1 May 12

What Makes a Morgan Dollar Desirable

The US Morgan dollar is the most popular collector’s coin in the world. When you look at the prices for most Morgan dollar specimens on the market, you may wonder why. Most of them, in fact, are very affordable; they’re priced about the same as the value of their bullion. What makes the Morgan dollar so desirable is actually a combination of the fact that the price makes it accessible to beginning collectors and the fact that it has an interesting history to it.

In the mid-1800s, a huge silver strike was discovered in Nevada, called the Comstock Lode. Congress authorized the U.S. Treasury to purchase a certain amount of this silver and mint it into coins. These coins were in circulation from the late 1800s until the early 1900s. As the value of silver per ounce overtook the value of the US dollar, people began melting these coins down. This is why some specimens of the US Morgan dollar are very hard to come by. Others, however, are very common.

Many of the people who purchase Morgans actually don’t purchase them for collector’s reasons. In some cases, they purchase them because they are priced so close to the value of their bullion that they make ideal forms of bullion for silver investment. In fact, these coins are very easy to store, very easy to authenticate and, to some extent, much more attractive than silver bullion. This makes it an interesting way to purchase silver bullion and, for that reason, these coins typically sell very well. The very common specimens of the Morgan can be purchased in rolls or other large quantities, enabling investors who are purchasing a large amount of silver to save some money, in most cases.

If you’re interested in purchasing a Morgan dollar, determine why you want it. If you want it for its historical value, you don’t have to invest in a particularly expensive specimen. In fact, some of the very affordable specimens are very interesting in terms of holding something historical in your hand. If you’re interested in purchasing something for numismatic value, you’ll find plenty of these coins that are worth a lot of money to collectors because of being rare. The better the condition they come in, the more money they will fetch. Remember, however, never clean off one of these coins if it is blackened with silver toning. Cleaning it will instantly ruin the value.

Posted in Coin Collecting, Morgan Silver Dollars
18 Feb 12

NASDAQ and Businessweek to Offer Spot Gold Speculation Options

As of February 2012, NASDAQ announced that it would enter the world of commodities trading. The firm plans to team up with IKON Global Markets, an already existing trading company. Together, the companies will offer futures contracts on gold. Investors can pay for the gold with cash, in contrast to   physical quantities of gold. The new spot gold futures will be traded under the heading “NAU”.

At the moment, investors trade gold most commonly through either forward agreements or spot gold prices available by means of London-based banks. In the US, smaller investors generally invest through ETFs (exchange-traded-funds). NASDAQ and IKON want to make spot trading, previously only available to larger firms, more accessible to smaller investors with less capital at their disposal.

Diwakar Jagannath is a chief executive at IKON. The Financial Times quotes him explaining the merge with NASDAQ as a sensible step toward providing increased transparency for small investors.

Previous to the introduction of IKON and NASDAQ’s project, investors could only speculate on spot gold prices through Liffe US and CME. These companies allowed you to trade gold futures in quantities as small as 100 ounces; NASDAQ and IKON allow trade in increments as small as 10 ounces. Another advantage to the new features NASDAQ and IKON will introduce is that you can trade gold futures in the US at any hour of the day.

Observing the way in which gold’s value has performed in the past several years, it becomes readily apparent why companies like NASDAQ and IKON would take such a strong interest. Spot gold prices have risen by a surprising 12% in the early months of 2012. During the course of 2011, spot gold prices increased by a total of 10%. Businessweek calls the current increase in gold commodity prices the strongest our country has seen dating back as far as the1920s.

The intricacies of this social phenomenon are numerous, but the basic underlying notion is as follows: Gold prices continue to rise in correlation to investor anxiety over the possibility of ever-increasing inflation. As people begin losing trust in the reliability of paper currency, they tend to look for other, more stable alternatives in which they may invest their money.

With all the commotion the failure of the Eurozone is causing, combined with a sluggish American economy, investors all over the world are losing faith that ever-more complicated and self-nullifying financial legislation will ever figure out a way to wake up from the nightmare it created for itself.

 

Posted in Gold, Gold Investing, Gold Prices
17 Feb 12

Avoid Economic Pitfalls with Gold

During these difficult economic times, perceptive financially minded citizens are careful about what they spend their money on and how they budget their savings.  With so much uncertainty in the air, we cannot be too careful about the way we approach spending and budgeting.  Some people prefer to simply reduce the amount of money that they spend, and hope that things will get better.  Others prefer to take a more proactive approach.  One way that you can generate extra income without reducing the quality of your life is to simply invest in gold.

Gold has been the changing people’s lives for thousands of years, and you too can enjoy the countless benefits that a gold investment can offer.  The price gold carries today is high and it is only going to keep going up.  Because gold is a finite resource, it will eventually run out.  As the global supply of gold depletes, and the supply runs low demand will skyrocket.  As we all know, when the demand climbs, so does the price.  By purchasing gold now, you will have an asset that will grow in value and provide income later in life.  For example, those who bought gold a decade ago are certainly enjoying the fruits of their investment today.

Gold has long been one of the most reliable and safe investments, and is the ultimate safe haven.  In fact, our monetary system is based entirely on gold.  The paper dollar used to be a voucher for a dollar’s worth of gold.  The reason that the dollar bill has become devalued so quickly is that the dollar does not have the backing of gold, and is now a flat currency.  With this unfortunate fact in mind, many citizens choose to cash in their paper dollars for tangible gold.  Buying gold is essentially trading in your faltering paper for a tangible object with legitimate worth.  Banking institutions are no longer reliable to hold our savings, so we must take action to protect ourselves financially.

We live in times of financial uncertainty, but there are ways to avoid economic pitfalls. Gold investing is the solution to this problem.  Gold is the ultimate hedge against inflation, recession and gives you peace of mind.  Now is the time to make a positive decision for yourself, for your loved ones, and for the future.  Contact a reputable dealer and start investing in gold today.

Posted in Gold, Gold American Eagle Coins, Gold Coins, Gold Investing, Gold Prices, Rare Gold Coins
16 Feb 12

Six Ways To Measure The Gold Price

A combination of fear and uncertainty tend to send the gold price sky rocketing. As the unemployment rate rises throughout the western world people are definitely feeling these emotions. So, it should come as no wonder that the price of gold is on its way upward today.

In times like those we are currently living in. The world’s largest economy is crumbling and yet gold is shining nice and strong. While people continue to say that the government is going to recover, gold is predicted to be what will protect us and what remains of our wealth. In this way you can look at gold as a type of insurance. As such, as things continue to get worse on both the political and economic front, the more we are going to need the security that gold is able to provide.

Factors Influencing Gold’s Price

There are several factors that influence the price of gold. These various factors include:

  • Inflation is on an upward swing today. This is something that people fear so the government is working hard to fix the problem. However, the only thing that remains stable throughout this is gold.
  • Competitive devaluation occurs whenever currency fluctuates. While this happens, gold is still holding its high value.
  • The law of supply and demand can cause an economic crisis. Today this can be seen in the fact that people can’t afford to purchase jewelry so they are selling what they do have. Combined with the feelings of fear and uncertainty, the price of gold is being driven upwards.
  • Seasonality. Gold tends to float through even the dullest of weather. Sometimes its price will fall in the summer but come fall it is always revived. Therefore, the best time to purchase some gold is during the summer.
  • Manipulation exists within the various schools of thought that exist around gold. Some people believe that the Fed and central banks control the gold price but if there were a suppression scheme in play, you can clearly see that it isn’t working.

In Conclusion those things that influence the price of gold are well documented. It isn’t difficult to follow these things either. In fact, the only things that are difficult to follow are people’s fear and uncertainty. So, the next time you see the price of gold fall any you should take the opportunity to buy into its insurance for yourself.

Posted in Gold, Gold Investing, Gold Prices
15 Feb 12

The Need For Silver

It might seem strange that people would want to buy silver when there are so many more valuable precious metals out there which are available for purchase.  Silver is actually one of if not the most popular of the precious metals though, certainly coming off to many as being one of the more practical choices as far as precious metals go.  While many of the other precious metals out there do have a reputation for being worth more, any investor can tell you that while the actual value is going to be important what is really going to matter much more is the popularity of something, and right now more than ever silver is seeing a huge surge in popularity in no small part due to the difficulties that have been facing the economy.

It might seem strange that the economic troubles would be a positive thing for the precious metals market, but with the value of the dollar steadily decreasing as well as the fear that banks might not always be there to provide us with currency it isn’t surprising that people are going to be turning towards an alternative means of wealth.  That isn’t to say that they need to turn all of their money into precious metals or the like, that would just be excessive, but it certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing to have some pieces of silver laying around, whether it comes in the form of silver jewelry, silver coins, silver bars, or even silver bullion.

One of the greatest things about precious metals is that they are seen as being something of a universal currency, meaning that it can essentially be sold no matter where in the world you might be trying to sell it.  Anyone who has purchased silver before the economy or even during the earlier parts is going to find that the value of their silver purchase has started to greatly increase.  The more people keep purchasing silver, then the more valuable silver is going to be, which means that the earlier you can get your hands on silver, the more money you can potentially make from it.

The fact that silver comes in so many different forms is just another advantage that it has over the other precious metals, which really tend to only get used in specialized fields, making it just a little bit harder to acquire then silver, which is just another strength that silver has going for it over the other precious metals.

Posted in Rare Silver Coins, Silver, Silver Coins, Silver Dollars, Silver Investing, Silver Prices
5 Feb 12

Choosing the Morgan Dollar

A dollar is a dollar, unless it’s a Morgan dollar. This silver coin may look ordinary, but its history and the current state of the market make Morgan dollars one of the most popular investment coins in recent memory, and you can take advantage of this situation. Silver dollars generally hold value based on their value as currency or for the percentage of solid silver they contain. The Morgan dollar is unique because of its unique history and the events surrounding their existence. Once you understand the history surrounding this coin, you will be able to perceive the true value that lies in each silver coin.

During the 1800s, the United States experienced a silver rush. There were major silver veins discovered throughout the country, and suddenly the market was completely flooded. In an effort to keep the value of this precious metal up, the United States government purchased much of the silver and ordered the minting of silver dollars. The goal was to protect the rarity of the metal by taking some of the excesses out of the market.

The Morgan dollar is named for its designer, George T. Morgan. There were so many Morgan dollars minted originally that the government did not put all the coins into circulation. For many years, bags of these beautiful silver coins sat gathering dust in bank vaults and at the U.S. treasury. Relatively few went into active circulation, which is why it is easier to find an uncirculated Morgan dollar than it is to find almost any other uncirculated coin. It is actually more difficult to find circulated Morgan dollars! This strange reversal of the norm is one of the things that many coin collectors love about the Morgan.

There are many different minting years for Morgan dollars, because the government minted the coins from 1878-1904 and then again in 1921. Many of these coins have been lost, melted down for the valuable silver they contain. In certain minting years, the Morgan dollar has all but vanished. These are the years you should focus on if you want to collect the truly valuable Morgans.

It is always a good idea to make sure that you purchase certified coins from a trusted dealer. You can find great opportunities online, but you should make sure that the dealer you choose is trustworthy. Check customer reviews for a track record of success, and consider calling the Better Business Bureau as well.

Posted in Coin Collecting, Morgan Silver Dollars, Precious Metals Investing
3 Feb 12

The Peace Silver Dollar

Peace silver dollars were coined in 1921 and replaced the Morgan Dollar. The Peace Dollar was minted to celebrate the peace that followed World War One. An Italian immigrant named Anthony de Francisci designed the coin. The coin proudly displays liberty wearing a crown with rays, while the opposite side shows an eagle with rays of the sun shooting upward from below the bird. The eagle is holding an olive wreath to designate the peace. It is a beautiful coin and is worthy of being collected.

When the coin was first struck it was minted in high relief making it difficult to stack the rare silver dollars. It also caused problems minting the coins. Many Peace Dollars were circulated before the problem was addressed. In 1922 the Peace Dollar was minted in lower relief.

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Posted in rare coins
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2 Feb 12

The Morgan Dollar Becomes Top Pick

There are few rare coins in the world that appeal to both the seasoned and savvy collector as well as the relatively new beginner to the world of rare coin collecting and investing. But one coin that has more and more become a top pick among both those experts in numismatics and those first time rare coin collectors is the Morgan Dollar. This silver coin has been gaining in popularity over the past few years for any number of very important reasons. In this way the Morgan Dollar has been rising in value as the demand for this beautiful coin has continued to grow.

 

The Morgan Dollar has a very interesting history among those silver coins minted in the United States, this history being one important reason behind the coin’s popularity. This silver dollar was produced during the years of 1878 and 1921 by the United States Mint but the coin was never put into general circulation. Rather, the Morgan Dollar was minted to allow silver miners an outlet for their valuable production during these boom years of the United Stateseconomy. For this reason, these coins never suffered the wear and tear that most coins encounter while in circulation, making the Morgan Dollar one of the most mint of all rare coins collected in theUnited States and beyond.

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Posted in rare coins
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13 Jan 12

Silver Price Set To Regain Footing In 2012

A recent report in The Wall Street Journal titled, “Gold, Silver Set to Shine in ’12,” by reporter Rhiannon Hoyle claims that while the price of silver is not at its best right now, it is expected to soar in 2012.

The reporter explains that while 2011 was a slightly volatile year for most precious metals, 2012 looks to be the year that the silver price will go back up and stay there. This is because investors will again look to metals like silver and gold as alternative places to store wealth and value, since they are more stable than stocks or bonds. Gold appears to be on the brink of reaching highs once again and many investors who favor gold may purchase silver instead because of its relatively lower price.

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Posted in Precious Metals
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12 Jan 12

A Few Facts About The Precious Metal Platinum

When the economy started to take a serious nosedive, more and more people decided to sell their other investments and assets and buy precious metals like platinum. The reason that so many people have jumped on the precious metals bandwagon is that these investments are much safer, especially in bad economic conditions. Your precious metals will retain their value while currency, real estate, and stocks will tank and leave you bankrupt. When an individual decides to start investing in this type of precious metal, they usually try to learn as much about the metal as they can.

Platinum is truly one of the rarer precious metals. It is estimated that over 500 million ounces of silver are produced yearly, along with over 80 million ounces of gold. This particular metal, on the other hand, has only 7 million ounces mined each year. In fact, this metal is even more expensive than other types of metals like gold and silver due to the fact that it is rarer. This is one of the reasons that so many investors are passing over gold and silver, so that they can take advantage of the rarity of this metal and increase their money.

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Posted in Precious Metals
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