeared to manage to hold support at the $1168 trend line and while uncertainty persisted in the marketplace even as the imminent threat of Dubai default appeared to recede, traders were back at work to deal with pressing matters such as the December futures contracts’ expiration.

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© Jon Nadler, Kitco Metals Inc. for Coin News, 2009. |
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Dubai woes seen as China’s opportunity to buy gold, oil

By Lucy Hornby and Langi Chiang, Reuters

BEIJING — Dubai’s debt crisis could be China’s opportunity to snap up gold and oil assets, a senior Chinese official said in remarks published on Monday.

No Chinese banks have yet reported exposure to debt from Dubai World, a flagship firm that last week said it was seeking to delay debt payments by six months. Some Chinese real estate and construction firms have limited exposure to projects in the emirate, state television reported this weekend.

China’s $2.27 trillion in foreign exchange reserves are mostly parked in U.S. treasuries, despite calls from some in China to invest the reserves in oil and other natural resources that the fast-growing Chinese economy will need in the future.

While the impact of the Dubai crisis on the global economy and on China was not known yet, it would last a while at the very least, Ji Xiaonan, who chairs the supervisory board for big state-owned companies under the State Council’s state assets commission, told the Economic Information Daily.

“That could give China a buying opportunity to put some forex reserves into gold or oil reserves,” Ji was quoted as saying by the paper, which is widely read by Chinese officials.

Although China recently raised its national gold holdings, it did so by buying domestically produced gold to help soak up unsold output. It has not yet shown any interest in buying from international gold markets.

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Is everybody buying gold — or selling?

Gold Acquires New Investment Aura

By James Quinn, The Telegraph

When HSBC closes its vaults to hundreds of American gold bugs (investors) next July, it will be shutting the door on one of the fastest growing trends in the investment community.

Although the British-based bank has decided to stop retail investors depositing the shiny stuff at its New York vaults in favour of storing gold for higher paying institutional customers, it has not stopped the rest of the world from clamouring to join the gold rush.

From the Indian central bank, rumoured to be buying another 200 tonnes from the International Monetary Fund, to hedge fund manager John Paulson, in the process of setting up a new gold only fund, everyone is buying gold. Even Harrods is getting in on the act by selling gold bars. Changed days from the end of the last decade when the UK joined other parts of the world in ending the “gold standard.”

In spite of HSBC’s actions, one of the fastest growing areas of gold investment is ordinary investors buying actual bars of gold. Data from the World Gold Council shows that the number of retail investors buying gold in its physical form — as opposed to investing in gold futures contracts or gold miners — rose by 11 percent in the three months to September, compared to the previous three months.

In monetary terms this was equivalent to $7 billion (L4.25 billion), some $5.7 billion of which went on physical gold, in the form of bars and official coins, while the remaining $1.3bn was spent on exchange traded funds (ETFs), which invest in real gold and not futures or contracts.

Although only a recent trend in the UK, retail investors’ demand for the shimmering metal has become big business in the US, with a host of companies devoted to convincing would-be gold bugs to part with their money in return for a real piece of the action.

One reason for this is the US Mint’s sophisticated coin issuance programme, which produces a number of special coins purely for this purpose. The most popular of these is the American Eagle Gold Bullion Coin — the only bullion coin whose weight, content and purity is guaranteed by the US Treasury.

The Eagle comes in four different weights, and four different face values. And although the one-ounce coin may have a face value of $50, it is worth its weight in gold, quite literally, recently trading on the website of Goldline International, one of many internet retailers, for $1,216.94. The fact that the market for the US’s coins is among the most liquid in the world does not hurt either.

In fact, so strong has buying been that the US Mint this week suspended sales of its American Eagle one ounce coins until early December, as demand has outstripped supply. The weight of gold coins sold by the US Mint far this year has exceeded the one million ounce mark, up 40pc year-on-year, at levels not seen since 1999.

Such consumption has in part been fuelled by the recent surge in the price of gold, and the relative weakness of the dollar. Gold continues to hit new highs, touching $1,187 an ounce last week, having already risen 33 percent year-to-date in dollar terms. But in reality, after stripping out inflation, current prices are only about half gold’s earlier highs.

That said, there is evidence that the momentum is continuing, with Gluskin Sheff’s chief economist David Rosenberg pointing out that there are now “very deep pockets” underpinning demand for gold.

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Gold Volatility to Rise as Phase II of Global Credit Crisis Unfolds

Mark O’Byrne submits:

Gold
Gold touched $1,179/oz overnight but has since dropped slightly. Gold is currently trading at $1,171/oz and in euro and sterling terms, gold is trading at €778/oz and £709/oz respectively.

There are concerns that we may be on the verge of the second stage of the global financial crisis. Not to mention concerns that the continuing unprecedented fiscal and monetary policies will lead to inflation and the debasement of currencies. An already creaking financial system, attempting to clear up the toxic balance sheets of banks internationally, is now be faced with the risk posed by the increasingly toxic balance sheets of many sovereign governments.

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Max Keiser: ‘World Entering Phase Two of Global Economic Crisis’

Prieur du Plessis submits:

Fresh fears about the size of Dubai’s debt have sent shock waves through international markets, with major stocks and oil prices falling sharply. Dubai World, the country’s largest conglomerate, wants to suspend payment on its sixty billion dollar debt until next May at the earliest.

Interviewed by Russia Today, Max Keiser says the world is entering Phase Two of the global economic crisis.

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Dubai’s Crisis: Implications for Stocks and Global Markets

Key Points

The biggest near term influence on the direction of risk appetite and global markets appears likely to be the Dubai debt crisis, so we need to evaluate the importance of this past week’s credit scare.

The request to delay repayment on its loans by Nakheel (a real estate development arm of Dubai’s development fund Dubai World) confronts markets with what is potentially the largest sovereign default since the 2001/2002 when Argentina stopped payments on its government bonds. The Dubai default threat does not have the same fundamental complexities as its Argentina’s did, however, context and timing can be everything.

Given that markets are:

• Sitting atop an extended rally on questionable fundamentals and valuations
• Nervously remembering how two years ago, a supposedly containable US real estate default crisis metastasized into a near worldwide financial and economic collapse from which they are still trying to recover

A far more dramatic response from the dollar and nearly every other asset class is quite conceivable, thank you.

Market concerns include:

• There could be “contagion”-type effects that could affect the creditworthiness of related entities, particularly those that have lent to Dubai World. Most of those are either UAE-related or European banks. This isn’t a huge issue, unless it becomes a big European issue — unlikely, but remember that European banks are even more levered than US banks. It’s believed that UK’s RBS, HSBC (HBC), Barclays (BCS), Lloyds (LYG) and Stand Chartered are having large exposures in case of defaults. Who would be affected if these were undermined?

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The Benefits of Collecting Key Date U.S. Coins

by D. L. CraneWhat is a Key Date Coin? A coin that is typically the last to be placed in a collection is a key date coin, because the date or date and mint mark combination is particularly hard to find or unusual. Key date coins are coins of solid investment potential. This is the coin that most collectors want to complete their coin collection. The rarity of the coins is a low mintage, often the

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Gold ‘shining as an investment option’

Increasing numbers of investors are turning to gold, with many Britons looking to the US for ways of buying the precious metal.
According to the Telegraph, UK buyers are investing their money in US gold coins – particularly the American Eagle gold bullion coin, which is the only coin of its kind to have a weight, content and purity that is guaranteed by the country’s treasury.
The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.

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Chinese gold consumption tipped to boom

Gold consumption in China will hit record levels this year, it has been predicted.
According to the China Gold Association, demand for the precious metal may surpass 450 tonnes by the end of 2009, compared with 395.6 tonnes in 2008, deputy secretary-general Zhang Yongtao commented at a Kunming conference.
The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.

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