Early in the week, Reuters reported that China said it should increase its holdings of Euros and the Japanese Yen in its foreign reserves. This report had a negative effect on the already slumping U.S. Dollar and is further evidence that our currency’s stability is in question throughout the world. The U.S. Dollar fell to a 14-month low against the Euro and the Japanese Yen this week.
Consumers are still very concerned about whether we will have an economic recovery or not. The Consumer Confidence Index dropped to lower-than-expected levels this month, surprising some economists. Reuters reported that there are growing concerns that the job market conditions will worsen in the near term. The director of The Conference Board of Consumer Research Center reaffirmed this report by saying that the short-term outlook has grown more negative. Meanwhile, a greater proportion of consumers anticipate business and labor market conditions will worsen in the months ahead.
This week, more Americans who were surveyed said that jobs were “hard to get” in October and they remain quite pessimistic about their future earnings. This may have a negative impact on holiday spending. Economists watch consumer confidence because spending on goods and services by Americans accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity by federal measures. The upshot of all of this bleak economic news is that more investors than ever before are increasingly relying upon precious metals as the “defensive asset” component in their investment portfolios.
APMEX announced its Numismatic Closeout Event this week. APMEX will no longer be selling certain types of coins, currency, collectibles and supplies. This decision has been made to accommodate the growing requests from our customers for more precious metal and bullion-related items. If you are a collector, take advantage of this great opportunity to save big money on your favorite numismatic items. At these prices, many products are not going to last long. Visit www.APMEX.com to see all of our price-reduced products.
Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,054.00. The high during the week was on Monday, October 26th, at $1,070.50, while the low for the week was on Wednesday, October 28th at $1,026.10. Gold ended the week with a small loss of $8.00 at $1,046.00. This week, 2009 1 oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 Fractional American Gold Eagle Coins, 2009 1 oz. Gold Buffalo Coins and 1 gram APMEX Gold Bars were the most popular items purchased.
Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $17.67. Silver reached a high of $17.70 on Monday, October 26th. The low for silver occurred on Thursday, October 29th at $16.12. Silver ended the week down $1.34 at $16.33. This week 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs and APMEX 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Bars were the most popular silver bullion items purchased at APMEX.com.
Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,369.00, and ended the week down $37.10 at $1,331.90. Many collectors have noted the U.S. Mint’s decision not to strike any additional Platinum Eagle coins for the remainder of this year. Popular platinum products for this week included 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs and 2009 1 oz. Platinum American Eagles.
Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $338.50, and ended the week down $16.00 at $322.50. 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars were popular with investors.
Numismatics:
As we enter November and the days become shorter and colder, the pace of business at APMEX has been heating up! In recent weeks, Cull Silver Dollars have been a big seller, especially since the spot price of silver has dropped slightly, along with the temperature.
As we enter November and the days become shorter and colder, the pace of business at APMEX has been heating up! In recent weeks, Cull Silver Dollars have been a big seller, especially since the spot price of silver has dropped slightly, along with the temperature.
An important business note is that APMEX is officially limiting the types of numismatic items that it will offer in the future. To accommodate that fact, we are having a “Numismatic Closeout Event” on many different numismatic products. APMEX will continue to buy and sell Silver Dollars, Pre-1933 U.S. Gold, 40% and 90% Silver coins, and everything else that is bullion-related. We will be closing out Type Coins, Commemoratives, Proof Sets, Currency, Books, Supplies and many other categories. There are many fantastic closeout deals available. You should act fast before the coins you want disappear!
Continuing our analysis of Silver Dollars, we would like to discuss one of the “Most Common” and yet, “Most Beautiful” of all of the Morgan Silver Dollars – the 1881-S. This is a relatively common coin, but it is RARE to ever find one below Very Fine grade! With a mintage of 12,760,000 coins struck, the "81-S" is certainly available in grades up to and including MS-67. This date is typically very well-struck with booming luster and a cartwheel effect that sometimes requires sunglasses to view it! It is generally a very attractive coin that is always sure to please the most discriminating investor or collector. This coin, along with its other San Francisco brethren – the 1879-S, 1880-S, and 1882-S are some of the earliest and most beautiful coins in the Morgan Dollar series.
