Weekly Market Recap 10/02/09

Just when Wall Street wanted you to think it was okay to wade back into the stock market, some all too familiar sharks continued to muddy the water for investors.

The Fall of 2008 marked the beginning of the biggest financial down slide in the U.S. since the Great Depression. Unfortunately, not much has changed in the big picture. This week, hopes of financial healing took another hit as the Labor Department released new unemployment data showing a 26-year high at 9.8 percent. The month of September saw 263,000 jobs added to the casualty list, bringing the total to 15.1 million Americans out of work.

Older Americans are particularly being affected by job market losses according to the Social Security Administration, resulting in a 23 percent increase in retirement benefits applications.

This news leaves many asking what goals the stimulus package has achieved, as it has not yielded positive effects on consumer spending, one of the primary factors in shoring up any economy. Meanwhile, the threat of massive inflation weighs heavy on investors’ minds.

Most self-directed investors have quietly been amassing silver and gold over the past year to protect their assets. Many gold and silver investors have been predicting these events for some time and have been stockpiling precious metals throughout the year.

Investors across the nation took full advantage of APMEX’s One Million Ounces of Surplus Silver Sale during the last week of September. At the end of the month, APMEX had just over one hundred thousand ounces remaining from the sale, proving that the flight to precious metals is not over – it is just beginning as people continue to realize the true value of preserving wealth with hard assets.

Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $992.40. The high during the week was on Wednesday, September 30th at $1,009.00, while the low for the week was on Tuesday, September 29th at $984.70. Gold ended the week with a modest gain of $11.00 at $1,003.40. This week, 2009 1 oz. Gold Eagles, 2009 1 oz. Gold Maple Leafs, Gold Sovereigns and 1 oz. Gold Krugerrands were the most popular items investors purchased.

Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $16.06. Silver reached a high of $16.63 on Wednesday, September 30th and repeated the high on Thursday, October 1st. The low for silver occurred on Monday, September 28th at $15.80. Silver ended the week up $0.15 at $16.21. This week 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 1 oz. APMEX Silver Rounds, ½ oz. APMEX Silver Rounds and 2009 1 oz. Silver Philharmonics were steady movers on the APMEX website.

Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,279.70, and ended the week up $6.30 at $1,286.00. Many investors continue to be genuinely interested in platinum. Popular platinum products for this week included 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs and 1/10 oz. Platinum American Eagles.

Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $294.00, and ended the week up $6.50 at $300.50. 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 1 oz. Palladium Lewis & Clark Rounds were popular with investors.

Numismatics:
Unquestionably, the most collected coin in the world is the Morgan Silver Dollar. This coin was named after its designer, George T. Morgan, and minting began in 1878. The series culminated in 1921 after a 16-year absence, between the years of 1905 and 1920. Beginning this week, APMEX will highlight a particular date and mintmark of silver dollar and share this information with you. These reports may unlock some of the reasons why this particular series of coins has become so popular. Is it the beautiful design? Is it because each coin contains .77344 ounces of pure silver? Whatever the reason, these coins are the most popular in the world. This week we will look at the 1889-CC.

It is not lost on any coin collector or investor that coins from the Carson City (Nevada) Mint command a premium. The 1889-CC is no exception. With a total mintage of only 350,000 business strikes, this is one of the rarest coins in the series. Frankly, this is a difficult coin in virtually every grade from Almost Good to Mint State-64. It is virtually impossible to find in any grades higher than that. These coins often exhibit a less than average strike, but they are often found with a satin-like to frosty luster. Many higher-grade examples display semi-proof like fields that are designated in the industry as ‘DMPL,’ which stands for Deep Mirror Proof Like. However, as one would rightfully assume, many of these coins have been well circulated, as these coins were spent throughout the remainder of the 19th century and into the 20th century. Consequently, there are a large number of circulated examples. Though 10 obverse dies and 7 reverse dies were used to strike these coins, there are no major die varieties within the date. As more collectors and investors learn about Morgan Silver Dollars every year, these coins may likely increase in value!