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US Mint Runs Out Of Buffalo Gold Coins, Will Not Restock
In what appears to be a beginning of the rerun from late April, when mints all around the world were running out of bullion and dealers had no coins in inventory, the US Mint has announced it has run out of one ounce Gold Buffalo coins: "The United States Mint has depleted its inventory of 2010
American Buffalo One Ounce Gold Bullion Coins." And even though one can't eat the gold coins, this is happening as gold is touching daily fresh record prices. Oddly enough, as Reuters reports: "The mint said it will not stock more of the 1-ounce,
24-karat American Buffalo bullion coins." Keeping in mind that the Buffalo is "among the world's purest gold
coins in terms of the fineness of the metal they contain" one wonders just how heavy the physical depletion of ultra pure gold must be for the mint to only stock "more diluted" versions of gold bullion.
From Reuters:
The U.S. Mint has run out of a type of highly pure gold coin it had been selling amid record high prices of gold.
The mint said it will not stock more of the 1-ounce, 24-karat American Buffalo bullion coins.
"The United States Mint has depleted its inventory of 2010 American Buffalo One Ounce Gold Bullion Coins," the Mint said in a statement, seen by Reuters on Monday.
Officials at the Mint could not immediately be reached for comment.
Gold prices have hit record highs over the last two weeks, breaching $1,300 an ounce, as investors bought into the precious metal on global economic health worries and possibilities of more U.S. stimulus programs that could weaken the U.S. dollar.
This year alone, gold prices have risen more than 18 percent. Fund managers and industry experts think the rally has further to run in the longer term as gold provides a hedge against inflation amid expectations that central banks worldwide could resort to more monetary easing to support their economies.
Most importantly, the US Buffalo is actually priced about 20% over spot, and was last sold for $1,560. And even this massive premium over "NAV" has not stopped the flood of retail buying. Either this, or the mint has been order to redirect all physical holdings of ultra pure gold into the vaults of LBMA dealers for physical sequestration. Our money is on the latter, now that there is a major run on physical gold both in retail demand, in ETFs and in virtually every other market. We expect to see more global gold dealers to announce inventory depletions shortly.
h/t Mark McHugh
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You can't even compare GLD to PHYS... PHYS' Gold is held in Canada.. audited, serialized bars that can be delivered (or picked up) physically, in person, if you are a big enough shareholder. PHYS holders will maintain the buying power of their investment through any imaginable scenario. GLD... not so much.
What do y'all think of CEF?
http://www.centralfund.com/
I like CEF.. blended real Silver and Gold. I may pick up some with my dry powder, since I am tired of waiting for Sprott's Silver trust to get out of SEC review....
To be honest, they are now making the 2011 versions. This is a bit a cry wolf story :)
But it does shop retaillers are buying gold.
BUT DON'T FORGET SILVER BECAUSE THAT RISES A LOT MORE!!
Good point. Not making 2011 yet...plans in place though.
Sales for the year to date were 209,000, said Tom Jurkowsky, director of public affairs for the U.S. Mint. The 2010 coins were first offered April 29. The figure is up from 200,000 of the coins sold in 2009, when they were only available for the October-December period.
Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/news/2010-09/update-us-mint-working-to-finalize-2011-buffalo-gold-coin-plans-2010-sales-suspended.aspx?storyid=38058#ixzz10voXxww9
Agree.. monster box in transit from Gainesville as we speak......
When the mommy of all deflationary crashes shows up, hmhmhm....
Then gold will go up, because gold is money, and money increases in value during deflation.
Dollars, on the other hand, will be printed into oblivion. They are already doing $20 billion dollars a week (QE1 levels), and they haven't even announced QE2 yet.
Gold is money now, but in Road Warrior gasoline was money, and the only thing cared about. We'll see what becomes 'money' in the coming collapse. I know 1 thing for sure will be, if you have a spare .38 snubnose and a few boxes of ammo you could own Bartertown.
It's not going to be Mad Max. It's just a currency collapse not a nuclear war. The only money is, has been, and will be Gold and Silver.
Going to have to disagree. I'm sure you are are aware of the EPIC amount of guns in the US. Also there is a lot of loose ammo floating around as well. I grew up knowing a lot of gun nuts (including a former boss) and was not uncommon for them to have well in excess of 10k rounds. So in a Road Warrior scenario guns are cheap (still around and you can only carry so many), and ammo is not a problem till years in (will only be killing so many people). And quite frankly most of us guys who are on this site won't see multiple years into a Road Warrior scenario. So guns and ammo have their place but I don't think it's going to see the boom up even in a collapse. In a total and complete collapse food and a water source or medicine will be more precious. And lets say I'm wrong, even if ammo is worth something are you going to want to barter bullets to Lord Humongous?
Gold makes a good shotgun slug. Though you might want to take notes of where your rounds go.
Heh, I'd bet the Comex wishes it could use this method as it main mode of 'delivery' these days.
And quite frankly most of us guys who are on this site won't see multiple years into a Road Warrior scenario.
Yep. I'm an insulin dependent diabetic. My insurance only pays for a box of five vials every two weeks. If all the infrastructure failed, I would be dead in a month.
You should read "One Second After" which deals with your problem. I suggest you start a garden, if you can get a hold of the right plants:
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-02/first-pigs-then-bacteria-n...
I've found that it's not so much what I eat as WHEN I eat it that messes up my blood sugar. I don't have to use insulin yet. Eating wheat puffs (or other whole grains) helps a lot as well.
When the mommy of all deflationary crashes shows up, hmhmhm....
isn't that a moot point about the pureness of the gold since every buillion coin must have 1 ounce of gold in it....just the total coin weight goes up if there it is more diluted? or do I not understand that correctly?
TD is citing some persistent rumors that the USA has sold/leased almost all of our 99% pure "good delivery" gold bars already to foreigners. They are still held at the NY FED's vaults, but not at Ft Knox. The NY FED is not part of the USA. Ft Knox is, but it is rumored to hold mostly "coin-melt" bars from confiscated gold coins from the 1930s.
Here is an interesting account from Chris Weber. Don't know if it's true:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/weber-c1.1.1.html
The central part of what I learned is that, by official admission, only a small percent of the gold that is left in Fort Knox is "good delivery" gold. In fact, though this is just my opinion, I wonder if there was so little such good delivery gold left by August of 1971 that Nixon had to close the gold window.
"Good delivery" gold is gold that is at least .995% pure. Pure gold is .9999 fine. However, gold is allowed to be .995 fine and still be acceptable to buyers, such as central banks and sophisticated investors. All of the gold that had left Ft Knox before the window closed 39 years ago today was "good delivery."
The shocking admission Ft Knox holds very little good delivery gold was made to Mr. Durell by the chief official of the General Accounting Office (GAO).
This happened a few months after the September 1974 tour. During that event, which lasted less than four hours, the visitors were shown only what the Treasury officials conducting the tour intended these elected (non-expert) representatives to see. Only one of the 13 compartments supposed to contain gold was actually opened to the visitors. As the cameras flashed, a few bars were weighed by the Congressmen. None of them were assayed.
But even worse than this was the fact that these eyewitnesses were shown bars that were strangely orangish in hue. This is a sign that they are far from pure gold.
This should come as little surprise, however. Remember that the gold confiscated from Americans had usually come in the form of gold coins. Pure gold coins are considered too soft and copper is usually added to strengthen them. US coins before 1933 contained about 10% copper and 90% gold. Thus, the bars made from melting them often contained the same proportion. Some of the new bars had the copper removed: these were good delivery bars that went out the gold window before 1971.
But much of what was left, as seen in the one compartment opened in Ft Knox, were quite obviously of bad quality. They were the dregs of what had been the greatest accumulation of gold that had ever been seen.
At the same time, the Treasury agreed to audit the gold. However, they only agreed to audit 20% of the gold. This was supposedly done over a 30-day period that began the day after the tour.
The results of this "audit" were released in February of 1975. Mr. Durell was less than impressed with the whole thing: it was certainly not what he had wanted when he brought up the subject with Attorney General Saxbe the previous August. He felt, with justification, that he (along with everyone else) had been bamboozled.
By February 1975 Saxbe was Ambassador to India, so Durell communicated his displeasure through his local Virginia congressman.
As a result of this, the GAO sent four men to Durell's Virginia farm to try to convince him of the validity of their accounting practices. In charge was Hyman Krieger, the GAO's Washington regional manager.
The one concrete piece of information to emerge from this meeting was a bombshell. Krieger admitted that only a small part – 24.4 million ounces – of the official gold was of a quality of .995 or better. In other words, less than 10% of the 264 million ounce held by the Treasury could be considered good delivery gold.
Good stuff, thank you for your comment.
This should be considered as well in the overall view. Some very interesting food for thought. Here is just the first paragraph:
less than 10% of the 264 million ounce held by the Treasury could be considered good delivery gold.
Let's see now: 264 - 24.4 = 239.6
You stated that old coins were 90% gold, and 10% copper.
239.6 x 90% = 215.6
215.6 + 24.4 = 240
So, the real amount of "good delivery" gold is only 240 million ounces (after all, the bars could be resmelted, and the approximately 24 million ounces of copper would cover most of the cost.)
240 million actual ounces vs. 264 reported. Oh yeah, this is a national disaster.
Unless it's 24.4+0. Or 0+0.
There hasn't been an audit, you see. For all we know, that gold has been sold or leased out.
Question:
Isn't the US Mint required to produce the 1 oz silver, so long as there is demand for it? As far as I know (and please correct me if I'm wrong) there are no other rules or requirements on them for other pieces, is that correct?
And a while ago they ran out of silver too didn't they...?
They must produce American Gold Eagles and American Silver Eagles to meet demand by law.
thank you tmosley.
I should also note that it is only the 1 oz versions of those coins that are required to be minted. They often run out of the fractionals as well, though a persistent shortage of them might indicate a problem.
Does this mean in the interest of national security they could wave the law ?
They could never use that reason or gold would instantly sky. How would they do it ? hmm
What are you talking about 'you can't eatthe gold coin'? Buffalo happens to be very lean (albeit a bit chewy).
Don't worry, there will be an ample supply of all coins after the deleveraging fire sales. Our local paper had a two-page spread of some yahoos wanting to buy scrap gold for "cold hard cash". The top is in +/-.
You really think weak hands hold any physical gold? I doubt it.
This proves the exact opposite of your premise.
If buyers expected the price to back off why would they buy?
@Rocky
Do you really think these guys keep the gold they scavenge? They sell it wholesale and make some money on the spread. Their profits are much higher when the price is high, so that is when they come out of the woodwork and run their newspaper ads. The same thing happened in the '80s, right before the bottom fell out.
I'm not opposed to owning some gold for insurance, but come on, it's not an investment.
Who said gold was an investment? Certainly not me. I am a coin dealer -- I know better.
I'm saying that these guys are not stupid. They are not going to be holding big time when the price tanks. If they even suspect the price will back off. Their buyers will dry up.
I have bought from them, silver eagles. Most are not perfect but what the hey, it's cheaper than MS-70 grades. I don't mind a little tarnish so the $1 premium over spot for eagles is a good deal.
Nope, your basic premise is wrong. For one thing, these guys - there are five of them in my small (120,000) town - and they are making money big time by offering effective rates of $800/oz and then selling it for $1200 or more. It isn't the yahoos who are buying scrap gold; it's the yahoos who are selling it.
The top will be in when you start to see ads on network TV (not CNBC or Bloomberg) selling coins. When the public finally gets involved, that's time to sell.
The cash 4 gold people need the public to SELL their gold. Aren't tops usually in when the public is BUYING?
When I see multilevel gold BUYING parties or amway selling gold to the public I'll look for a pullback.
@Common
Turn on any radio and listen for ten minutes, you'll hear a "now is a great time to buy gold!" advertisement.
As i said above, owning a bit of gold is not a bad idea, but IMO it's an insurance play, not a road to wealth. I closed my Gold Money account last week because it looks like the federal government is about to turn predatory, and I'm not keen on being a designated target for their tax games.
If I were of the mind to sell my gold at a 25% mark up, I too would advertise on the radio. These ads do not portend a top in the gold market. Will you be saying the same thing at $2,000?
You're so contrarian you are being contrarian to the contrarians.
Hardly anyone owns gold. Gold makes up less than 1% of the worlds investments in terms of dollar value. in 1980, it was what? 20%? 25%? Something like that.
You can start screaming bubble when we get to 10% of world investment and you might have a point. But not before then.
When "yahoos" bought tv time during the Superbowl asking everyone to please send us your gold. Told me all I needed to know... I did not miss the subliminal message there.
"The top is in" again? Why doesn't anybody ever seem to tell the buyers these things? Well, I suppose if one was to just keep repeating this mantra day in day out eventually it might happen in their lifetime (+/-). Then they'd be 'right', I guess...focus on the positive RW, stay optimistic!
Regards
Roger,
The clowns selling the gold are the great unwashed. In some cases, these buyers measure in uncommon units to mask the shafting their "clients" get (e.g. pennyweight). When I asked one of these folks what they were paying for gold, she quoted me a price per pennyweight. A little quick work on the blackberry and Google pointed out that a pennyweight was 1/20 troy ounce... and that these people were paying ~55% of spot to their clients.
When the current sellers to these "We buy your gold" guys are clamoring for gold, THEN the top will be in.
Further, a lot of the places that advertise on radio are selling numismatic coins - again, allowing them to rationalize a spread over spot to their "clients".
Right now, the game is to hoover out the dregs of what the rabble have rattling around in their jewelry boxes. This is not an indication of a bubble.
they don't mint buffalos in unlimited quantities.
Benny B. is looking into that one ;)
1 OZ OF THIN AIR GOLD FRESH FROM THE MINT WITH A FLICK OF A SWITCH BITCHEZ!
True. I believe their intention is to produce a limited amount and sell out each year. It is really not that news worthy that they sold out. I do not believe they sold out of the 2010 buffalo proof yet (only the uncirculated). They only do the 1 oz on the buffalo unlike the eagles which have the .10, .25 and .5. Last year there was a delay in releasing them because of a shortage on the "blanks" they use to make the coins (That was more news worthy). These are more leaning towards a collectors type coin as they are 24K and not as durable for circulation as the eagles. However, there are some other countries that do their gold coins for circulation in 24K (canadian maple leaf for one). The US gold eagle is not 24K. You do not get a premium for coins that are more pure, as one might think.
I did some research and here are the unofficial numbers sold. Like I noted, selling out earlier because they started selling earlier is not really news.
2008 39,362 proof + 35,213 uncirculated
2009 49,388 proof + 200,000 uncirculated
2010 31,896 proof (as of sept 19th, not sold old) + 209,000 uncirculated.
I suspect that one of the reasons that the Buffalo has lost its priority at the Mint is that all premiums are disappearing from the gold market for coins. Proof gold coinage can be had a near the same premium as any other coin. I've sold some of the half and quarter ounce gold commemoratives (like the Olympics series) on eBay in the last week and the premiums for proofs are not there. Most sell for the same premium over spot as the regular uncirculated coins. (Getting .9999 planchets is getting harder to do. The Mint does not make its own roll stock!) This move means that gold is becoming more and more the means to store wealth, and less of a collector/numismatic collectible.
Exactly. I went to check on prices for selling silver a while back (I do this to check spreads--tells me what kinds of silver to buy and when), and I found that they were paying top dollar for silver buffalos, which I bought in bulk for cheap cheap cheap. I was so impressed with the price they were giving, I sold three of them and took a lady friend out to a nice dinner.
I had thought that 1/2 oz coins were a good deal, but they were buying them for LESS than the 1 oz coins. Apparently, he was having trouble selling them, but he could barely keep 1 oz rounds in stock at all.
Other coin dealers are reporting dwindling fractional gold coin sales for the reason you cite. The buyers do not want to pay the premium for smaller coins. They are buying full ounce bullion gold -- or, they are moving down to silver! It's all about the spread over spot, that is all.
I kinda see this as a none issue. The Buffalo is a good looking coin but there is no less gold in an eagle, both have a troy ounce of gold in them. When they stop making Eagles, or other mints stop making Maple Leafs, or Philharmonics, or Krugerrands I'll be worried. The Buffalo is the secondary coin from the US mint, so while there may be a fire in the future I don't see this as an issue.
From a dealer's perspective:
http://news.coinupdate.com/more-indications-of-a-gold-and-silver-supply-...
Not to worry folks.
The US Mint is about to begin offering "Bernanke Buffalos" instead.
Same $50 face value as the 24Kt version, only these will be made of manganese-brass clad zinc.
and the design on the back will be the middle finger?
The buffalo will simply make a quarter turn to the right.
Numismatically nic named "Buffalo Patties" in honor of all things debased that come out of the Fed.
I was offered some ¨Bernanke Buffoons¨...do these have any value?
Who was it that was all excited about buffalo's being minted? I wonder if they got some in the 10 second buying window.
If they stopped minting gold eagles...then people can panic. But depleting their 2010 supply isn't unusual. they may be getting ready for the 2011 minting cycle.
I am seeing alot of pricing at near 10% over that spot price... that spot price is shot
I see gold is down 50 cents this morning. When will Johnny Bravo come rolling in?
DarkMath:
Come in Johny Bravo, do you read me?
Come in Johny Bravo, do you read me?
Bravo Three, Bravo Six. Send me a grid. Over.
Johnny Bravo:
I can't, sir! We're pinned down! They're in the fucking trees!
DarkMath:
Calm down, son. I'll get you a fire mission ASAP. Smoke'll be first.
Johnny Bravo:
Lieutenant's dead, radio man's dead. I don't know where the map is.
They're all around us - hundreds! I can hear 'em talking gook.
DarkMath:
OK, now spot that smoke and tell me where to shift. Calm down, son.
We'll get you out. Tell me where the rounds hit. Over.
Three Alpha Six, how about those rounds, son? Can you adjust fire? Over.
Three Alpha Six, if you can't talk, son, just key your handset twice. Over.
Shit!
So you're saying he's being murdered by Vietnamese people?
Must've tried to buy some land with dollars (they only take gold for land sales).
It's a quote from Platoon. I found it appropriate.
I never saw it. Probably need to add it to my queue.
I just like the visual of JB desperately running through a rice patty being chased by a bunch of Vietnamese for trying to pay for something with paper.
That's funny.
Had a troll who posted 24/7 mysteriously disappear off the silver boards recently as well. Makes you wonder if these clowns worked for the bullion banks.
Johnny Bravo is a college student at Colorado State. Did I get that right Johnny?
I miss making fun of him to his avatar.
Well he's gone. Get over it.
JLee, that wouldn't have been a troll named "Roger", would it?
If so, I noticed that as well.
Oh yes.
How funny! Truly, it's a small world.
Although I have not participated in that forum since earlier this year, having banned myself after the refusal of the site manager to deal with egregious trolling, I do peek in from time to time. And I also noticed the absence of "the Duneyman" since silver topped $20. For your sake, may his absence be permanent!
Buy Canadian Maples, same fineness and lower premium.
I'm not sure if sales for the Buffalo coin were very impressive. I prefer the Eagle, historically it's design was more in keeping with coins of that size and value. Buffalo looked like a over sized nickel and this turned me off as a collector and maybe others. But if your buying just for the bullion value, then Bozo on a coin is fine as long as its real Gold.
Lies, Lies, we got plenty of Buffalos at Kitco, we got plenty of gold....of course it might take two years to get it to you, but we have them
This should be called "Nadlering" or "getting Nadlered."
You sport your sock puppet for effigy very well. Keep drawing fire, keep drawing fire.
MsCreant baby, you know Jamie lent me his house in the Hamptons for the weekend and gave me full access to the wine celler, how about you and I.....well he's trying to make it up to me for not making good on his promise to smack down gold back to 600 and so making me look like an absolute fool
The Bearing is pleased to see JonNadler back in form!
Rock on at Jamie's. Steal a case of Lafite Rothschild if he doesn't give your bonus...
I read Nadler's "commentary" for fun yesterday and just shook my head in disgust. He is beyond a doosch. Same with Gartman who told me years ago that gold would "never get above $500". Another pompous, ignorant doosch.
You are one sick puppy!
After my initial exposures to his vile lies, pro-bankster propaganda and gold-hating intellectual excrement, I only read Nadler when I am particularly constipated, or when I feel the need to vomit and cannot find the bottle of ipecac.
BOOL-YAHN!
I like it!
What I find intriguing is that nobody in the UK press (where I am writing from) has reported last week's simultaneous currency devaluations or announcements thereof, apart from one lone voice in the wilderness: Ben Davies, CEO of gold hedge fund Hinde Capital. This was then picked up by an FT blogger, Izabella Kaminska, but of course news like that belongs to the front pages, of the financial press at least - but no chance.
We had a few isolated snippets: the Fed mumbling about more QE, the BoE contemplating same, Brazil mentioning 'currency wars'. All this provides a fragmented picture.
Censorship?
"Censorship?"
Nah, more likely ignorance at this stage, mate.
Meaning, the sheep don't see the big picture.
"..So what will I do with all that paper?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqcbgSpHMFs
"...is not about the money, it is about sending the message"
Joker
Funny, I find Youtube reports from Europe more open and likely to mention negative market news than here in the USA. US media is the king of spin.
I just love your buffalos.Turned one coin into a piece of jewellery
recently looks great hanging on my 18k chain.I m ready with some paper
to buy the 2011 version later this year.We the people will keep on buying
the real thing,while they will keep on running out of stock.Bring it on babe!!
Goldfever forever
http://www.gatewestcoin.com/markets.html has Royal Canadian Mint .9999 coins and bullion for sale; what do you think of their markup?
At least it has a PICTURE of something edible on it. This is a step in the right direction.
Yeah, but the Silver is all LONG gone...
MUST WATCH: The Silver Perspective
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKzNVrZ5Q_s
Thanks, SGTbull--love your videos. Good stuff.
That was very nice.
Great video.
OT, by any chance do you know why there was a flash crash overnight on Silver Wheaton? In pre-market hours it was down 14.5%.
Never ever gave a shit about markup.If I want a coin or a nice piece of
jewellery I just go buy it.
Gold and silver are looking more and more like a bubble every day. The key to a successful bubble is the dumb, bagholder types, exemplified by all the Joe Sixpacks who have been convinced to stock up on coins. These are people who could not give two shits about gold only a year or two ago. These are not savvy investors, they're the lambs being led to slaughter, and there will be a a slaughter.
Collecting coins now for over 35 years.You really don t get it do you.
When you buy gold and silver,you buy eternal wealth.Gold and silverbugs
will never ever been slaughterd.I do not chase price,a accumilate wealth!!!
++++++
On what do you base your view(s)? I see no hard data, other than "looking like" a bubble. What are you "looking at"?
As a coin dealer for over 20 years I don't see it. And I won't go into why here, AGAIN.
You might try "looking" for some information that might not fit your confirmation bias; you might be surprised at what you see.
Maybe they aren't lambs any more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gEDUDmZkyc
Gold and silver will never ever be in a bubble,you know why??
There is simply not enough metal to form a bubble.By the time
most people realize they have been fooled by the paper boyz
it will be to late for them to join the party.
Correct. And as the price goes up the ability to acquire goes down.
That is dependant on the credit card industry. If people can get their hands on enough credit cards to buy gold with it will bubble.
Let us assume for a moment that you are right, gold and silver are in a bubble. Like all bubbles it needs the masses to believe in it? Has the mass moved into gold yet? When that happens we should see a speculative mania phase. Should one see a bubble forming should they not ride it till the speculative mania phase? When people are taking out loans to speculate in GLD and SLV, when the taxi drivers are talking about their latest gold buy that is the time to start moving out.
But assuming that gold is already in that mania phase, what of treasuries? It seems that should treasuries pop gold, even if in a bubble, will rocket upward. So what is going to pop first the gold bubble or treasury bubble?
/I do not think gold is in a bubble yet. However I accept that it can be overbought and I'm waiting for treasuries to pop or a massive mania into gold before I will sell. I hope Soros is right and it is hte ultimate bubble so I can ride the mania wave.
"one wonders just how heavy the physical depletion of ultra pure gold must be for the mint to only stock "more diluted" versions of gold bullion."
I'm likely commenting on a 'no-duh, it was only a generalization', but if I remember right, dilution is not what it seems because it's indicative of a % only in this case. Most AU coins that have copper, nickel, etc are made so to make them less malleable. In weight, expect coins to weigh in excess of the 1 troy ounce mark. I believe Krugs are about 8% over 1 troy ounce.
$5
1/4 troy oz coin Diameter: 22 mm Thickness: 1.83 mm Gross weight: 0.2727 troy oz (8.483 g) Face value:$10
1/2 troy oz coin Diameter: 27 mm Thickness: 2.24 mm Gross weight: 0.5454 troy oz (16.965 g) Face value:$25
1 troy oz coin Diameter: 32.70 mm Thickness: 2.87 mm Gross weight: 1.0909 troy oz (33.930 g) Face value: $50Thanks for the specs. Did I tell you I had a pet racoon, Rocky? To this day I think back about how lucky I am it didn't decide to rip me a new one!
More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gold_Eagle
Good luck with that coon. They'll claw out your eyes just for sport.
Thanks, Alice. Norton says, "Hey!".
A mere bag of shells.
Not really all that surprising since FT Knox is empty. I have some for sale for 100% above spot if you want some.
200% above spot for my cdn maples (they are at least real gold)
You are wondering why the ETF's are crap - now you know.
Any takers on my bulleeeoooonnn beecheezzz?
I am not sure about buffalo coins, but isn't the government by law suppose to produce coins? If so how do they just decide to stop?
You are better off investing in copper pennies instead of gold at these prices. You can instantly double your value to.
Check out www.portlandmint.com for more
What the hell will you do with a ton of pre 1982 copper cents?
It is against the law now to melt pennies (cents) or nickels!
United States, U.S. Code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331 prohibits "the mutilation, diminution and falsification of United States coinage.United States
Mint Moves to Limit Exportation & Melting of Coins
http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=press_release...
NO, he is wrong, wrong, WRONG! This nation does NOT need those annoying and all-but-worthless one cent coins (and yes, they are NOT pennies! --- but Rocky knows this already), nor would I say do we need the five cent coins either. If we had kept our physical money current with the depreciation of the US dollar since 1930, the smallest coin today would be the quarter dollar, and the smallest bill would be the $20. I throw those worthless "pennies" away whenever they are handed to me in change, as the little dishes and bowls of "Leave a penny (sic), take a penny" at cash registers around the country will attest. Even in Mexico, all transactions are normally rounded to the nearest peso, and coins of less than one peso value (around nine US cents) are thrown into the street, and almost nobody bothers to pick them up. Other countries have managed to introduce new, higher-value coins while simultaneously eliminating the older, smaller value ones --- why can't Americans?
I grow increasingly convinced that US authorities have purposely NOT kept our coins and bills current with "inflation", however, to make the use of physical cash increasingly inefficient and annoying to the consumer, as just another way to push us all into the cashless, and trackable, credit card economy ---- from which the major banks rake in tens of billions of dollars per year via EVERY cashless transaction, coincidentally.
I remember living in Italy years ago, when useless fractions of lire could result in small, annoying aluminium coins, and most shopkeepers just kept a dish of hard sweets to make up the "change" in your food purchases. . .
As you well know, the reason for the ban on melting is to keep people from selling our coinage for scrap metal -- which it IS.
Since 1987 a 1c piece is 97.5% zinc core. They are only copper clad. Nickels are a better investment. They are made of a nickel/copper alloy and in 2008 the metal content was worth 6 cents plus.
I,d sell them some,but I don,t wish to receive a wad of worthless paper in return for keeping them on the gravy train.Sack the Central Bankers and save our forrests.
Yes ladies and gentlefish... it is so: the banksters already own the most gold, and have manipulated the gold/silver market for many years in order to accumulate it on the cheap.
While Elmer Fudd sold weakness... and his wife Franny Fudd (with her friends and family) marched (or mailed) in their gold and sold at discounts from 40-60% to (smarter money) the accumulation machines.
FinancialFox
Buffaloes.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode31/usc_sec_31_00005112----0...
Fractional buffs aren't even listed as money. At least not right up front.
An Eagle travels better. Made for circulatory wear and tear.
All these 'pieces' are legal tender (or equivalent) somewhere.
Maples (Canada), Phillies (Austria), Krugs (SA), Eagles/Buffs(at least the $50 buff) (USofA)
The list goes on.
Yes ladies and gentlefish... it is so: the banksters already own the most gold, and have manipulated the gold/silver market for many years in order to accumulate it on the cheap.
While Elmer Fudd sold weakness... and his wife Franny Fudd (with her friends and family) marched (or mailed) in their gold and sold at discounts from 40-60% to (smarter money) the accumulation machines.
FinancialFox
A majority of extant gold is in private hands, 52% in jewelry alone (think India). Central banks hold about 18%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reserve
For some time I've though about the feasability of introducing silver into local communities as a currency.
Tyler, have you ever looked into the 'deep storage' aspect of gold accounting?
Perhaps the 8000 tons of gold the US supposedly controls is yet to be mined gold?
GATA Says Much of U.S. Gold Reserve is Encumbered
http://www.gata.org/node/4213
Then in an August 7, 2001, letter, John P Mitchell, deputy director of the U.S. Mint, offers no explanation why 1,700 tonnes of U.S. Gold Reserves stored at West Point, N.Y., were reclassified in September 2000 from "Gold Bullion Reserve" to "Custodial Gold." In May this year all 7,700 tonnes of the U.S. gold reserves in Treasury Department depositories were reclassified as "Deep Storage Gold."
Mitchell says the U.S. Gold Reserve was "not reclassified -- it was renamed to better conform to our audited financial statements."
The Illusion of Gold Reserves - Deep Storage, Deeper Holes, Deepest of Troubles
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article661.html
Turk then documents the queerest development of all – in June of 2001 - all of U.S. sovereign gold stocks were reclassified – adopting the moniker of “ Deep Storage Gold .”
US Department of the Treasury, US Mint Overview of
Accounting Treatment of U.S. Gold
http://www.governmentattic.org/docs/US-Mint_Overview-Accounting-US-Gold.pdf
Finally, the Treasury Office of Inspector General issues an annual audit report on the
Custodial Gold and Silver Reserves held by the Mint. This audit report covers only the
Deep Storage component of the Treasury-owned gold.
Bullion and Proof Gold buffalos are minted under a "as gold is available" basis while bullion Gold Eagles are minted, by law, to meet public demand. The mint sold all of the buffalos that it had on the shelf. Keep in mind that bullion gold is not sold to the public by the US Mint. It is purchased in large quantities by a very limited number (single digit) of approved wholesalers who pass it on to the public at an additional premium. While the mint is seeing unprecedented demand for gold coinage, it continues to mint the mandated bullion Gold Eagles. Buffalos have only been put on the back burner and are most likely done for 2010. The mint will also be releasing the "not mandated by law" Gold Eagle proofs on Oct. 7, which it sells directly to the collecting public via telephone, mail and website orders. The mint's recent shortages of both gold and silver offerings are the result of a coin blank shortage not a precious metal shortage. Poor planning on the mint's part left them with coin blank suppliers that cannot meet the unprecedented demand. The mint states on its website that it is currently seeking other suppliers.
Hope they are not waiting for supplies of Gold and Silver from the Comex,might think the paper says they,ll get it but they won,t.If you believe its coin blanks you,ll believe anything.If they have the metal they will just sit on it and watch the price go up.
"Gold and silver are looking more and more like a bubble every day. The key to a successful bubble is the dumb, bagholder types, exemplified by all the Joe Sixpacks who have been convinced to stock up on coins. These are people who could not give two shits about gold only a year or two ago. These are not savvy investors, they're the lambs being led to slaughter, and there will be a a slaughter. " ~aerojet
I don't know one living sole outside of myself that is buying physical gold & silver. I have one buddy who is starting to come around and is toying with buying GLD and SLV etfs . But thats it. Not seen any joe sixpacks stocking up .
Buffalos in other years are still available at reasonable over spot. Silver and other PM still available at reasonable over spot. The higher PM go the less physical there will be available.
This is truly bad to say the least. They are having a run on gold and gold is going higher every day. I think that people and govt's are seeing the righting on the wall and are trying to deleverage their way out of this debt system if they can.