When the Dollar is no Longer the World’s Reserve Currency

1855 Wass-Molitor $10 NGC AU58

Sirhc

Very Rare Borderline Unc.

The San Francisco Mint opened in 1854, but it was a cramped facility that also lacked sufficient parting acids to strike satisfactory quantities of .900 fine gold coins. West Coast commerce required a steady supply of freshly coined bullion, and since the official mint was not yet up to speed, two private minters stepped in to fill the gap. Kellogg & Co. produced twenty-dollar pieces only, while Wass Molitor & Co. produced ten, twenty, and fifty-dollar coins.
These necessity issues imitated Federal designs of their respective denominations, with the exception of the fifty dollar piece, which was more reminiscent of the Federal gold dollar. The ten-dollar piece featured a small, relatively close date with the final digit repaired on the obverse die with a circular plug. The minting activities of both Kellogg & Co. and Wass Molitor ceased once the San Francisco Mint was able to resume gold production. The NGC population is just 3 with three higher, none better than MS61.

Offered at $32,990 delivered

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you. Give us a call for price indications and to lock trades.

(800) 257.3253
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Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

Gamestop = Tech Bubble 2.0, Are You Ready For What’s Coming?

Sirhc

Stocks have entered a kind of speculative frenzy.

You’ve no doubt heard or read about Gamestop (GME) the bricks and mortar video game retailer.

The company has been in trouble for months, failing to turn a profit since 2018. And this is happening despite revenues growing.

Because of this, hedge funds have taken MASSIVE short positions in this company, borrowing shares from their brokers to bet that GME’s stock will collapse as the company lurches towards bankruptcy. 

How big were the bets against GME’s stock? Well over 100% of the company’s shares are currently being used by shorts.

Yes, short sellers can technically borrow more shares than actually exist. And that’s where the speculative frenzy comes in.

Individual traders,(not institutional traders or hedge funds),  who are big fans of GME’s business have launched a campaign to trigger a short squeeze in GME shares.

Remember how I said the short sellers had “borrowed” GME shares? Well, this means that they need to return those borrowed shares to their brokers at some point.

The only way to do this is by buying GME’s stock.

As a result of this, GME shares have gone from $20 to over $200 in pre-market trader today. And they’ve done this in the span of two weeks.

READ MORE @ ZeroHedge/Phoenix Capital Research

1910-D Saint Gaudens Double Eagle NGC MS67

Sirhc

Just 2 So-Graded

The Denver Mint coined a substantial number of double eagles in its fifth year of operation, 429,000 according to Mint records, and surviving specimens are plentiful in all grades through MS65 and somewhat available at the MS66 level. However, finer pieces are rare. There are no reports of hoards in the literature, although repatriated European and South American exports undoubtedly account for most Mint State pieces known today. The NGC population is just 2 with none higher. 

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you. Give us a call for price indications and to lock trades.

Offered at $64,600 delivered

(800) 257.3253
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Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

PODCAST: Juan Carlos Artigas, Head of Research at the World Gold Council, on why gold still glitters in 2021

Sirhc

Episode Description

Gold was one of the market winners of 2020 (with one of the lowest drawdowns over the course of the year), aided by a heightened risk environment, low interest rates, and strong price momentum, factors that show no signs of de-materializing anytime soon in 2021–not even with Bitcoin adherents making a counter-appeal as a safe haven asset. We talked to Juan Carlos Artigas, Head of Research at the World Gold Council, which provides timely insights on the gold market including drivers of demand, supply, and performance, and key attributes of gold as an investment and its role in investor portfolios.

Listen Here @ Spotify/Investable Universe

1908 Motto Saint Gaudens

Sirhc

Double Eagle PCGS PR66

The Philadelphia Mint found it impossible to polish the basined surfaces and high relief devices of the new Saint-Gaudens design in the same manner as the old brilliant proofs of previous years. Accordingly, they adopted an artistic matte, or sandblast, finish for gold proof coins in 1908. After striking, the 1908 proofs were heavily sandblasted with a coarse grain of sand that produced a dark olive-gold patina, with none of the reflective fields and field-device contrast of earlier proofs. The resulting finish resembled that seen on some European medals of the period, but contemporary U.S. collectors much preferred the old brilliant proof finish. Mint records indicate only 101 proof double eagles were distributed in 1908. Remaining unsold pieces were subsequently melted. Probably no more than 60 to 70 examples survive today in all grades. In hand, the color is more of a yellow-gold than the reddish-orange seen in our images. The PCGS population is only 5 with 3 higher.

Offered at $145, 700 delivered

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you. Give us a call for price indications and to lock trades.

(800) 257.3253
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Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

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Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

1928 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle NGC MS67

Sirhc

Superb, Satiny Saint

As the last date in the Saint-Gaudens series that is generally available in high grade, the 1928 double eagle is frequently tapped for type purposes. This issue is also often well struck, and high-grade examples sometimes exhibit eye appeal that rivals that of many 1923-D coins. Such is the case with this Superb Gem example. Only two have been graded higher by NGC, each of them, MS67+.

Offered at $14,200 delivered

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(800) 257.3253
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Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

(1831-1834) Bechtler $2.50

Sirhc

K-8 Beaded, with 75G PCGS MS62

Throughout the entire Bechtler coinage era, lasting from 1831 until about 1850, the family coined nine varieties of $2.50 gold pieces. This coin represents the K-8 variety, with RUTHERFORD in a small circle in the center of the obverse and the weight 75 G. below the 20 C. Based on current rarity ratings published in the March 2017 Kagin’s catalog featuring the Dr. Chris Allan Collection, no more than 200 examples survive from all nine mulings. The average grade of all PCGS certified Bechtler quarter eagles is AU53. The present example is far finer than the typical survivor and is the second best of the Kagin-8 die pairing that PCGS has examined. The finest known example realized $123,375 in the March 2017 offering of the Allan Collection. Thus, this coin has a PCGS population of only 1 with 1 graded higher. Lighter in color and far more lustrous in hand than seen in our images.

Offered at $73,000 delivered

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you. Give us a call for price indications and to lock trades.

(800) 257.3253
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Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

1878 Three Dollar Gold Piece NGC MS67

Sirhc

None Higher at NGC

Within the three-dollar gold series, the 1878 is the most popular type coin candidate. Its mintage of 82,304 pieces is among the highest in the series, contributing to the issue’s availability. However, it is also one of the most attractive issues in the series as a rule. A high-grade 1878 three-dollar piece can be one of the most attractive U.S. gold coins known. Luster frequently shimmers like it does on no other issue, and ranges of color can be found. This one is gorgeous in both regards. The NGC population is 11 with none higher.

Offered at $42,200 delivered

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you. Give us a call for price indications and to lock trades.

(800) 257.3253
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Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

1936 Buffalo Nickel (Type 1)

Sirhc

PCGS PR68+

Buffalo nickel proof coinage resumed in 1936 after a two-decade hiatus. The Mint originally offered proofs in a Satin Finish, as here, but quickly switched to a Brilliant Finish after receiving collector feedback. The one we offer here is more vibrant than seen in our images and though not apparent here, exhibiting areas of gorgeous multicolored patina on each side. The PCGS population is only 5 with 2 higher.

Offered at $12,9400 delivered

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you. Give us a call for price indications and to lock trades.

(800) 257.3253
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Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

World Bank Head Sees “Quiet” Financial Crisis Brewing As Pandemic Lingers

Sirhc

In an interview Wednesday morning with Bloomberg, World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart bluntly said, “don’t confuse the rebound with a recovery.” 

Reinhart said, “a rebound this year still leaves per capita income below where it was before the covid crisis – calling it a recovery is misleading.”

She went onto say that one year later, the world is still facing “record” infection rates, adding that “the longer this (virus pandemic) goes on, the more disruption in terms of jobs, in terms closures of business that can really get back to anything resembling normality.” 

Reinhart said she is “very concerned the longer this goes on the more strain on balance sheets of individuals, households, firms, and countries – it’s a cumulative toll that I think will create classic balance sheet problems.” 

Blaming the resurgence on the virus pandemic, she said economic growth for 2021 is being “marked down.” 

She also said, “there’s been a problem that has been delayed but not avoided” – that is the households’ ability to repay their mortgage and service any other debt. During the virus pandemic, financial institutions worldwide agreed to grace periods for businesses and households, so they don’t have to repay their debts. 

Reinhart then asks the trillion-dollar question: What happens when those grace periods come to an end?

READ MORE @ ZERO HEDGE/TYLER DURBIN…

1942/1-D Mercury Dime PCGS MS66FB

Sirhc

Easily One of the Finest Survivors

Both the Philadelphia and Denver versions of the 1942/1 overdate Mercury dime are doubled die (or dual-hubbing-error) varieties, but the pickup points are different between the two. The 1942/1 Philadelphia shows a rather obvious (plain to a good pair of unaided eyes) 1 downstroke at the fore points of the 2. The 1942/1-D is considerably harder to spot, and the pickup point is a little notch of doubling at the bottom of the 4 in the date, rather than the 2. (There are signs of a 1 under the 2, but they are far fainter than on the 1942/1 Philadelphia variety.) This one is brilliant and quite pleasing. The PCGS population is 13 with 5 higher, though 4 of the latter are 66+ examples. In other words, only one MS67 has been recognized.

Offered at $40,500 delivered

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you. Give us a call for price indications and to lock trades.

(800) 257.3253
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Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.