Sep 17, 2011
Apmex pay gold bar to Donald Trumph
Gold as part of your portfolio
The reason: Gold has no intrinsic value. That is, the value or price of gold is just what people perceive to be the value (or crudely put, prices are driven by speculation and ironically demand from India and China plays a large part in that speculation). The price is not based on future cash flows or earnings potential. In the recent past, the perceived value of the dollar is dropping; hence the value of gold is rising. Secondly, gold has no utility value or intermediate cash flows either; it is just kept idly in lockers with no inflows like dividend or rent. That is not the case in assets like bank deposits or equities. In the case of bank deposits, the deposits are deployed in business by way of loans and the loans are used to generate income. In the case of equities too, the funds raised from primary market are used in a business and the business generates real profits and cash flows in the long term. Long term valuations of share prices are based on these fundamentals. Finally, money needs to be deployed to create more money. Money locked up in gold, cannot in itself, generate more money for extended periods of time.
Why are people currently buying gold and driving up prices then? For countries with global reserves, there is no real alternative to the dollar, hence the shift to gold as safe haven. Institutional investors are probably holding gold till there is clarity on where the world economy is headed. Once the clouds lift, they will get back to putting their money in core businesses and economies. After that, the price of gold might just plateau for a long time, like it did for the 20 years between 1982 to 2003. But how long that will take, nobody knows.
Having said that, it’s true, gold is indeed a safe haven; good to have in your portfolio. Gold has no credit risk and is highly liquid. In bad times, you can fall back on gold for sure. Just don’t go overboard; make sure your portfolio is well diversified for long term wealth creation. And make sure your gold is not in jewellery.Read More.
Why Indian buy many Gold?
It is only in the last 4-5 years that gold has earned a reputation of ‘high return asset.’ And somehow, we tend to believe gold prices are always going to keep going up (we'll see this a little later in this post). Now the problem is that gold jewellery is among the worst forms of 'investing' in gold. Gold jewellery is expensive as an investment. In gold jewellery, what you pay for buying the jewellery includes the costs of making the jewellery. When you go to sell the piece, some costs of melting are deducted by the jeweler. All these costs can take away up to 30% of your gains, thereby taking away much of the sheen from gold investments.
So at best, our reasons for buying gold continue to be dominated by the reasons mentioned above, more than any global economic anticipation.Read More.
Sep 16, 2011
Hellenistic Gold auction by Roma Numismatics
Richard Beale, Director of Roma Numismatics: “This coin is extremely important for the advancement of our knowledge of ancient Baktria, and represents a very exciting issue in the context of Greek coinage as a whole. We expect it to generate significant interest both at the pre-auction viewing and on the day itself, especially given the buoyant nature of the market for ancient coins at present. This is in part due to the increased awareness of the availability of this ancient art form, and because they are seen as a hedge against turbulence in other markets and are an attractive investment to many that can frequently bring high returns.”
The circumstances of this issue may lie hidden in the turmoil of the years following Alexander’s death and the fracture of his empire. A man such as Sophytes would have stood to gain much in this time of conflict and opportunity, and throughout the period of 316-305 BC there are no surviving records regarding the satrapy of Baktria. It has therefore been suggested that it was in this time when Seleukos, one of Alexander’s generals and successors, was campaigning to regain the lost eastern provinces, that Sophytes seized power and struck his series of gold and silver coinage, and that furthermore it is also possible that Seleukos’ campaign also had as one of its many goals, the removal of this rebel upstart.
India ICICI Bank cheats Gold Coin sales
Now let me tell you how we got cheated! My wife has been purchasing gold coins from local gold merchants. When I heard about ICICI bank selling gold, I asked my wife to buy it from them since I thought they would be more trust worthy. We never checked their price and have been purchasing since last one year. When he heared the gold price was going so high, I asked my wife to note down the price during her last purchase in November, 2005. To our surprise, we found that they were taking a margin of over Rs 100 per gram over the market price. To be specific, the market price of 99.99% gold on 14th November 2005 was $469.75 per ounce in the international market and Rs 705.50 per gram in Indian market. However, they charged us Rs 813.36 per gram for 50 gram coin, Rs 839.19 per gram for 8 gram coin and Rs 921.91 per gram for 2.5 gram coin!!!! These prices are exclusive of Sales Tax. Now you get an idea about how ICICI Bank loots its customers! If anyone want more detail or documentary proof, please contact me.
Read More.
Scoin Shop success story
At the opening of his latest Scoin Shop store at the new Westfield Stratford City mall, Demby said the range of coins he sells will appeal to the same type of collector that frequents his South African stores: 50-plus men who are typically self-employed.
"Gold does seem to be the money of dictators," he jokes, "but in reality the coins we sell appeal to collectors rather than investors. There are probably about 20 million coin collectors in the world and they tend to be your average man in the street.
"When we opened our first store we thought it would be tourists who would come in, looking to take back some South African gold from their holiday, but it was locals who found it interesting."
The most expensive sale Demby has made in his 40-year career was for a £1.2m set of coins, but the Stratford store has a range of items for those with shallower pockets, with prices starting £150. On the day I visit, the store is also displaying a £63,000 coin to commemorate the Queen's 60th wedding anniversary, and the London 2012 Olympic Games commemorative gold coin collection, struck in 22 carat gold by the Royal Mint.
Anyone opening a gold coin shop in the present climate could face accusations of cashing in on the soaring gold price and taking advantage of guileless consumers who rush to buy the asset just as the bubble looks like bursting.
The price of gold has once again rocketed to record levels, with the spot price hitting $1,921.41 an ounce last week, leading to fears that jittery investors who have swapped the stock market for the precious metal could see their savings decimated if the gold bubble bursts.
Read More.
Sep 11, 2011
Some sell while some snatch up gold
"You don't want to act too surprised, but I thought, 'Holy cow, you're going to give me that much for them?' " said Carlan, a Charles City County resident.
"It was just stuff in the jewelry box — a couple of chintzy gold chains, a bent bangle bracelet, a ring I didn't wear anymore, a silver charm bracelet."
She and her husband used the money to stay an extra week at the beach.
Gold is selling for about $1,860 an ounce, close to record highs of more than $1,900, and up from $255 an ounce 10 years ago.
Silver prices are $42 an ounce, up from about $4.50 an ounce 10 years ago.
As some people rush to cash in on the high prices of gold and silver, others are snatching up gold and silver coins or exchange-traded funds for precious metals as a hedge against inflation.
They are trading in their grandmother's silver tea service for cash or rummaging through garage sales to find and resell silver and gold trinkets, gold dealers say.
Some dealers and retailers say they see a steady stream of consumers bringing in their gold and silver pieces to sell while others are buying for investment purposes.
Investors are adding gold to their portfolios to diversify their assets and protect their assets.
"You have to be very careful about investing in gold," said James A. Cox III, managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Colonial Heights.
"I like the actual coins and pieces of gold that you can carry and spend. But most investors buy gold by owning futures or exchange-traded funds. With these, you are buying the right to buy gold, but you don't own it."
Gold is a small market, but it makes the headlines because of the sharp run-up in prices, Cox said. "What I don't like about gold is it (the price) can rip around quickly."
People perceive gold as safe, but it has its risks, just like any investment, he said.
Precious metals tend to hold their values in inflationary periods, Cox sad. "People are going into gold in droves, not to grow their money but to preserve the purchasing power of their money."
Unlike paper currency, which the government continues to print, there is only a finite amount of gold and silver, he said.
Cox recommends that investors put no more than 5 to 7 percent of their portfolios into gold. "Over-allocating to it is a bad idea. It could be disastrous to one's financial future. … The thing that worries me the most about gold is, people are buying it because they think it will go up."Read More.
Taxes will increase due to coin value
If you give the coins to your grandchildren or children and keep the current value at under $13,000 a year per person, there will be no taxes due on the transaction. Once again, the children and grandchildren will be responsible for any increase in value over the value when the exchange took place. And if there are only a few coins staying in the family, I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it.
A number of coin buyers across the country would be very happy to purchase the sets.
However, they are going to offer you the wholesale value, which is appropriate given they will have to sell at retail to make a profit. You could also sell your coins on eBay or Craigslist. One problem is that you may have to meet the buyers, and that could expose you to being taken advantage of. Given the relatively small transaction, I would deal with a coin dealer who has been around for some time and enjoys a good reputation. Read More.
Sep 10, 2011
RCMP 99999 Gold bullion coins
The reverse of the 2011 99.999% pure gold bullion coin features a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer riding a horse at full gallop, surrounded by a circle of maple leaves, in a classic 1997 design by former Master Engraver Ago Aarand. Its obverse bears the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Canadian portrait artist Susanna Blunt and a $200 face value.
The reverse design of 2012 "Cougar" silver bullion coin is the work of Senior Mint Engraver William Woodruff and its obverse features the Susanna Blunt effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This 99.99% pure silver bullion coin bears a face value of $5.
The "RCMP" 99999 pure Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins and 2012 "Cougar" silver bullion coins will soon be available through the Mint's extensive network of bullion distributors, after shipping begins in September 2011. Read More.
Largest gold coin mint process video
In June 2010, a piece of this largest gold coin auctioned by Dorotheum auction house for 3.27 million euros ($4.02 million). The auction was ordered by the administrator of Austrian investment group AvW Invest, which filed for insolvency in May after its owner and chief executive was arrested on suspicion of fraud, breach of trust and other charges. the auctioned won by ORO direct, a Spanish precious metals trading company. So far, only 5 of this coins exist; including Queen Elizabeth, who is also displayed on one side of the coin, two unidentified investors in Dubai and one who is so reclusive even his or her residence is unknown. Read More.