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 Monday, November 12, 2007
Falling Gold from Fleeing Speculators
Posted by tom
Gold in Free-Fall
The U.S. dollar rallied this morning throwing gold into a free-fall, dropping spot below the $800 mark shortly before rebounding a bit to the $804. Silver, platinum and Palladium are all being effected; with Platinum hit the worst, falling below the $1400 ledge.
Other aggravating factors in today’s precious metals plunge include a stronger Yen and slipping crude oil. Investors seem to be fleeing any commodity with a perceived high-risk level and futures for precious metals have been hit severely. Consider this a wake-up call for more caution in this bandwagon atmosphere.
News You Can Use
11/12/2007 11:54:01 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Contest & Special Offer for New 1701-1800 Catalog
Posted by tom
Win a New 4th Edition Standard Catalog of World Coins 1701-1800
The Krause Books team and the NumisMaster team are joining forces to allow me to offer my readers a special contest. Here's the deal; take a look at the cover of our new 4th Edition SCWC 1701-1800 shown above, identify the three coins illustrated on this cover and email me your answer at tom.michael@fwpubs.com, along with your name and mailing address. Everyone who identifies these three coins correctly will have their name and address placed in a hat and on Friday November 16th at 6pm Greenwich Mean Time (12pm Central Standard Time) I will draw out one lucky winner, who will receive a free copy of the new 4th Edition SCWC 1701-1800.
To identify the three coins, I would suggest using NumisMaster, our online coin cataloging database. By registering at NumisMaster you can view all available coin data up to, but not including retail values. After signing in, just click on Price Guides and use the advanced search, or choose view/search my guides and use the advanced search. You'll find all the coin identification data you need, but retail values can only be accessed by subscribers to NumisMaster. Subscription options will appear at the bottom of the screen on individual coin listings for those who would like to take the next step to become subscribers.
For those who do not win the book, or cannot spare the time to identify the coins, our Krause Books team has extended the following Big Ideas, little world November Special offer: $5 off the cover price, plus free shipping within the continental United States. Our world-wide readers will have to pay their shipping costs, but can also take advantage of the $5 discount, plus they will recieve a free gift. That's a whole lot of brand new 18th Century coin book for only $70.00. To take advantage of this special purchase offer, just click on Big Ideas, little world to visit the online Krause bookstore or call Krause at 800-726-9966 and mention that you want the Big Ideas, little world November Special (coupon code NWT8), but act fast because when November is over, so is this special offer!
KP Update
11/12/2007 11:13:09 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, November 09, 2007
Breach
Posted by tom
Tom's Recommended Film of the Week
11/9/2007 11:30:54 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday Fix
Posted by tom
 Friday Fix
London pm fix for 11-9-07
Gold $831.50
Silver $15.15
Platinum $1434.00
Palladium $370.00
Friday Fix
11/9/2007 10:53:33 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Profit Taking Adjusts Gold to $830 Benchmark
Posted by tom
A Day to Settle
Profit taking this morning has dipped the spot price of gold and silver, while dropping Platinum nearly 2%. But all precious metals seem to have a pretty solid benchmark and are holding at awesomely high levels. Long-range forecasts are still looking for record-breaking highs before the end of this calendar year.
As a commodity, precious metals, particularly gold, has garnered much media attention lately. However, most investors know that a balanced portfolio is always best for long term stability and growth, so many personal investors are looking for good vehicles to harbor their funds outside the weakening US dollar and unstable stock market. As a result, several large firms are beginning to offer commodities based investment funds, making it easier for the average investor to gain access to various segments of the market with smaller dollar amounts and less knowledge. Commodity indexes are also beginning to pop up in the mainstream, allowing individual investors to track specific areas of personal interest such as energy, agriculture and for the numismatist in us all, precious metals.
News You Can Use
11/9/2007 10:14:07 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, November 08, 2007
New Standard Catalog 1701-1800 Just Out
Posted by tom
4th Edition SCWC 1701-1800 Back From Printer
This afternoon we recieved several advance copies of our new 18th Century Standard Catalog of World Coins. Stock should be available for purchase any day now, so stop by our KP Books web sales site and place your order, or pre-order it at Amazon.
This is our 4th edition of the SCWC 1701-1800 and the 3rd edition, produced five years ago back in 2002, has been out of print for some time now. At 1283 pages this new edition has a bit more heft that the last one and the white pages look clean and clear compared to my previous edition, which is all marked up and rough looking now. It will be nice to have a new edition to work with!
I see that the designer ran this book a little tighter by stringing the countries together, rather than starting each country on a new page, so there is less wasted space. It's also worth noting that the images seem very clear and sharp on this light white paper.
If you have any questions, let me know and once you have had a chance to scan through your own new 4th edition SCWC 1701-1800, feel free to comment to this posting.
KP Update
11/8/2007 3:26:12 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Precious Metals Explosion
Posted by tom
Gold & Silver on the Move Again This Morning
Another rip-snorting morning for Gold has pundits confident that $850 is a forgone conclusion and that $950 may be a shallow and inadequate prediction for the end of the calendar year.
This mornings buying pushed Gold up to $835 at the time of this posting, with silver climbing to $15.50. Most all factors are in support of Gold’s driving higher, this is a market with no end in immediate sight. Both Credit Suisse and UBS have raised long-range forecasts for Gold in the wake of yesterday’s precious metals market explosion.
News You Can Use
11/7/2007 10:28:05 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Silver Hits 27 Year High
Posted by tom
All Precious Metals Continue to Rise
Silver broke a 27 year high mark this morning as it ran up to $15.35 as of this posting.
Gold rose
to $823 as investors continued to look for cover amid rising oil prices, mortgage failures and the faltering US dollar.
Platinum cracked its $1450 barrier to drive up to a new benchmark at $1475 and Palladium flirted with $380 as it rose to $376 by mid morning.
Looking back
a year to November 6, 2006 we calculate the following eye opening figures for the precious metals bull market; in the past calendar year Gold is up over 31%, Platinum gained 25%, silver climbed nearly 23% and Palladium pushed up just under 15%.
But remember that most all commodities have advanced over this past year, as investors keep groping for solid ground in our quicksand economy. While Gold-Bugs will wave the flag and beat the drums of gold as the only sound inflation hedge, the observant long term investor knows that today there are many reasonable options to spread and strengthen ones portfolio.
Numismatists love to watch a driving bullion market. The integration of precious metals and our precious coins lends itself to our interest in the combined rising values. It's great for your coin collection and good to have new money entering our market, but if you get the itch to delve into precious metals as an investment, get to know the game well before you put your money on the line.
News You Can Use
11/6/2007 12:47:20 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 05, 2007
Gold Taking Off Again
Posted by tom
Gold On The Risen Again
Spot gold prices
held above $800 an ounce in Monday mornings trading. After a light backslide of just a few dollars the worlds favorite precious metal is again on the rise having cracked $810 by the time of this posting.
Some major analysts are seeing signs that an even more substantial increase may be on it's way, with supply and demand laying a new foundation for higher prices than ever before. Increasing investor demand and several factors limiting current gold supply are at the heart of this anticipated new market structure.
News You Can Use
11/5/2007 1:06:38 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Saturday, November 03, 2007
Thumbs Up For Currency
Posted by tom
The Touch of Money
Currency has really taken a beating during the course of my lifetime. Used to be that cash and checks were about all people ever paid a debt with, but now we have so many new options that cash seems our last resort. It's like those commercials where everything is running smoothly until a customer tries to pay with coins and banknotes thereby gumming up the works. For Internet transactions we pay by PayPal or credit card, for bills many Banks have electronic payment systems, for brick and mortar store shopping we pay by debit card and soon things may become even quicker and more personal.
 Fox News has reported that Shell gas stations in the Chicago area are testing out a new system, which allows customers to pay for their gas by fingerprint. Yes, that's right, just touch your finger to a panel and away you go. These are the kind of things we used to see in the James Bond movies, but now, in looking for a leg up on the competition, Shell is trying them out to provide faster service for customers whose time really is money.
Security, with built in ease of use, is another plus to the fingerprint as currency transactor. You always have your fingers with you. There's no pin number or access code to remember. No metallic strip to wear down and virtually impossible to forge, unless you are Tom Cruise and the Mission Impossible crew. It's unlikely that you would misplace your fingers, or leave it them your other coat pocket at home and with your fingers on hand; you'd never be two cents short at the Post Office.
But still, we collectors would miss the pleasure of using coins in daily transactions, checking dates in your pocket change, scanning banknotes for unusual serial numbers, watching for star notes or looking for varieties in coin designs. I hope currency sticks with us, at least through my lifetime, but I'll keep my thumb and fingers handy just in case.
News You Can Use
11/3/2007 6:27:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, November 02, 2007
Gold Hits 28 Year High
Posted by tom
Bull Market in Gold Runs On
The bull market for gold crashed through the $800 an ounce barrier to $807 at the time of this posting in the late afternoon Friday. This is the highest spot gold price has been in the last 28 years. Oil too is again rising and investor concerns over inflation and recession seem to be at the heart of this drive.
Reuters reported
that gold futures buyers stepped in to support the run when weakness was sensed. Concerns over rising energy costs looming as the North American winter approaches and the dollar loosing ground against most every world currency, seems to be fueling investor demand for gold as a safe haven from the imminent possibility of rising consumer goods prices.
Relatively conservative analysts are now predicting $850 spot gold by years end and $900 an ounce spot gold prices in 2008.
News You Can Use
11/2/2007 4:15:28 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday Fix
Posted by tom
Friday Fix
London pm fixes for 11-02-07
Gold $796.50
Silver $14.32
Platinum $1439.00
Palladium $369.00
Friday Fix
11/2/2007 12:57:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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