$59 In Tiny Coins Now Worth Millions

Release: April 19, 2024

   Some years back, I was asked to help a family who had gold coins given to the wife.  She wondered if the collection of her dozen $20 gold pieces had any value.  With gold, then a little over $1,100 an ounce, the coins would be worth around $13,000.  I’d say that qualifies as “value.”

    The key was to see if there were any surprises including rare dates, mintmarks or exceptional condition.  Most of the coins seemed average.  None were uncirculated and only a few had dates that carried a little premium.  That was except for one dated 1861-S....

For Gold…You Better Shop Around.

Release: April 12, 2024

   A lot has happened this year to distract people from what might have previously been noteworthy.  Case in point, inflation has made headlines.  It remains so elevated the Fed suggests it might not lower interest rates soon.  That hasn’t been good for some investors.  The war in Gaza also continues.  That hasn’t been good for anything.  There’s also a presidential election just around the corner.  It promises to only get more distracting and divisive.

    Combine all that with flooding out west, record snows in the east and a total eclipse covering a good chunk of the US and it’s easy to see why people may have been sidetracked enough to not notice something such as the price of gold.  In the past year, gold has risen from $2,000 per ounce to over $2,400.  That’s a bump of 20 percent – beating the heck out of the Dow Jones.

    Equally surprising has been the absence of TV commercials once hawking gold coins with come-ons claiming “experts agree it’s sure to soon hit $5,000!”  I never knew who those experts were but, in past years, TV gold pitchmen promised massive jumps were imminent.  (According to CNN, Bank of America has predicted gold to hit $3,000 per ounce by 2025.  We’ll see....)

What’s Old Appears To Be New Again

Release: April 5, 2024

   In the near past, I recall people being derided for what have always been everyday things.  For instance, some years ago, I expressed interest in getting a new wristwatch.  Some in their early 20s laughed and pointed out how “old school” that was.  Their smartphone had a clock on it so they no longer had a need for one on their wrist.  A decade later, along came the iWatch from Apple.  Overnight, those same cynics couldn’t survive without one on their wrist.  

    On a larger scale, tangible money has also been falling out of fashion.  For some, it was totally passé.  Digital transactions and credit cards supplanted paper money and coins.  (The ultimate paradox?  Payments can now be made simply by waving an iWatch in front of charge card readers....)

Oh, To Be Young (And Rich) At Heart

Release: MARCH 29, 2024

   When I was very young, I was intrigued and excited by the come-ons in print ads about “rare and valuable” coins or stamps.  We’ve all seen them.  They were a magazine staple in the 1960s and still pop up today.  In the early ‘60s, comic books were rife with promises telling kids they would have a fortune if they had a one-cent stamp from British Guiana in their collection.

    Yes, that stamp was actually worth more than any kid could imagine.  The thing is that it was unique, so only one individual could actually be “that” rich person.  Three years ago, the stamp traded hands for over $8.3 million.  To this day, kids search hopefully for such treasure worth endless riches.

    The same held true for “Liberty” nickels dated 1913.  Ads from coin dealers promised equal riches for one of those.  $50,000 in 1960.  $250,000 by 1980.  Two years ago, in 2022, one sold for $4.2 million.  Only five were ever struck – and those under spurious circumstances.  That’s a whole other story unto itself.  Either way, kids reading Archie, Superman or Popular Mechanics would dream the dream, “what if ?!?” ....

"There’s No Place Like Jail. There’s No Place Like Jail."

Release: MARCH 22, 2024

   Several popular television shows are all about stupid criminals.  In this age of countless security cameras, there’s plenty of material.  Without exception they make you say, “Seriously?  What were they thinking?’

    One incident that didn’t make it to TV happened to a close friend.  He was playing golf with buddies at a course not far from the inner city when a young man from a nearby neighborhood came flying across the tee box driving the golf ball retriever cart – the kind with a cage around the cab and huge wing-racks on either side that collect balls from the driving range.  The golfers jumped out of the way....

Betty Ford Takes The Award On New Stamp

Release: MARCH 15, 2024

   Last week’s Academy Awards ceremony was our annual peek behind the screen at those involved with and excelling in the film industry.  Winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor was Robert Downey Jr.  He won for Oppenheimer – a film about the atomic bomb – arguably the greatest simultaneous success and disaster in the history of mankind.

    For Downey, the recognition might be something of a metaphor for his life.  He is one of the most successful and acclaimed actors in Hollywood.  Yet, not that long ago, he was, himself, a “disaster.”  He suffered from drug and alcohol addictions so severe it resulted in multiple arrests for cocaine, crack, heroin, and handgun possession.  He went to rehab several times and even spent a year in prison.  He finally overcame his addictions and again climbed to the top.  Either way, his was a path unlikely to lead to appearing on a commemorative postage stamp.

    Such issues aren’t exclusive to Hollywood.  Others in the public eye often succumb – including politicians.  It’s no secret Ulysses S. Grant was a heavy drinker.  So too were early founding father presidents George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.  Wine and ale were their beverages of choice.  Many more including James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, Martin Van Buren, Chester Arthur and, more recently Richard Nixon, were said to be “functioning alcoholics.”....

15 Pounds Of Gold Fit For A Queen

Release: MARCH 8, 2024

   We are a curious species.  Best as I can tell, humans are the only genus who break our necks to amass riches merely to foolishly fritter them away.  “Lesser” animals wisely gather reserves for when they’re needed.  Our wealth too often disappears through ill-advised, hair brained schemes.  Our “get rich quick” mentality seems interminable.

    For those who foist these ploys on others, the more confusing the better.  No one wants to appear to be an uninformed idiot, so most just go along with the ruse and lose their money.

     Case-in-point is the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) craze that began a few years ago.  It has been directed mainly at collectors.  An NFT is described as – brace yourself:  “A unique cryptographic holding used to create ownership of intangible digital assets including art, collectibles, and virtual real estate via a unique code stored on a blockchain acting as a decentralized ledger.  An NFT buyer doesn't own an item or the copyright or trademark but rather a digital image of it. While there may be many versions of it on the internet, NFT buyers have an original in the virtual world.”

    Uh, that’s as clear as mud....