Market Recap 11/27/09

In this shortened trading week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, the United States Mint announced that sales of the 2009 Gold and Silver American Eagle One Ounce coins have been temporarily suspended because of the unprecedented demand for bullion. The U.S. Mint plans to resume production and sales of the Gold and Silver American Eagle coin programs once sufficient inventories can be acquired.

The U.S. Dollar came under more pressure this week as the central bank for the tiny island of Mauritius became the third such bank to buy Gold in the past month. Mauritius bought 2 metric tons, worth $71.7 million dollars, from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This purchase followed in the footsteps of the central banks of India and Sri Lanka. Additionally India’s central bank said it is open to buying more Gold from the IMF. Speculation that even more central banks could buy Gold has helped fuel Gold’s recent surge to almost $1,200.00 per ounce.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that nearly one in four U.S. borrowers owes more on their mortgage than their home is worth. The newspaper said almost 10.7 million households, or 23% of all mortgage holders, were "under water" in the third quarter. Another 5.3 million homeowners have mortgages that are 20% higher than the value of their homes, as prices have dropped significantly since the start of the recession. This is a bothersome sign that the housing market could be threatened by a new wave of defaults in the near future.

On Friday, Dubai World, the Emirate’s investment vehicle, was looking to suspend repayments on all or part of its $59 Billion debt to various world banks. This news lowered prices in both the precious metals and stock markets the day after the Thanksgiving Holiday, as investors looked to put their cash into safer havens. Historically, the stock market does not slump the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, between 1999 and 2008, the market has seen just two down days on the day after Thanksgiving. This news coupled with continued lower consumer sentiment and a 25-year high in the unemployment rate seemed to discourage talks of economic recovery.

APMEX hopes you had a Happy Thanksgiving and reminds you to keep an eye out for our 2nd Annual “12 Days of Christmas” sales event that begins on Monday, November 30th. You do not want to miss this great opportunity to save money on your favorite bullion and numismatic items this holiday season.

Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,152.00. The high during the week was on Wednesday, November 25th, at $1,192.80, while the low for the week was on Monday, November 23rd, at $1,151.60. Gold ended the week with a gain of $26.80 at $1,178.80. This week, 2009 1/10 oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 1 oz. BU Gold American Eagles and 1 oz. .9999+ Fine Pamp Suisse Gold Bars were in great demand as Gold reached new all-time highs during the week!

Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $18.52. Silver reached a high of $18.93, on Monday, November 23rd. The low for Silver occurred on Friday, November 26th, at $17.90. Silver ended the week down $0.12 at $18.40. This week, 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, Sunshine Mint 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Rounds and 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Buffalo Rounds remained very popular with Silver investors.

Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,445.60 and ended the week up $1.40, at $1,447.00. 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 1 oz. Credit Suisse Platinum Bars, 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars and 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs were the most popular Platinum products at APMEX.com this week.

Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $365.50 and ended the week down $0.90 to $364.60. Popular Palladium products this week included 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars.

Numismatics:
This Thanksgiving, precious metal investors certainly have a lot to be thankful for in the market. The spot price of Gold has not only surpassed the old record of $1,033.00 per ounce, it has utterly shattered it. On Wednesday, Gold reached yet another all-time high, surpassing the $1,190.00 mark as investors continue to buy the metal in hopes of hedging their portfolios against a weak U.S. Dollar. As we have said in weeks past, there have been a number of conservative analysts predicting that Gold will go up to $1,200.00, while the more aggressive analysts are predicting a $1,500.00 plateau or beyond. APMEX has seen a tremendous influx of traffic on our website due to this flurry of activity in the metals market. Even beyond bullion items, Pre-1933 U.S. Gold has been very much in demand by both the collector and investor.

We are also thankful for the movement in the spot price of Silver. As it was announced earlier this week, the U.S. Mint has sold out of its supply of 2009 Silver American Eagles. However, APMEX has a very limited supply left of those desirable items, and they will likely sell very quickly. APMEX also has a wide variety of numismatic items from which to choose. Cull Silver Dollars and Morgan Silver Dollars that grade Very Good to Very Fine are also selling very well.

Morgan Silver Dollars are one of the most popular coins of all time and for this, we will give thanks to this series by highlighting the first coin in this series: the 1878 8 Tailfeathers variety. The Mint would go on to create a 7/8 Tailfeather variety later, in error, as they were transitioning to the final die state of 7 Tailfeathers. that was used later in production. These error coins occurred when the master die was not engraved properly, allowing for parts of the 8 Tailfeathers to be visible.

Although this is a popular variety, it is relatively common and premiums are usually only applicable if the tips of all of the 8 Tailfeathers can be boldly seen. As a whole, most 8 Tailfeather coins are extremely well struck with above average luster. Though there is no known mintage, estimates are that nearly 750,000 were minted as they were only struck for a limited time, beginning in mid-March of that year. Many of these coins were stored in canvas bags for decades creating the beautiful toning that often commands high premiums. These coins were eventually paid out by the U.S. Treasury well into the 1950’s and early 1960’s. In fact, many of these coins were paid out by Las Vegas casinos because they loved to use Silver Dollars as payment in many of their slot machines.

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Popcorn Time Again!

Thanks to our loyal customers, 2009 has been a record-breaking year for APMEX.

Every year, we say “Thank You” by sending out Christmas popcorn tins to some of our best customers. We love to show our appreciation every year to the people that make our efforts worthwhile. It’s that time of year again – time to break another record!

The APMEX Popcorn Elves have been moving at lightning speed to get 9,600 shiny new tins of popcorn out in time for the holidays. You read that right … 9,600!

We hope you enjoy the following pictures of our elves boxing up your popcorn as much as we enjoy sending it to you.

Happy holidays from everyone here at APMEX - The Gold Standard in Precious Metal Trading. We hope to see you in 2010!

9,600 tins of popcorn ... fresh off 2 semis

Our popcorn elves work to get your popcorn to you!

As you can see, our elves are so lightning fast that sometimes they're just a blur.

Missy enjoys spending her time boxing up popcorn ... and long walks on the beach.

Mt. Popcorn waits to be conquered.

Warren takes a second to smile for the camera, but his hands keep the popcorn moving.

Russell can't get enough of a good popcorn party.

Finally, thousands of tins of popcorn are ready to head to their final destinations.

Weekly Market Recap 11/20/09

The precious metals market saw tremendous gains early in the week as the U.S. Dollar continues to suffer under mounting international pressure. Gold reached a new all time high of $1,153.40 per troy ounce on Wednesday and Silver made steady increases as well.

The U.S. Dollar retreated further as the United States and China failed to reach an agreement over currencies at the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore. Thomas Hoenig, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President, said Monday that "the U.S. economy still faced significant weakness." Additionally, Bank of New York Mellon analysts wrote in a note to clients "until such time as the U.S. and Chinese authorities signal meaningful changes to their respective economic and currency policies, we suspect that there will be little basis for any lasting recovery for the U.S. Dollar."

In a speech at the Economic Club of New York, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernake said, "Economic recovery would not be as robust as previously hoped, and rising unemployment and tight bank lending were significant headwinds." Housing starts declined by 10.6% in October which represented the biggest percentage drop since January. Economists had expected a rise in home starts, but starts are down 30.7%.

This weekend, APMEX is slashing prices even further for our Numismatic Closeout Event. As you may or may not know, 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, you should take advantage of this great opportunity to save even more money on your favorite numismatic items. A significant portion of our vast numismatic inventory has already been sold and at these prices these remaining products are not going to last long. Visit www.APMEX.com to see all of the price-reduced products included in the APMEX Numismatic Closeout Event!

Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,119.60. The high during the week was on Wednesday, November 18th, at $1,153.40, while the low for the week was on Monday, November 16th at $1,119.50. Gold ended the week with a gain of $27.20 at $1,146.80. This week, 2009 1/10 oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 1 oz. BU Gold American Eagles, 1 oz. .9999+ Fine Pamp Suisse Bars and 2009 1 oz. Gold Canadian Maple Leafs lead the Gold rush!

Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $17.49. Silver reached a high of $18.85, on Wednesday, November 18th. The low for Silver occurred on Monday, November 16th at $17.47. Silver ended the week up $0.98 at $18.47. This week, 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, Sunshine Mint 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Rounds and 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Buffalo Rounds held steady as the most popular Silver products with investors at APMEX.

Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,393.80 and ended the week up $50.10, at $1,443.90. 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 1 oz. Credit Suisse Platinum Bars, 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars and 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs continue to capture the attention of profit seeking investors.

Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $356.00 and ended the week up $10.40 at $366.40. Popular Palladium products this week included 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars.

Numismatics:
It is almost impossible to ignore what the spot price of Gold has been doing lately. This week Gold broke yet another all-time high record as it climbed slightly past $1,150 per ounce. Because our customers have asked for them, APMEX has a wide variety of Gold products to choose from that are competitively priced and ready to ship, including 2009 Gold Buffalos, 2009 Gold American Eagles and the 2009 Gold Fractional Eagles set to be released by the U.S. Mint in early December. APMEX has also recently expanded its inventory of Pre-1933 Gold to accommodate the growing demand by investors and collectors nationwide.

While Gold has had the attention of the major financial media, the quiet giant, Silver, has made steady gains. APMEX has seen a spike in popularity for its numismatic Silver coins, including Cull Silver Dollars, Morgan Silver Dollars grading Very Good to Very Fine and Peace Silver Dollars grading Very Good to Very Fine. Keep in mind that these are bulk items and that individual Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars have seen an influx of interest, as these are some of the most popular U.S. coins to collect.

Over the past few months, APMEX has been highlighting a particular Silver Dollar to give both the collector and the investor a little better insight into why this series has, and perhaps always will be, so popular. This week we are highlighting the 1893-O. “O” is the mintmark that was used by the New Orleans Mint, which began striking Morgan Silver Dollars in 1879 and finished in 1904. The 1893-O is by far the lowest-minted New Orleans Silver Dollar. There were only 300,000 minted, all of which were struck in January of that year. Ten obverse dies were sent to the minting facility in New Orleans, but no new reverse dies were included as they had enough from the previous year. Because of this, there are really no major varieties to be found for this particular coin.

1893-O’s are generally not well struck and many have a lackluster surface. In addition to the poor eye appeal of this coin, most are speckled with a tremendous amount of bagmarks, which are tiny marks that occurred when the coins were stored in canvas bags inside the Mint facility. Even with these issues, these coins remain very popular and are considered a semi-key date for the Morgan Silver Dollar set. Coins grading MS-64 and above are extremely scarce, especially if you can locate one without many contact marks. Likewise, coins grading Fair-2 or Almost Good-3 are also extremely scarce, as they were not widely circulated. Coins in these grades should command a hefty premium due to such a low mintage. The top grading service in the nation, PCGS, has never graded an 1893-O as Poor-1 while they have only graded six in MS-65 and one in MS-66! Regardless of the coin or grade you choose to purchase, this particular date and mintmark could increase in value.

Weekly Market Recap 11/13/09

Gold continued its jump to new all-time highs this week as the U.S. Dollar was down against a basket of six major currencies. The G-20 finance ministers remained silent over the weekend about the U.S. Dollar’s 7% decline so far this year. The G-20 meeting did announce that they agreed to keep stimulus measures in place, as the global economy is still too weak, especially in the United States and in Europe.

Gold saw another upward price surge mid-week when the U.S. Dollar traded at 15-month lows according to Market Watch. Investors turned to Gold as a hedge against inflation as the U.S. Dollar slumped lower and prospects in the job market looked bleak. Contributing to the U.S. Dollar slump was China’s third quarter monetary policy report. The People’s Bank of China said on Wednesday it would consider major currencies, not just the Dollar, in guiding future exchange rates. These comments came days before President Obama’s visit to the region.

U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs released a statement proclaiming Gold could rise to new record highs of $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 per ounce due to renewed buying of the precious metal by central banks. “The purchase by India (200 metric tons of Gold from the IMF) highlights the growing trend of central banks and governments in the emerging economies to increase gold holdings as a means of diversifying their currency reserves,” Goldman said.

The weakness in the U.S. Dollar has also created a bubble in the oil industry. Ethan Harris, head of global economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York said “What are the things that could derail the recovery? I think that an oil price bubble is near the top of the list.” Savvy investors will pay close attention to developments in the coming weeks to determine how heavily Gold should weigh in their portfolio.

Gold:

Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,108.40. The high during the week was on Thursday, November 12th, at $1,123.40, while the low for the week was on Monday, November 9th at $1,096.00. Gold ended the week with a gain of $9.30 at $1,117.70. This week, 2009 1/10 oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 1 oz. BU Gold American Eagles, 1 oz. .9999+ Fine Pamp Suisse Bars and 2009 1 oz. Gold Canadian Maple Leafs were in high demand at APMEX.com

Silver:

Spot Silver prices opened this week at $17.71. Silver reached a high of $17.78, on Thursday, November 12th. The low for silver occurred on Friday, November 13th at $17.02. Silver ended the week down $0.31 at $17.40. This week 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, Sunshine Mint 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Rounds and 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Buffalo Rounds were popular with silver investors.

Platinum:

Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,349.00, and ended the week up $40.70, at $1,389.70. Popular platinum products for this week included 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, and 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs.

Palladium:

Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $332.00, and ended the week up $25.80 at $357.80. 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars were popular items purchased by palladium investors.

Numismatics:
As the price of Gold continues to reach all-time highs, APMEX continues to offer a vast selection of premium Pre-1933 Gold coins in addition to its already expansive Gold bullion selection. As the spot price of Gold continues to rise, investors and collectors alike are still clamoring for more of the yellow metal. Several Wall Street analysts are predicting the spot price of Gold may soon hit $1,200.00 to $1,500.00 per ounce. It was just 3 short months ago that Gold was hovering around $920.00 per ounce.

Though Gold has seen tremendous growth in the last few months, Silver has slowly crept toward the $20.00 per ounce plateau yet again. Many investors were buying strict Silver bullion items , but now they are also buying Cull Silver Dollars and an assortment of other dollars including Pre-1921 Morgan Silver Dollars in Almost Uncirculated condition, Peace Silver Dollars in Very Good to Very Fine condition, and Peace Silver Dollars in Brilliant Uncirculated condition. Keep in mind that these are just highlights of what has been selling well. Nearly all Silver Dollars have seen a spike in popularity.

For the past few weeks APMEX has been highlighting the Morgan Silver Dollar Series. This week we will shift gears and discuss the Peace Silver Dollar series: namely the 1923-D. The 1923-D Peace Silver Dollars typically come well struck with above average luster. These coins are commonly seen with unusual die cracks throughout the obverse and reverse as the pressure for striking these coins was greater than normal. Many VAM’s attributed to this date directly correlate to these die breaks. 1923-D’s, though they have a high mintage, or perhaps because of it, are plagued with a tremendous amount of bag marks which make this year nearly impossible to find as a flawless Gem quality specimen. Even those coins that have received an MS-65 grade may still have contact marks that are often times unsightly. 1923-D Peace Dollars are considered scarcer than most of the other dates in the 24 coin series in uncirculated condition. When purchasing a 1923-D Peace Dollar, always try to find an example that is well struck since there were over 6 million of them minted and most come with an exceptionally strong strike.

Weekly Market Recap 11/06/09

Gold reached an All-Time High as it broke the $1,100.00 an ounce threshold when the U.S. Labor Department announced the overall jobless rate had jumped to 10.2%! A total of 7.3 Million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December of 2007. Those 7.3 Million jobs equate to one in every 20 private sector positions being eliminated. Nearly 2 Million Americans are scheduled to lose their unemployment benefits by the end of the year.

This rise in the price of Gold came on the heels of another large gain this week when the Reserve Bank of India made the largest single gold purchase in the past 30 years. India purchased $6.7 Billion Dollars of Gold (200 Metric Tons) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The transaction is equivalent to 8% of the world’s annual mining production. India’s purchase is half of a planned purchase with the IMF and it surprised traders who expected China to be the most likely buyer. According to Reuters, India is the tenth largest holder of Gold amongst the central banks.

The Federal Reserve agreed to leave its key interest rates alone this week, stating that the economic recovery is still too tentative and needs help. The central bank’s interest rate is important because it is the foundation for which most U.S. interest rates are set. The Fed also highlighted four main issues that are troublesome: continuing job losses, sluggish incomes, a weak housing market and very tight credit.

Needless to say, the Gold inventory at APMEX is large, but items are selling very quickly based on all of this news. If you are considering adding additional Gold to your position, you may want to do it now.

Gold:

Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,057.90. The high during the week was on Friday, November 6th, at $1,102.30, while the low for the week was on Monday, November 2nd, at $1,053.30. Gold ended the week with a gain of $40.60 at $1,098.50. This week, 2009 1/10 oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 1 oz. BU Gold American Eagles and 2009 1 oz. Gold Canadian Maple Leafs were in high demand due to media coverage on Gold throughout the week.

Silver:

Spot Silver prices opened this week at $16.51. Silver reached a high of $17.64, on Friday, November 6th. The low for silver occurred on Monday, November 2nd at $16.27. Silver ended the week up $0.91 at $17.42. 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, 1 oz. .999 Fine Sunshine Minting Silver Rounds and 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Buffalo Rounds were very strong sellers on the APMEX website.

Platinum:

Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,325.10, and ended the week up $25.70 at $1,350.80. Popular platinum products for this week included 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs, and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars.

Palladium:

Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $322.50, and ended the week up $10.30 at $332.80. 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars are quite popular with palladium investors.

Numismatics:

APMEX’s Numismatic Closeout sale is in full swing! Over 20,000 items have already been sold, however, there are still many great deals to be had. Not surprisingly, Morgan and Peace Silver Dollar VAM’s have been extremely popular. From the minor varieties to the major rarities, these coins have all been selling quickly across the board. To refresh your memory on VAM’s click here to read our blog post from a few weeks ago. In addition to VAM Silver Dollars being in high demand, Bulk Silver Dollars have been selling exceptionally fast. Alluding to yet another past blog post, Carson City Morgan Silver Dollars have also been selling well. No matter the grading service or the grade, Carson City Silver Dollars continue to capture the eyes of the collectors.

This week APMEX will feature another coin that came from the Carson City Mint. As most coin collectors know, Carson City coins often command hefty premiums. 1893 is the final year Morgan Silver Dollars were minted in Carson City. As this was the final year, there is much love and affection given to this particular coin. Many of these particular coins are heavily bagmarked. Most Mint State examples are on the low end of the Mint State scale, grading mostly MS-61 or MS-62. 1893-CC’s that grade higher than MS-63 are few and far between. To find a specimen with little or no bagmarks is an even tougher feat, and that will always come with an even greater premium. Most 1893-CC’s are in circulated condition and will fit nicely in any set. Many of these coins sat in Mint bags for 6 years until the Carson City Mint officially closed its doors and the remaining bags were shipped off to San Francisco and/or Washington D.C. where these bags, over time, were paid out to banks well into the 1920’s. With a mintage of only 677,000, this coin will always be high on a Morgan Silver Dollar collector’s want list.