Solid Proof Of Gold Value

Release: APRIL 18, 2025

     In reference to the stock market and what it might do, over a century ago, American financier J.P. Morgan had the pithy quote, “It will fluctuate.”  Words from 120 or 130 years ago ring especially true today.  By the way, around 1900, when Morgan was amassing his wealth, the Dow stock average was barely 70.  As of this writing, it is a bit over 39,000.  It has certainly fluctuated – upward.

    More contemporarily, 94-year-old Warren Buffet – known as the “Oracle of Omaha” for his legendary prowess at stock picking – stated, “When major declines occur, they offer extraordinary opportunities…”  He cautioned that was meant for people not in debt.

    There have been fewer prognostications about precious metals.  There are plenty of “gold bugs” out there, (a term for those who put much or all their fortune into owning or investing in gold).  But, trying to forecast what the precious metal will do has long been an unknown....

A Peek At The Best Of The Best

Release: APRIL 11, 2025

    Last week, along with the stock market, the price of gold took historic swings.  After gold breached the $3,000 per ounce level, stocks tumbled almost 3,000 points.  That same day, gold dropped $175.  24 hours after that, stocks rebounded as did gold prices to almost $3,150.  No one could fathom what might come next.  We still can’t.

    Almost 50 years ago, when the nation was preparing for our 1976 bi-centennial, $175 was also a significant figure for gold.  The big difference was, then, it was the price for an entire ounce.  Add $3,000 to that and you have the 2025 gold price – at least as of last week.

    These price fluctuations made me think about any vestige of financial stability.  While nothing is guaranteed, it’s notable to see how the values and prices for rare coins over those same 50 years – or even past century or more – have regularly risen....

Treasure Hidden In Plain Sight

Release: APRIL 4, 2025

    How often do we stumble across something exceptionally valuable yet have no clue about what we’ve got.  Turns out, way more than we might realize.  Naturally, if we have no idea as to what’s right in front of us, then it’s likely we overlook other things on a regular basis.  Those that take the time to look a little closer often end up being winners.

    Case in point: an unassuming doorstop.  Some years ago, when silver eclipsed $10 per ounce, I mentioned how some people wanted to invest in it but still keep it close by.  How might one do that while protect it from being stolen?

    One person’s solution was to purchase several 100-ounce silver bars.  At the time, they cost over $1,000 apiece.  The individual asked a relative to needlepoint a cover to go over the bars.  With them sewn neatly inside, it made for a nice doorstop.  His solution was a convenient way to keep the precious metal hidden in plain sight.  Incidentally, at today’s silver price of $32 per ounce, the value of that doorstop is now approaching $7,000.

    An elderly woman in Romania had a similar experience, but never realized it.  She was one of those who had no clue as to what was right in front of her....

Most Improbable US Paper Money

Release: MARCH  21, 2025

     To call Abe Lincoln a humble man would be a massive understatement.  He was beyond self-effacing.  Though ascending to the presidency, Abe referred to himself as “ungainly” and “plain-looking.”  Once captured by the new-ish medium of photography, Lincoln remarked to the photographer, “That picture gives a very fair representation of my homely face.”

    In 1862, during Lincoln’s term in office, fresh paper currency was nationally introduced to the United States.  This new form of banknote replaced those previously issued by private banks.  Many of those banks had gone out-of-business making their very official looking currency worthless and leaving customers holding the bag.  Hence the need for reliable government-backed currency....

From Gold Fields To Sunken Treasure

Release: MARCH  28, 2025

     It’s finally happened.  A little over a week ago, the price of raw gold eclipsed $3,000 an ounce and, for now, has stayed there.  The precious metal has flirted with this level in the past.  It’s actually risen even further.   Last Thursday, in just one day, gold climbed $43 and surpassed $3,100.

    There’s no way James Marshall could have imagined any of this.  He was the man in Coloma, California who, in 1848, spotted a gleaming nugget in the south fork of the American River.  A lowly sawmill operator at Sutter’s Mill, Marshall found the gold in the wooden sluice he had built for Sutter.

    At the time, the population of the city of San Francisco was around 1,000.  By the spring of 1848, after the gold strike was announced, it’s said San Francisco became a “ghost town” when everyone from average citizens to ship captains abandoned their jobs and headed to Coloma.  Later, San Francisco’s population soared as prospectors from around the world flocked to the region....

A Pending Revolution For Collectors

Release: MARCH  14, 2025

     There are plenty of people around today who were alive 50 years ago.  They will recall, in 1975, the entire nation was prepping for our bi-centennial – 200 years of officially being the United States.  For the record, that name was officially coined in April of 1776 when it appeared in an anonymous article in the Virginia Gazette printed in Williamsburg.  The term evidently gained quick acceptance because, barely two months later, Thomas Jefferson used it in his first draft of the Declaration of Independence.  As we know, it stuck....

Are We In A Golden Age?

Release: MARCH  7, 2025

    I’d wager that, at some point, pretty much everyone believes they are living in the “golden age” with personal computers, iPhones and TVs.  Consider, a century ago.  Cars had evolved from “tin lizzies” with a hand crank, to the “new” Ford Model T.  World War I had ended; frozen foods invented; movies with sound were a reality as was international telecommunication.  For folks in 1925, how could things possibly be any better?

    In decade after decade, technological, medical and living advantages keep getting more amazing.  Then, eventually, advances are accepted and become ordinary – that is, until the next astonishing milestone.

    The term “golden age” itself is defined by that perpetual and indestructible metal, gold.  The lust and quest for gold is the common denominator of not just recent decades but of millennia dating back to ancient Egypt.  That’s when, around 3,000 BC, humans first began to discover gold....