The San Francisco Mint struck large numbers of double eagles throughout the second half of the 19th century and 1877 was certainly no exception. However, the coins were released into circulation at, or near, the time of issue. They were used to settle large accounts in both foreign and domestic trade, and few high-quality examples were saved for numismatic purposes. Accordingly, most examples seen today are heavily bag-marked specimens recovered from European holdings or worn circulated pieces that fulfilled their intended function in the hard money economy of the Western United States. The 1877-S is a rare issue at the MS63 grade level, and finer coins are very rare. The PCGS population is just 32 with 7 higher.
Offered at $12,475 delivered
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The Philadelphia Mint was the sole producer of double eagles in 1912 and the issue was exported to a certain extent in overseas trade transactions, although a number of coins also circulated domestically and were used in local trade with Canada. There are hundreds of AU-level examples known, and rare pieces are seen in XF and even VF grades. Uncirculated survivors usually come with bag-marks. The bulk of the Mint State population grades only MS62 and MS63 — many of these coming from European hoards — although pieces are frequently seen at auction in the lower-population grade of MS64. The one offered here displays lovely, satiny surfaces and gorgeous color. The population is only 9 with 2 examples (both MS66+) graded higher.
Offered at $54,050 delivered
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The 1928 is the final date in the Saint-Gaudens double eagle series that is generally available in high grade, making it a popular type coin. The finest pieces are in MS67 and MS67+, and these are conditionally scarce. Nonetheless, they are among the most affordable Saints available to collectors in this grade, as few other issues in the series claim a collectible population in Superb Gem condition. Only 8 have been graded higher by PCGS – all MS67+ examples.
Offered at $15,525 delivered
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Type One Reverse. Many collectors are unaware there are two varieties of S/CC Trade dollars from 1875. This is the more frequently encountered one and the variant that is much easier to see with the second C widely spaced from the S. Most collectors opt for this variant for the very reason of its visibility, not to mention the extreme rarity of the other variety and need for a high-powered loupe. After the S/CC was first discovered in 1965 it was quickly noticed just how scarce it was in better grades. It is much scarcer than the 1875 S-mint or the CC-mint, especially in strictly Uncirculated condition. In hand, this specimen exhibits obvious cartwheel luster on each side. Tied with one other for highest graded by NGC.
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This, the 1801 BD-2 die marriage is well known as the single most plentiful early eagle variety, with examples readily available in all grades through Choice Mint State. As such, it is the first choice of type collectors who desire a single representative of the Heraldic Eagle type, and it is also the first choice of date collectors who seek a single example of the 1801 ten. In hand, the coin is brighter than it appears in our images.
Offered at $12,650 delivered
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Ex: Wells Fargo Nevada Gold. A gorgeous example of this popular two-year design type from the famous Wells Fargo Hoard. The Wells Fargo Hoard was a group of 19,900 1908 double eagles that were probably originally sent to South America in foreign trade sometime during the World War I era. They were later repatriated to this country and held in an undisclosed location until Ron Gillio purchased the hoard and stored it in a Wells Fargo Bank in Nevada. Gillio marketed the coins, which were of uniformly high quality, in the 1990s. Only 10 have been graded higher by PCGS.
Offered at $18,400 delivered
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While the 1899 Barber half dollar is more plentiful than the 1896 and 1898 issues, it is a condition rarity in Gem or finer grades. A lack of interest in business strike Philadelphia Mint issues at the time of issue is largely responsible for the low high-grade survival rate. Prior to the 1980s, most collectors sought out proof coins for the sole reason that they were considered more desirable from an aesthetics viewpoint. The PCGS population is just 2 with a single (MS67+) example graded higher.
Offered at $14,375 delivered
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The 1892 has the last ultra-low mintage in the Liberty double eagle series, just 4,430 coins. Contemporary collectors paid little attention to high-denomination gold, and those that did often sought out proofs, not circulation strikes. As a result, this issue is about as rare in Mint State as its mintage would suggest, and even AU coins are scarce.
Offered at $11,650 delivered
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As the most prominent nonstandard variety within the Standing Liberty quarter series, the 1918/7-S overdate enjoys perpetual high demand. A single obverse die first received an impression from a 1917-S (Type Two) working hub, but when it went back into the press, it received an impression from a 1918-S hub instead of one with a matching date. On the last digit of the date, the 8 was laid over the top of the 7, creating the overdate feature. Alan Herbert’s “Coin Clinic” column for the January 16, 2001 edition of Numismatic News offers an intriguing perspective on the rarity of the 1918/7-S quarter. In response to the question “Is there any special reason why the overdate is relatively rare?” he offers this answer: “One reason given, but mostly overlooked is the notation that the single die involved in this overdate cracked through the date at a fairly early stage and apparently was taken out of service after only a relatively small number were struck. Since die life in that era was not very high to begin with, this didn’t leave very many of the coins to reach circulation.”
Offered at $25,300 delivered
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Courtesy of ZeroHedge by Tyler Durden Sat, 01/18/2020 – 14:30
Submitted by Jan Nieuwenhuijs of Voima Insight.
There are reasons to think that the gold price will rise faster than expected.
Since 2009 China has withdrawn 12,000 tonnes of gold from the rest of the world, where the short and medium-term gold price is set. For reasons I will explain, a tighter market outside of China can make the price of gold price rise faster than many expect. I believe the gold price will rise, because of excessive debt levels around the world, and incessant money printing by central banks. Central banks will try and resolve the debt burden through currency depreciation (inflation). China has been preparing for this scenario by buying gold.
One of the key drivers in recent decades for the US dollar gold price is real interest rates. It is thought that when interest rates on long-term sovereign bonds, minus inflation, are falling, it becomes more attractive to own gold as it is a less risky asset than sovereign bonds (gold has no counterparty risk). However, gold doesn’t yield a return (unless you lend it). So, when real rates rise, it becomes more attractive to own bonds.
Although the correlation is clear, it might change in the future. Possibly, when real rates fall, the gold price will rise faster than before. Let me explain why.
In my previous post, we have seen that the gold price in the short and medium-term is mainly set in the West by institutional supply of and demand for above-ground stocks. For the gold price, what matters is how much above-ground stock is in strong hands, i.e., owners of gold that will not be easily persuaded to sell.
A significant change in the global economy in the past two decades was the rapid expansion of China’s economy. As early as the 1980s, China started to liberalize its economy, but it was only after it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 that its economy gained significance internationally. At the time of writing, the size of China’s economy is second globally. In 2002 China freed up its gold market with the opening of the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE).
Because of the aforementioned developments, and its Eastern mentality regarding gold, a few years after the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), China became a major player in the global gold market. It was a net importer since the 1990s, but imports grew in 2010 and exploded in 2013.
China’s central bank (which supervises the SGE) and other government departments have been stimulating physical gold ownership. One reason the government erected the SGE, was to allow the people to have direct access to the wholesale market and to be able to trade 999.9 fine gold at the lowest spreads. The stimulation program is sometimes referred to as the “People’s Gold.” In 2012, President of the China Gold Association, Sun Zhaoxue, wrote in Qiushi, the leading academic journal of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee:
Because gold possesses stable intrinsic value, it is both the cornerstone of a countries’ currency and credit, as well as a global strategic reserve. Without exception, world economic powers established gold strategies at the national level. … the state will need to elevate gold to an equal strategic resource as oil and energy, …
In addition, because individual investment demand is an important component of China’s gold reserve system, we should encourage individual investment demand for gold. Practice shows that gold possession by citizens is an effective supplement to national reserves and is very important to national financial security. … We should advocate to ‘store gold among the people’ [“People’s Gold”] and guide a healthy positive development in this segment. … This is the objective under our gold strategy.
The world economy faces new changes, new challenges and new opportunities. Therefore, we must relook the status and function of gold from a strategic height, and create and implement a national gold strategy, to strengthen our country’s ability to counter complex situations.
Several national central banks in Europe will agree with Sun Zhaoxue, as they’re slowly preparing for Plan B: gold.
In 2016 the SGE launched a smartphone application called “Yijintong” to further ease gold trading for everyone. Note, the government has mainly facilitated the infrastructure for gold trading in China. Nobody forces Chinese citizens to buy gold. “China has been infatuated with gold for thousands of years,” according to former Managing Director of the Far East for the World Gold Council, Albert L.H. Cheng.
When the Chinese population had an opportunity to buy gold, so they did. According to my estimates, there are currently 20,398 metric tonnes owned by the private sector in China. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) holds 1,948 tonnes, bringing the total to 22,346 tonnes. Up 230% from 2009.
Since the GFC, China has net imported 12,000 tonnes of gold. The gold came from the rest of the world, where the price is set in the short and medium-term. At this stage, it’s prohibited by the PBoC to export gold from the Chinese domestic market—all 20,398 tonnes of it. Gold owned by the Chinese is in strong hands. The fact the market in the West has become tighter can make gold go up faster than expected, according to my analysis. Needless to say, when sovereign bonds are downgraded (rated as riskier), the dynamic between real rates and gold will change too.
From industry insiders and circumstantial evidence, I believe the PBoC holds at least twice the amount of gold officially disclosed. Underreporting their gold reserves allowed the PBoC to accumulate at lower prices. Metal held by the PBoC, in addition to officially reported, was bought abroad and would add another 2,000 tonnes to China’s net import since the GFC. But I will leave this subject for a forthcoming article. I exclude speculative data in the paragraphs and charts above.
One reason for the gold price to rise is because the global debt-to-GDP ratios are excessive, and will be lowered, partially, through inflation. Debt in moderation can cause real economic progress. However, debt in excess can cause bubbles, stagnation, or depressions; too much debt caused the GFC. Unfortunately, the medicine we took was more debt. Last week, the World Bank warned the current debt wave is “the largest, fastest, and most broad-based wave of debt accumulation in advanced economies as well as in emerging and developing economies” since the 1970s.
NEW TODAY | Global debt reached a new all-time high of 322% of GDP in Q3 2019, with total debt nearing $253 trillion.
Access the Global Debt Monitor report and database here: https://t.co/UyFYqwNRPx pic.twitter.com/jhEGoD1evz— IIF (@IIF) January 13, 2020
In the stalemate, Christine Lagarde, the new head of the European Central Bank, is urging the few countries with relatively low debt levels, to “stimulate” the economy by borrowing and spending. Meanwhile, she holds key interest rates below zero and the printing press active. The Federal Reserve has reignited its printing press last September, which gave the US stock market another catalyst. When push comes to shove, our monetary “leaders” will always revert to printing money. There is a sense of logic in this, as to not intervene would undermine a central banks’ right to exist.
My concern is that money printing and more government-induced debt will ultimately lead to high inflation. Central banks will be reluctant to raise interest rates when that happens, as it would make the debt unserviceable. A “side effect” of high inflation, is that it reduces the debt burden. (Debt is fixed in nominal terms, of which the real value is eroded through inflation.) It’s an old trick to get out of debt through inflation, and governments are likely to choose this route.
In the scenario described above real rates will fall, and the price of gold will go up.
