Lasting Tribute To A Colonial Jew

Release: FEBRUARY 20, 2026

     We’re well into the first third of 2026.  I recall what should have been a similar time 50 years ago at the onset of the 1976 Bicentennial.  For those not alive or aware then, it was epic.  Preparations were rife for celebrations and collectibles aplenty being produced for the nation’s then-200th birthday.

    I’d like to believe the current 250th would rate the same level of excitement.  Not yet.  I suppose it’s a wait-and-see.  In national magazines and newspapers, I’ve seen a few commemorative trinkets.  The US Mint and Postal Service have also planned some tribute issues.  Outside of those, I can’t say there’s much momentum for the milestone....

Not Knowing Collectible Values Can Be Costly

Release: FEBRUARY 13, 2026

     Concerning the recent boom and decline of gold and silver, I believe we are either in the calm before the storm or a period of prolonged inactivity.  That’s a roundabout way of saying I don‘t have a clue about what may happen next – up, down or stagnant.  I take solace in that no one else knows either.

    Regular readers may recall my evoking memories of the early 1980s when precious metals prices first exploded.  In 1979, as gold passed $500, $600 and then $800 an ounce, unwitting prognosticators predicted it “soon passing $3,000.”  Then, $4,000 and $5,000.  All were so convincing.  And, wrong. The difference between now and then is that financial institutions are actually weighing in with price guesses.

    Naturally, they rarely agree.  Some are calling for gold and silver to settle at $3,000 and $50 respectively.  Another I saw was incredulously predicting gold exceeding $15,000 and even $20,000 with silver well over $200 on ounce.  At those prices, gold wedding rings and gifts of silver bowls would become a thing of the past.  It’s not a pretty thought.  Even gold tooth fillings would be out....

Some Silver Treasures Wait To Be Found

Release: FEBRUARY 6 2026

 

    Another trip in the good old WayBack Machine sends us to 336 years ago when, in 1690, the very first paper money in North America was produced.  Not the United States.  That wouldn’t come until 1776.

    In 1690, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was just 60 years old.  It took that long for someone to conceive of producing a promissory paper note essentially redeemable for silver.  Prior to that, metal coins were the primary means of trade.  That makes sense considering metals were vital for trade goods - be they serving pieces made of sterling silver and/or iron firearms, belt buckles, etc.

    The recognition of immediate metallic value continued through the US Civil War.  During that time, citizens especially disliked paper money (not knowing which side might win) and hoarded copper, silver and gold coins – usually buried in jars around one’s home or farm.

    Valuing silver and gold coins still holds true.  Such was also the case for silver flatware and serving pieces as I’ve written about over the past month.  However, due to the glut of people dumping centuries worth of their family’s silver, refiners haven’t been able to keep up.  For now, most refiners have stopped buying sterling silver....

Gold And Silver Lose The Luster Of Liquidity

Release: January 30, 2026

     Decades ago, my mother and father took a cruise still popular for travelers today – a voyage along the coast of Alaska.  Naturally, lots to see there.  As with most tourist trips, the ship stopped at various points for day outings ending at designated shops and stores.

    With Alaska being renowned for the Klondike gold rush of 1894 to 1907, much of the souvenir jewelry was made from the precious metal.  As a rare treat, my father purchased my mom a small glass pendant about the size of a nickel.  The inside was filled with small grains of gold mined from the region over the years.  With gold then valued at about $100 an ounce, they splurged on the keepsake probably spending $75 or so.  It was an interesting curiosity with a good story but eventually relegated to mom’s “costume jewelry” box....

Today’s Coin Sellers Might Want To See Red

Release: January 23, 2026

 The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” ~ Albert Einstein

    One morning last week underscored why I’m not a financial guru.  Those are advisors we are led to believe have an uncanny soothsaying ability to make sound investment decisions based on past, present or future events.  Puzzling as that may be to Einstein and others, even more mystifying are those who forecast precious metals prices.

    In year’s past, the price of gold, and to an extent silver, was sometimes based on events around us, often geopolitical.  For instance, in the 1970s, when the United States abandoned direct convertibility of the US dollar to gold, it fueled the metal’s huge price increase.  Or not.

    I sound skeptical because, while it’s true some world events helped gold prices soar in 1979 to a then-record of $850 an ounce, it didn’t last.  In the following decade through the 1980’s, many other things of note transpired including President Reagan going head-to-head with Gorbachev and the USSR; the space shuttle Challenger disaster; the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown; China’s Tiananmen Square protests; the Iran Hostage Crisis and numerous others.....

Who’s The Postal “Greatest?” You Decide.

Release: January 16, 2026

February - smack in the middle of the doldrums of winter - was once a prime month for coin and stamp collectors.  That’s because, with freezing temps outside, it’s the ideal time to stay in and sort collectibles in books or albums.

    It’s anything but a trivial month. There’s Groundhog Day on the second; that’s when we pretend to know how much longer the doldrums will last.  Then, there’s Valentine’s Day when we profess love for someone we have or wish for.

    After that is President’s Day – an amalgam of Lincoln’s birthday on February 12 and Washington’s birthday on February 22.

    Most such observances were often once commemorated on stamps.  Some still are.  It’s just hard to know since the US Postal Service began all but ignoring the issuance of stamps and the First Day of Issue ceremonies collectors once flocked to.  Even so, a major annual February event still takes place and is observed on circulating stamps.  It’s National Black History Month.  2026 is particularly significant as it marks the 100th anniversary of the month’s creation....

Coining Controversy For 2026?

Release: January 9, 2026

     What’s a new year without instant controversy?  As always, we surely have more than enough people or events that qualify for contentiousness.  One that shouldn’t have made the cut is the pending semiquincentennial.  Much is planned for our 250th anniversary as the world’s longest-existing democracy.  It should be a time for celebration, not discord.  Then again…

    Consider the change soon coming to our change – specifically our nickels, dimes, quarters and half-dollars.  That should be as exciting as it was a half-century ago, in 1976.  Then, people were floored when the bald eagle, which had always appeared on the back of our quarter, was replaced with the image of a colonial drummer....