http://64.13.226.140/rare-coin-news/ en info@zoomcoin.com Copyright 2008 2008-11-06T19:42:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/14-fundamental-reasons-why-you-should-be-investing-your-money-in-money/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/14-fundamental-reasons-why-you-should-be-investing-your-money-in-money/#When:19:42:00Z by Adam Crum Concentrate on popular, rare, historically significant quality coins as part of an overall investment plan in good times and bad . . . and history suggests that the rewards are great. There are numerous reasons why the demand for rare coins is growing among collectors and investors alike. Here are fourteen of the most fundamental: Fundamental Reason #1: Diversification Investment professionals recommend ten to twenty percent (and sometimes higher) of an investment portfolio be devoted to tangible assets in order to maintain diversification, reduce overall risk and create a hedge against inflation. Rare coin investing, and owning hard assets, should be one of the foundational elements of any portfolio. Fundamental Reason #2: Stability There is little history of dramatic sudden price shifts with truly rare and popular rare coins. This is partially due to the huge collector base…an estimated 35,000,000 and new ones entering the market all the time…who create a steady, consistent demand for the coin market. And, since a collector/investor takes physical possession of his or her coins, there are none of the destabilizing forces that exist in other markets. Fundamental Reason #3: Rarity It is estimated that only 2% of all the rare U.S. coins ever minted still exist. This existing supply is consistently being reduced as collectors/investors buy more, hold them longer and take them off the market. By the year 2015, experts believe that there will be some 100,000,000 coin collectors/investors worldwide, or nearly three times the number that exist today. Since there will be no more new coins available for these new collectors/investors, prices should continue to rise to meet the increased demand - a basic supply/demand fundamental. Fundamental Reason #4: History Since coins have commemorated heroes, great achievements and significant events throughout history, a collector/investor is essentially purchasing a piece of history AND a piece of art. Fundamental Reason #5: Affordability Despite consistent price gains over the years, rare, popular and historically significant rare coins are still affordable for the masses. Fundamental Reason #6: Liquidity Rare U.S. coins have become the most liquid of collectibles due to independent grading by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). With over 35,000,000 buyers and sellers in the market and annual estimated sales of more than $5,000,000,000, there are abundant opportunities to liquidate rare coins when the time comes. [While rare coins can be liquidated relatively quickly, they are not meant to be speculative or short-term investments. Investors should view rare coins as a long-term investment (5 to 7 years or longer). Of course, the longer the investment is held, the better the investment is likely to perform.] Fundamental Reason #7: Security The value of most U.S. rare coins is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity, yet rare coins also possess the security and intrinsic value of bullion. We will never see the government having to bail out gold. Fundamental Reason #8: Ownership In 1933, with one exception, taxpayers were required to turn in all gold to the government when private ownership was banned. Coins struck before 1933 were the exception. The government still has the power to ban private ownership of bulk gold coins like the Krugerrand, American Eagle and similar types of gold bullion coins. But, by law, private ownership of rare U.S. coins struck before 1933 cannot be prohibited. Fundamental Reason #9: Privacy There are no reporting requirements to any federal, state or local governmental agencies as a consequence of a purchase or sale of a rare coin. A true private storage of wealth! Fundamental Reason #10: Portability A small box can hold a substantial value of rare coins, and since coins are in bearer form, they can be transferred quickly, easily and confidentially. Fundamental Reason #11: Taxes Coins can only be taxed when profits are actually realized, and there is no taxation on undistributed profits. There is no Federal income tax liability on like-kind exchanges. These are key considerations in light of the ever-increasing taxes imposed on the American public. Fundamental Reason #12: Profitability While past performance is no guarantee of future results, it is well documented that rare U.S. coins have generated strong long-term increases of value. Rare coins only get rarer and, consequently, more valuable. The U.S. rare coin market offers outstanding growth potential. Fundamental Reason #13: Simplicity Rare coins are essentially management-free investments that do not require daily buy/sell decisions or monthly statements to decipher. There is no need to think about interest rates, the national debt, credit crises or a myriad of other economic issues. The long term trend for rare coins has been, is currently and, when applying all fundamentals logically, will continue to be - up. Fundamental Reason #14: Economics In uncertain economic times like the present, getting serious about investing in rare coins makes more sense than ever. As the United States and a new administration confront extremely troubling financial problems that will not be easily solved . . . such as the mountain of new debt, the continuing credit crisis and mortgage failures, a volatile geopolitical climate, a dollar in trouble, threat of inflation as the U.S. debt skyrockets to over $11 trillion, increased government spending and much more . . . rare coin ownership makes economic sense. I encourage you to contact one of Monaco’s account representatives toll-free at 1-888-751-1933 to initiate or enhance the rare coin portion of your investment portfolio. Among other services, Monaco’s investment professionals can: Assist you in planning your rare coin investment strategy or reviewing one that is already established; Recommend the best coins for your investment goals and portfolio diversification; Help you ensure that the rare coin portion of your portfolio is balanced; and Update you on market news, what America's top numismatists are recommending and new offerings. Monaco Rare Coins is a member of the Monex family of companies, industry leaders in hard asset investments since 1967, with over $30 billion in client transactions. Monaco will always make you an offer to buy your certified rare U.S. coins, even if you purchased them elsewhere. 2008-11-06T19:42:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/government-bailouts-guarantees-and-other-financial-machinations/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/government-bailouts-guarantees-and-other-financial-machinations/#When:00:59:00Z Nothing New...But What, Why, When and How The Hoover Administration created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) to stimulate economic activity in 1932.  In 1957, when its tenure came to an end, the RFC had loaned approximately $50 billion without burdening taxpayers significantly.  Under FDR in 1933, as part of the New Deal, the government actually made a small profit when it formed the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation to buy $3 billion worth of bad mortgages and refinance more than a million additional mortgages to stem the tide of rising foreclosures. A series of government rescues occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, the most highly touted of which was the 1979 bailout of the nation’s tenth largest company, the Chrysler Corporation.  The Carter Administration arranged $1.2 billion in subsidized loans for the automaker and netted the government a profit when Chrysler paid off its obligations. In 1989, the U.S. Congress established a government-owned asset management company, the Resolution Trust Corporation, to resolve the Savings and Loan crisis and pay depositors $125 billion in taxpayer money (approximately $200 billion in today’s dollars). Obviously, government bailouts, guarantees and other financial machinations aren’t anything new.  However, the time has come for us to ask some critical questions. J.  P.  Morgan gets Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, the government gets IndyMac and AIG, and Pimco makes a whole lot of money on Fannie and Freddie The Federal Reserve has guaranteed $29 billion of Bear Stearns’ assets in conjunction with a government-sponsored sale to J. P. Morgan Chase & Company.  Billions of dollars of equity were transferred to the balance sheet of one of the top five banks in America while the liabilities were guaranteed by the government (spelled U-S-t-a-x-p-a-y-e-r-s).  It has been reported that the executives of Bear Stearns walked away with bonuses and severance packages.  Government officials say that disaster was averted. On July 11th, IndyMac Bank’s assets were seized by Federal regulators.  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation estimates the cost of the intervention at about $8.9 billion as IndyMac became runner up to the largest bank collapse in history at that point in time, namely Continental Bank.  [In 1984, Congress took over Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust and the FDIC paid $4.5 billion to buy bad loans.] The IndyMac debacle is devouring a large portion of FDIC reserves, and if too many other banks fail in the year ahead, taxpayers will be required to “help out.” As I write this article, Washington Mutual Inc., has surpassed Continental when it was seized by government regulators on September 25.  Its branches and assets (not liabilities) were sold to J. P. Morgan Chase & Company for $1.9 billion in what is NOW the biggest bank failure in U.S. history and makes J. P. Morgan the biggest U.S. bank in terms of deposits.  We are being told that the net result of these bailouts is that the banking system is saved for now Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (not such cute sounding names anymore) were seized by the Treasury Department and temporarily put into a government conservatorship on September 7 with plans to inject up to $100 billion into each.  Investors like Bill Gross from Pimco had indicated that they would stop buying bonds unless the Treasury guaranteed all Fannie and Freddie obligations.  Gross and his firm are now $8 billion richer and the American taxpayers take on $200 billion (and probably more) in potential losses. On September 16, the government announced an $85 billion emergency loan to rescue American International Group Inc., a major insurance company, in return for a 79.9 percent stake. Eight critical questions (among many) that need answers There are some serious questions that need answers regarding government bailouts, guarantees and over the top financial assistance.  I can’t include all of them in this article, but here are eight to start the process: 1. Will these huge bailouts really stabilize the markets? For some time now, there has been concern that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were building empires and operating with little oversight.  (Imagine that, government entities building empires?) As the financial crisis hit, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called for a bailout, asking Congress to guarantee all their loans.  If his approach works, the market will stabilize.  If it does not, or the housing crisis deepens, taxpayers could pay tens of billions of dollars in bailouts.  So far, none of the recent bailouts has affected the markets for very long. 2. Are some entities too big to be allowed to fail? Of course, we have already reviewed the Fannie and Freddie situation, and as I write this article, the U.S. auto industry will be receiving $25 billion in loan guarantees per U.S. Senate approval.  Attached to legislation funding U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, the loan guarantees are intended to foster automotive innovation.  Without intervention of some sort, General Motors might have been forced into bankruptcy; however, Chrysler Chairman Robert Nardelli has stated that the loan guarantees should not be considered a rescue package or bailout for struggling carmakers.  The new legislation also applies to suppliers and foreign automakers with plants in the United States 20 years old or older (e.g., Nissan and Honda).  3. Don’t bailouts, guarantees and the like give the government the power to choose the winners and losers – a role usually reserved for the marketplace? In 2001, Congress authorized $5 billion in cash after the September 11 terror attacks to help prop up the airline industry with an additional $10 billion in loan guarantees.  While economists and airline experts agree that this was a unique case, how did the government decide to pick and choose?  Why not bail out the car rental companies which lost enormous sums with the airport shutdown?  Why not the airport hotels and restaurants?  Why not various tourism destinations?  Why not the television networks that lost hundreds of millions of advertising dollars as they ran advertisement-free coverage for days after the attacks? 4. What criteria determine who receives government support and who doesn’t? While the U.S. government has been involved in some manner with helping Bear Stearns, IndyMac, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and others, it allowed the market to do its job when it declined to back a deal that would have kept Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., the country’s fourth-largest brokerage firm, from declaring bankruptcy.  This earned the government praise from those who are concerned that government bailouts encourage various types of bad behavior because the taxpayer is always there to pick up the pieces. 5. Do government bailouts necessarily help troubled companies operate better, and isn’t it unfair to competitors who have been better managed? In 1971, the government bailed out Lockheed Aircraft, the nation’s largest defense contractor, saving it from bankruptcy with $250 million in government loan guarantees.  Critics say the government set a bad precedent by rewarding an inefficient corporation.  American carmakers, failing to meet competition from Japan, got government help through tariff protection in the late 1970s but did not respond with effective change.  And, while the Chrysler bailout is generally regarded as a success, many argue that it exacerbated the decline of the auto industry as automakers made very little change rather than learning a needed lesson about Chrysler’s decline and rethinking fuel efficiency and manufacturing quality.  Harley-Davidson, for example, instituted wholesale management changes, while the late 1970s auto industry did not. 6.Don’t government bailouts prevent the market from finding a bottom? Some financial experts worry that the government’s moves to bail out ailing companies are keeping the credit crisis from reaching a bottom, ultimately delaying an economic recovery.  Anything that slows down the deleveraging process prolongs the agony.  The government, by opening its coffers, may also be discouraging private sector lending and investing. 7. How should the government (which is supposedly made up of the people) be rewarded for helping? Should taxpayers (also known as government) merely put up money and provide guarantees, or will bureaucrats negotiate like hedge fund managers to make a big profit from taking on big risks?  In the past the government has made some profit on bailouts, but the risks are getting higher and higher. 8. What is going to happen to the dollar? Currently United States is running about a $500 billion dollar annual budget deficit.  This will be added to the national debt which currently stands at $10.2 trillion. And that doesn’t even take into account future Medicare and Social Security obligations, which now exceeds $50 trillion.  Oh, and then there are all those pesky baby boomers waiting in the wings.  Will we just run up the national debt to $15 trillion…$20 trillion…or more?  It is not as if the government has surpluses from which to draw all the needed capital to meet these obligations. We will have to borrow or print it.  Can the U.S. dollar maintain world trust? Can the U.S. dollar maintain world trust if the government continues to print, borrow and move dollars around from balance sheet to balance sheet ad infinitum?  Today the dollar is a note to pay debt that is exploding and apparently can be wiped away by the Fed in an instant or transferred to the backs of U.S. workers in the form of taxes. Russia, China and the Arab nations possess enormous amounts of oil, gold and U.S. dollars.  What if these nations formed an alliance (much like NATO, WTO, etc.) and offered an “ARC” dollar backed by gold or oil?  The currency could be exchanged for a specified amount of gold or oil.  It is sobering to note that discussions are presently occurring with the Gulf Monetary Authority for just such a system. In fact, the rumblings all over the world regarding the present financial situation in the United States are increasing and could serve to exacerbate global pressure. The Secretary General of the United Nations recently called for a new global financial system. A leading Chinese state newspaper reported in September, that threatened by a “financial tsunami,” the world must consider building a financial order no longer dependent on the United States. Giulio Tremonti, finance minister of Italy’s conservative and pro-U.S. government party, has warned of a systemic breakdown and criticized the “voracious selfishness” of speculators and “stupid sluggishness” of regulators.  Singling out former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, he stated that “Greenspan was considered a master.  Now we must ask ourselves whether he is not, after [Osama] bin Laden, the man who hurt America the most. . . . It is clear that what is happening is a disease.  It is not the failure of a bank, but the failure of a system.” Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently vowed to make relations with Latin America a top foreign policy priority (including nuclear energy cooperation with Venezuela), a pledge backed by the first Russian naval deployment to the Caribbean since the Cold War.  Putin and Venezuela’s Chavez suggested their countries are working to decrease U.S. global influence.  “Latin America is becoming a noticeable link in the chain of the multi-polar world that is forming,” Putin recently stated. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück, a Social Democrat and long-time champion of tougher financial market rules, told the German Parliament that “the U.S. will lose its status as the superpower of the world financial system” with the emergence of stronger, better-capitalized centers in Asia and Europe.  “The world will never be the same again.” In order to be fair and balanced, it should be noted that the more optimistic school of thought sees the current financial events as an inevitable period of reconfiguration from which the markets and U.S. economic dominance will emerge reasonably unscathed.  “This time next year we’ll be seeing things back to normal,” said Eamonn Butler, director of the Adam Smith Institute.  From time-to-time, businesses fail and the worst thing a government can do is to bail them out because that just passes the cost on to the taxpayer and creates a moral hazard.” The nation’s financial turmoil has many Americans worrying. Nevertheless, the nation’s financial turmoil has many Americans worrying about the security of their savings and investments.  If the history of previous bailouts and other government financial interventions hold any single lesson, it’s that the outcomes are unpredictable and the problems will take years to work out.  Free markets permit failure.  The government has a role to play when stakes are enormously high and the public welfare is in peril.  But, even that is difficult to assess.  We don’t know that the bailout plan just passed by Congress and signed by the President will actually accomplish anything...other than reward the bad players. Diversification has never been more crucial. Diversification has never been more crucial.  Most investment professionals agree that diversification is the most important component of reaching long-range financial goals while minimizing risk. And, conventional wisdom says that to be truly diversified and safe, you must own gold in one of its various forms…such as rare gold coins.  Now is an opportune time to trade up and add to a collection.  Call one of Monaco’s account representatives toll-free today at 1-888-700-7357 to initiate or enhance the rare coin portion of your portfolio.  Among other benefits, our investment professionals can: Assist you in planning your rare coin investment strategy or reviewing one that is already established. Help you ensure that your rare coin portfolio is balanced. Recommend the best coins for your investment goals. Keep you updated on market news, what America’s top numismatists are doing and recommending, and new offerings. Monaco Rare Coins is a member of the Monex family of companies, industry leaders in hard asset investment since 1967 with over $25 billion in client transactions.  Monaco will always make you an offer to buy your certified rare U.S. coins, even if you purchased them elsewhere.,/em> 2008-10-24T00:59:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/what-do-i-do-now-with-rare-coins-buy-sell-or-hold/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/what-do-i-do-now-with-rare-coins-buy-sell-or-hold/#When:22:05:00Z by Adam Crum In light of the current economic situation, I think it's important to address the concerns of many collectors and investors regarding their current rare coin holdings . . . and those who desire to increase their holdings, or to diversify into rare coins for the first time. For obvious reasons, we have been fielding a HUGE number of calls from buyers and would-be sellers of coins wondering how the tumultuous global economy is affecting the values of rare coins and the overall business environment of our industry. It seems that panic is striking nearly everywhere – and rightly so – but not here at Monaco and Monex. I have talked for years about the real threat of the kind of events that we have recently witnessed and have planned accordingly. I have been recommending and specializing in coins that would ultimately benefit from the scenario now playing out in this global economic mess. Monaco and our customers are well-diversified and have been buying popular, rare and quality coins for quite some time. This focus on popular, quality and rare coins is working well for both those needing to sell, and for those wishing to add to their collections. The sellers are seeing that they have real liquidity, and those few who are sellers are providing real opportunity to those more fortunate buyers with stronger hands. But I will touch more on the rare coin market in a minute. Let's first look at the mess unfolding in our financial markets and try to determine how that could impact the rare coin market. By Secretaries Paulson's and Bernanke's own words, the U.S. financial crisis is on the edge of spiraling out of control. Both say they are prepared to take "drastic measures" . . . whatever that means. The fact of the matter is that our national debt has grown by over $600 Billion in the past 15 days and now totals over $10.3 Trillion. True, SOME of that debt is backed by something of "value" . . . the trouble is, no one knows what that value is! Experts speculate the value of some of those assets is just 20 or 30 cents on the dollar . . . and that taxpayers will be on the hook for the rest. The architects of this disaster can be tied to the political pressure during 1997 to 1999 to force Fannie Mae to loan money to those with little or no ability to pay it back. In their attempt to redistribute wealth and help those less fortunate achieve the American dream of home ownership, liberal politicians – whether purposely or accidentally – created a system that instead crushed those very dreams. Market forces took over from all this new availability of borrowed money, and prices rose at a rate that have proven to be unsustainable. And that is where we are now . . . real asset values (more particularly real estate values) have plummeted and the government is now attempting to keep bad loans from failing and real estate prices from falling. Rather than letting market forces flush out the excess borrowing and begin to replenish savings, the government is encouraging even more borrowing which will continue to drain what little is left in our savings pool. So . . . where could this all lead us? I believe that there are three possible outcomes: We inflate to the level of debt and fulfill the debt obligations . . . but we do it with cheaper dollars; We take the hit, cleanse the system of excesses which would deflate anything tied to paper, increase bankruptcies and put people on the streets, out of work; We bleed out and disinflate like Japan did over a 16-year period. (I doubt that will happen here . . . we Americans are WAY too impatient and we like to "mark-to-market" and move on.) My bet (and looking at the government's choices over the past 50 years I think it's a safe bet) . . . we will inflate, print more money, encourage spending, encourage borrowing and hold interest rates artificially low. Now, how will this affect the rare coin market? Let's first take a look at current conditions. Coins allow you – in fact, they FORCE you – to consider carefully whether or not to sell your coins in any particular market environment, thereby reducing the "panic effect." While the rare coin market may not dominate the headlines these days, it is the only market I can see that has held steady . . . which is a HUGE win in this current economic environment. In fact, many areas of the rare coin market have seen price INCREASES over the past few months. The indisputable fact is that coins are an excellent hedge in an economic climate like we are seeing now. This can be confirmed by studying history and looking at similar economic periods of the past. Rare coin prices actually rose during the Great Depression. They rose again in the recession of the mid-1970s, when real estate values and stocks plummeted. During the 1979 oil crisis, coin prices rose dramatically. And in the two years following the 1987 stock market crash, coin prices more than doubled (and launched my rare coin career!). My very strong recommendations to you at this time: Sell only if you must. Hold what you have. And if you have the money you should look to increase your holdings. Until next time, good luck . . . end enjoy the hunt! 2008-10-13T22:05:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/introducing-the-ss-central-america-octagonal-humbert-50-gold-commemorative/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/introducing-the-ss-central-america-octagonal-humbert-50-gold-commemorative/#When:23:30:00Z by Adam Crum A collector coin that I have dreamed of developing since attending the San Francisco ANA Convention over two years ago is finally becoming a reality. One of my favorite coins — and a coin that Q. David Bowers called, "the signature coin of the California Gold Rush" — is the 1851 and 1852 Augustus Humbert $50 Gold Octagonal "Slug." These impressive and hefty gold rarities define the California Gold Rush and were actually gold ingots according to Augustus Humbert's notes. However, they have been called by many different names, the most common of which is a "slug." Their octagonal shape has made them some of most desirable "oddities" in the numismatic marketplace. They have earned a place in the famed book by Jeff Garrett, The 100 Greatest United States Coins, and without a doubt, they are the most asked-about single item from our catalog of SS Central America artifacts. Unfortunately, there were only 13 original "slugs" recovered from the shipwreck site and those were in average quality of AU (about uncirculated) and they sold out immediately. Today the starting price for one of those 13 originals would be in the neighborhood of $75,000 or more. It is widely believed by experts in Pioneer Gold that of the original mintages from 1851 and 1852, that there are between 400-600 survivors in all conditions, with most exhibiting severe damage. Even those with extreme damage trade regularly at $15,000 or more. The finest-known slugs of each variety are valued at $500,000 or more, with the highest ever graded being MS65Star by NGC. Obviously, these coins are of extreme historical importance and very popular with collectors and investors. This popularity and high value is why I was so excited to be involved with a team that has created what I believe will be a numismatic classic. But more on that later… The "SS Central America Octagonal Humbert $50 Gold Commemorative" has been created the old-fashioned way. Possibly the last surviving artist who still hand-engraves master coin dies is engraver Ron Landis. He was commissioned to engrave the dies for this beautiful new commemorative, and he used the finest-known original 1852 Humbert $50 as his model. Using only his eyes and his masterful hands, he engraved the master dies over a three month period working day and night, just like they would have done in 1852. Every process in the production of this coin had to be created by hand, a true work of art. Even the refining of the gold had to be reworked using an age-old process. Every ounce of gold used to create these beautiful commemoratives was recovered from the shipwreck of the SS Central America. I re-acquired two large gold bricks which were sold to primary investors years ago. They were Kellogg & Humbert ingots #555 and #830, which confirms the fact that not only are these wonderful works of art created out of real California Gold Rush gold, but they are created using gold which was assayed by the company owned by Augustus Humbert himself. And, since Humbert was a master assayer, these two ingots quite possibly were assayed by his own hand. There have been two previous commemoratives created by the gold recovered from the SS Central America shipwreck site. The first, a beautiful 2.5 ounce $50 Kellogg round coin, with a mintage of 5,000 … and second, a beautiful half-ounce $10 "Horseman" with a mintage of 4,000 — and the original release of both coins sold out years ago. Both coins have become highly-collected and trade regularly in the marketplace. The most exciting part of the "SS Central America $50 Octagonal Humbert Commemorative" is the extremely low and limited mintage. The amount of gold recovered from the two ingots will allow only approximately 360 examples of this numismatic masterpiece to be recreated. The commemorative "slugs" are being struck as I write this article, and it will take a couple of weeks before they are ready to deliver. The picture you see here is the first "die trial" made to test the quality and strength of the final working dies. These large and beautiful 2.5 ounce gold works of art are simply incredible when you consider that each feather, claw, shield and every detail was recreated by the hand of Ron Landis. The "slugs" created by Augustus Humbert in 1852 are without a doubt a very popular and valuable item with high quality originals capturing hundreds of thousands of dollars each time one is presented to the marketplace. That is why these beautiful new commemoratives will capture the imagination of the numismatic community: 1. They are replicas of one of the most popular coins in all numismatics and listed in the book, The100 Greatest United States Coins … and the coin which Q. David Bowers said, "is the signature coin of the California Gold Rush". 2. They were created using the same techniques used by Augustus Humbert over 150 years ago … and are literally handmade works of art. 3. The gold used to create these new commemoratives was recovered from the shipwreck site of the SS Central America and was assayed by Augustus Humbert in 1857. Each coin contains 2.5 ounces of authentic California Gold Rush gold, assayed in the offices of Kellogg & Humbert at 104 Montgomery St. in San Francisco. I believe these coins will become classics, just as the $50 Kelloggs and $10 Horsemen have, and they can now be purchased for a fraction of what an original would cost. With only 360 coins being created, they will not last long. Don't be left out … call your Monaco Rare Coins representative today at 1-888-700-7357. 2008-10-10T23:30:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/monaco-rare-coins-now-offers-americas-most-popular-rare-coins/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/monaco-rare-coins-now-offers-americas-most-popular-rare-coins/#When:23:51:00Z at a HUGE 50%-67% discount, saving you hundreds of $$$ Monaco Rare Coins is proud to announce a way you can now own beautiful and brilliant uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollars – America’s most collected rare coins – for just a small fraction of what other dealers are charging. These classic Morgan Silver Dollars are works of art to be sure, and every bit as beautiful as the day they were minted over 100 years ago.  But they also are a stellar investment . . . especially at Monaco’s great prices. More about that in a minute.  But first, a bit of history about these stunning rarities: The history of the Morgan Silver Dollar is filled with passion and intrigue. It was 1873 and the Mint Act substantially reduced the amount of silver the U.S. Mints needed for coinage.  Domestic industries needed little silver, and with the German Empire adopting a gold standard, over 8,000 tons of silver went on the international market in one fell swoop.  The discovery of enormous silver deposits in Nevada (the Comstock Lode being the most famous of these) only added to the glut. Faced with threats domestic and foreign as the price of silver fell precipitously, the U.S. silver mine owners began lobbying their friends on Capitol Hill.  Although practically no silver dollars had circulated for decades, millions of trade dollars were in use by importers trading in China and the Bureau of the Mint could buy foreign silver more cheaply, the U.S. mine owners wanted legislators to regard any threat to silver as a threat to the nation. U.S. Treasury is required to purchase 2 to 4 million dollars worth of new domestic silver bullion monthly at artificial prices for silver dollar coinage only! On February 28, 1878, Representative Richard P. “Silver Dick” Bland (D-MO), with the assistance of Senator William Boyd Allison (R-IA), influenced Congress to pass a silver dollar bill over the veto of President Hayes.  The Bland Bill required the U.S. Treasury to make monthly purchases of 2 to 4 million dollars worth of new domestic (not recycled or foreign) silver bullion at artificially high prices for silver dollar coinage only. Believing that it was just a matter of time until “Silver Dick” got his way, Mint Director Linderman had already hired George T. Morgan to design a new coin.  With unprecedented speed and a precious metal content of .77344 ounces of pure “bonanza silver” from the Old West, the Morgan Silver Dollars were minted in Carson City, Denver, New Orleans, Philadelphia and San Francisco from 1878 to 1921.  The unpopular, large coins quickly became known as “buzzard dollars” or “Bland dollars” and, after about 1892, “dollars of our daddies” or “daddy dollars.” Treasury is required to buy 187 ½ tons of domestic silver every month for use as silver dollar coinage only and pay mine owners in Treasury notes redeemable in gold! Silver prices continued to drop worldwide despite the artificially subsidized domestic market, so the silver lobby saw to it that another bill, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, was pushed through Congress.  The Act required the Treasury to buy 187 ½ tons of domestic silver every month for use as silver dollar coinage only, and to pay the mine owners in Treasury notes redeemable in gold.  It was a terrible blunder. By 1893, Treasury vaults overflowed with silver dollars that hardly circulated.  To make matters worse, the mine owners continuously redeemed the 1890 “Coin Notes” for gold.  This nearly depleted the nation’s vaults of gold while the Treasury still had domestic and foreign obligations payable only in gold. With the threat of a Treasury default, Wall Street panicked, some 419 banks failed and with them went their depositors.  Suddenly millions of Americans were jobless and in financial trouble.  President Cleveland called Congress into special session and the Sherman Act was repealed, but only after months of bitter opposition led by none other than “Silver Dick” Bland.  Existing stock piles of silver bullion allocated for dollars were diminished by 1904, ending the Morgan dollar era for 17 years.  Most of these dollars, like the ones before, remained in treasury vaults until the 1960s. Morgans melted due to the Pittman Act and World War II! The Pittman Act of 1918 required the melting of “not over 350 million silver dollars.” However, pressure from the silver lobby forced inclusion of a clause in the Act requiring the purchase of enough domestic silver bullion to replace all the melted dollars.  Consequently, some 86,730,000 Morgan dollars were once again minted in 1921 until the Peace design replaced the Morgan later that year. Although hundreds of millions of Morgans were minted between 1878 and 1904, rarities in the Morgan Dollar series today are mostly due to large scale meltings of the coin.  These meltings disposed of most of the rarer branch-mint issues and apparently all 12,000 of the 1895 Philadelphia business strikes.  In all, 333,022,048 silver dollars were melted from 1883 to 1964, including probably almost half the coinage of Morgan dollars and possibly 75% of the Peace dollars.  Some 81% of this total meltage was mandated by the Pittman Act of 1918, and another 52 million coins were melted during World War II. Morgans have grown in popularity to become the foundation of the rare coin market! As the largest and heaviest of U.S. coins minted after the Civil War, Morgan Silver Dollars have grown in popularity over the decades to become the foundation of today’s rare coin market.  The Morgan Silver Dollar is truly a solid value and priced right . . . especially here at Monaco Rare Coins. We are offering Morgan Silver Dollars in rolls of 20 coins for just $640.  That’s a great value at just $32 per coin!  (You will find the same type of coins we are offering for sale in ads currently running on television selling for as much as $79-$99 per coin!) There is a minimum 20 coins per order (1 roll) with a strict limit of 1,000 coin bag per customer.  These are “brilliant uncirculated” Morgan dollars.  All are over 100 years old, and most are 19th century coins. Morgans are an especially great value for folks new to the numismatic world who want to start collecting and investing in rare coins! If you aren’t already convinced that acquiring these Morgan Silver Dollars is a very special opportunity, here are seven points to keep in mind:  First…Morgan Silver Dollars are the most popular coins in numismatics and no more Morgan Silver Dollars will ever be minted.  The supply is fixed and demand is growing. Second…these large, incredibly beautiful Morgan Silver Dollars are more than coins; they are a piece of the very fabric of America – from the taming of the frontier to the phenomenal growth of the early 20th Century. Third…Morgan Silver Dollars can be an excellent hedge against inflation and numerous other crises that can affect mankind. Fourth…silver bullion has been in a bull market and is expected to explode in coming years. Fifth…Morgan Silver Dollars are an especially great value for folks new to the numismatic world who want to start collecting and investing in rare coins.  Sixth…in comparison to prices of years gone by, these historic and rare U.S. coins are selling for pennies on the dollar.  Rare U.S. coins may well be one of the best investment opportunities presently available. Seventh…rare coins have real value and are real money. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to acquire rare coins…that time is now! Many people buy rare U.S. coins to help them diversify and build their investment portfolios over the long-term.  If you are new to collecting, Morgan Silver Dollars are a terrific way for you to get started.  Simply put, if you want to invest in a market that’s on the rise, yet still priced right, you need to seriously consider these historic Morgan Silver Dollars NOW. If you’ve been waiting for an opportune time to acquire rare coins, that time is now!  Remember, these are “brilliant uncirculated or BU” Morgan dollars.  BU rolls traded for as much as $2,000 per roll at the peak of the last bull market.  With today’s volatile currency markets and other markets literally on the brink, these coins make a lot of sense as a hedge and storage of wealth. All the coins we are offering are over 100 years old, mostly 19th century coins and in rolls of 20 coins for just $640 . . . only $32 per coin!  These same coins are presently being advertised on television for as much as $79 - $99 per coin (and sometimes even more!).  Please call us toll free at 1-888-900-9948 and place your order immediately.  Supplies are limited. A member of the Monex family of companies, industry leaders in hard asset investments since 1967 with over $25 billion in client transactions, you can depend on Monaco Rare Coins.  By the way, Monaco Rare Coins will always make you an offer to buy your certified rare U.S. coins . . . even if you purchased them elsewhere. 2008-10-01T23:51:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/the-us-dollar-oil-gold-relationship/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/the-us-dollar-oil-gold-relationship/#When:21:47:00Z by Adam Crum The U.S. dollar has become the whipping boy of world currencies and the price of oil has been the big topic of discussion for some time now. Why is oil so expensive? Are we running out of it or is someone disrupting the supply? Is there some sort of conspiracy against the United States? Some blame supply and demand; others say speculation and politicians tell us it is oil company greed. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has stated, "There is no justification for the current rise in prices." When the U.S. dollar is losing value, it is believed to be a function of low interest rates, an expanding budget and current account deficits. Oil price increases are viewed as a result of growing demand, geopolitical tensions, supply issues, speculation…AND a weak U.S. dollar. Today, the two main reasons for the high price of oil are 1) the weak U.S. dollar and 2) the liquidity the Federal Reserve is pumping into the economy, which, in fact, helps to weaken the dollar. Pessimism on the part of the citizenry towards the dollar (even if it is only psychological) can cause the dollar to plummet even lower, which is where some experts believe the dollar is headed. And yet, the dollar bulls believe the dollar is poised to go up. Dollar jumps, oil sinks, bond market pays the price Because the situation is so dismal at the moment, some suggest that the only direction for the U.S. dollar is up. A few of the reasons for this belief include… The dollar is undervalued. It was just before the dollar bull market in 1982 that the dollar was this undervalued compared to other world currencies. The last two major U.S. dollar bear markets each lasted exactly seven years and this is the seventh year of the present dollar bear market. Starting in 1971 when President Nixon nixed the gold standard, those who believe the dollar is poised to ascend will propose the following three major dollar bear markets as proof that this will be the last year for the present cycle. 1971 — 1978 Fed Chairman Volcker squeezes inflation. Gold rises 1985 — 1992 Tech boom begins 2001 — 2008 Tech bubble pops Credit crunch Stabilized interest rates would provide support for the greenback. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr. and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke have zeroed in on the dollar as a way to reduce oil prices. Stabilized interest rates would lend support to the dollar. And, rising bond yields strengthen the dollar’s position since they make bonds more attractive to investors. [Of course, rising bond yields will put pressure on mortgage rates too, which is about the last thing the struggling housing market needs at the moment.] The dollar could remain weak or falter even more Unfortunately there are quite a few reasons why the dollar could weaken even more. First, interest rates are still out of kilter. The yield differential for the dollar against the euro is negative. In fact, when one compares the real interest rates of all the major currencies, the U.S. dollar comes in last. While the Fed may not cut interest rates any further, that doesn't mean the interest rate differentials that currently favor other major currencies will change right away. Second, the credit crunch may not be over. Because of its position among the world’s currencies, the U.S. dollar gets hit the hardest when risk increases in the global economy, so it’s too soon to say the U.S. economy is safe from the effects of the credit crunch. Third, there’s the U.S. housing and mortgage crisis. U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson stated in July that 1.5 million home foreclosures were initiated in 2007, and some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures initiated this year. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the only two institutions thought to be big enough to save the market from further collapse now need to be propped up at a cost estimated as high as $25 billion. Fourth, the United States is running a massive current account deficit funded by the rest of the world. The U.S. has been able to borrow at low rates, but there is a limit. Increasing budget and trade deficits have thrust the U.S. current account deficit to over $60 billion a month! Fifth, and perhaps the most critical of all, there are big differences between previous oil crises and the oil crisis we are now experiencing. In 1973, when OPEC placed an embargo on oil to the United States for supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War with Egypt, the reason was political. It had nothing to do with supply and demand. Ironically, the embargo prompted conservation, so that when the supply of oil was cut off a second time, it wasn’t nearly as painful for the U.S. as the time. This time OPEC took it on the jaw, because the U.S. didn't need as much and without American demand oil prices fell. Between 1979 and 1981, when the oil industry in Iran collapsed in the wake of revolution and the loss in output contributed to the worst worldwide recession, especially in the U.S., since the 1930s, new oil sources such as Alaska, the North Sea, Mexico and Angola were about to kick in. By the mid-1980s, oil was selling for less than $15 per barrel and because everyone believed the supply was plentiful, the price remained relatively stable. This era of cheap oil, however, created the illusion that oil would be cheap forever or at least for a long, long time. Today, the import/domestic production ratio has reversed and the United States imports about two-thirds of its oil. Along with supply and demand, there are some other serious reasons why the U.S. is in uncharted territory. Accelerating decline in net oil exports. Jeffrey Brown and others associated with TheOilDrum.com have proposed a theory called the “Export Land Model” or ELM. The ELM proposes that once a country's oil production peaks, it will decline at a 5% annual rate at the same time that local consumption increases by 2.5%. Nine years after peak production is hit, a country’s net exports will reach zero and the one-time exporter becomes an importer. The model has proven accurate in the cases of the United States, China, Great Britain and Indonesia. For example, China has gone from being a net exporter in 1993 to importing four million barrels a day today, with those imports projected to rise another 50% over the next 10 years. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy said the amount of petroleum products shipped by the world's top oil exporters fell 2.5% last year, despite a 57% increase in prices. And that only means one thing: prices going much higher. All oil reserves follow Hubbert's Curve A leading geophysicist in the early 1950s, M. King Hubbert, developed a predictive model called Hubbert’s Curve. The model demonstrated that all oil reserves follow a pattern spanning discovery to depletion. Production initially increases as more wells are drilled in any given oil field and newer and better technology comes online. Eventually peak output is reached and oil production not only begins to decline, it also becomes less cost effective. In fact, at some point the energy it takes to extract, transport and refine a barrel of oil exceeds the energy contained in that barrel of oil. At that point in time, drilling is no longer viable and the reserve is abandoned. Met with great skepticism in 1956, Hubbert predicted that U.S. crude oil production would peak in the early 1970s and then decline. The prediction, in fact, was accurate. Oil production in the U.S. peaked in 1970 and has been declining ever since. We are now depleting global reserves at an annual rate of 6 percent, while demand is growing at an annual rate of 2 percent. That growth rate is expected to triple over the next 20 years. This means that world reserves must increase by 8 percent per annum simply to maintain the status quo. We are nowhere near achieving that goal. According to Dr. Colin Campbell, one of the world's leading geologists, the world consumes four barrels of oil for every one it discovers. Based on Hubbert's work, oil and gas experts now project that world oil production will peak sometime in the latter half of this decade. Catastrophic decline in Mexico. In April, Mexico's oil production fell to a nine-year low of 2.8 million barrels a day, mostly because of a decline in its giant Cantarell field. According to Mexico's Energy Ministry, at the current rate of decline, Mexico will become a net oil importer by 2016, and perhaps sooner. Mexico's state-run oil company, Pemex, has reported its oil exports will drop about 15% below last year's level. Mexico is America's #3 supplier of imported oil. This is not only a crisis for Mexico; it's a crisis for the United States. Resource Nationalism on the rise. More and more countries are realizing their oil is a national treasure, and they're starting to sell as little of it as possible at the highest prices possible. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez's nationalization crusade has forced out two of the world's largest energy companies and OPEC is preparing a "windfall" oil tax to boost its share of profits from its fields. In Russia, Vladimir Putin has brought more than half of that country's oil industry under state control by taking properties and projects from large foreign oil companies. Even our "good friends" in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar - curbed their output by 544,000 barrels a day last year. At the same time, their domestic demand increased by 318,000 barrels a day (remember the Export Land Model) and their net exports dropped by 862,000 barrels. In fact, net exports from Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, have actually dropped by nearly 1.2 million barrels since 2006. Saudi oil executive Sadad Al-Husseini said last June: "There has been a paradigm shift in the energy world whereby oil producers are no longer inclined to rapidly exhaust their resource for the sake of accelerating the misuse of a precious and finite commodity. This sentiment prevails inside and outside of OPEC countries, but has yet to be appreciated among the major energy-consuming countries of the world." Nationalized oil companies presently control 94% of the world's conventional oil and gas reserves. The U.S. is now in major competition with China, India, Japan and other countries for oil. There are 10 million new cars and trucks heading out for the highway this year in China and millions more joining traffic jams in India and other emerging markets. OPEC is starting to realize that because of this new demand, they need the United States a lot less than we need them. Asia is why global oil demand is growing stronger even though the U.S. economy is slowing down. In previous oil crises, a weakened U.S. economy dragged down the global economy and global oil demand. But the International Monetary Fund has projected that even with higher oil prices the global economy will grow at 3.7% this year and 3.8% next year. Oil supply is growing at 1% annually. And since the governments of countries like India, China, Indonesia and some Arab countries subsidize oil and gasoline prices, demand is also artificially high in these countries. Obviously, this means that the United States isn’t even competing on an even playing field. Islamic law forbids the use of a promise of payment Do you know that in 1933, King Ibn Saud demanded payment in gold for the original oil concession in Saudi Arabia? In fact, Islamic law forbids the use of a promise of payment as a medium of exchange. An example of that would be the post 1971 U.S. dollar. There is growing dissention among religious fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia regarding the exchange of oil for U.S. dollars. Russian premier Vladimir Putin and Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez have both publicly announced that they may begin to price oil in euros in the near future. Even Saudi Arabia has stated that it is considering pricing its oil in euros, as well as in U.S. dollars. Will Arab nations one day require payment in Islamic gold and silver dinars? Dollar falls, oil up, inflation up, coins up The immediate cause of rising oil prices is the weak dollar as we have noted. Because the dollar is worth less, oil producers are requiring more dollars to purchase a barrel of oil today than a few years ago. But, there is much more to the story as we have seen. The United States imports about 75 percent of its oil and owns only 2 percent of world reserves. President Bush recently stated that our country is addicted to oil. In fact, it would be more to the point to say that we are addicted to foreign oil and the majority of those foreign oil reserves are located in politically unstable and/or not particularly friendly locations. Generally speaking, when the price of oil increases, the result is increasing inflation. Experts are now saying that The price of heating oil could DOUBLE this winter and that means natural gas will be higher as well. Our national power grid could be hit by rolling blackouts, since it runs partially on natural gas. ome currently estimate U.S. food inflation at 9% and higher fuel costs are going to take food prices into the stratosphere. Food prices increased 43% in the past year worldwide, and the IMF estimates that about half of that is due to biofuels. Higher oil prices are eventually reflected in virtually every finished product, as well as food and commodities and, ironically, even the highways upon which we drive. Plastic, which seems to be everywhere and a part of every thing, is dependent upon oil. Today, there is less oil to go around as net oil exports from most oil-producing countries are decreasing and demand is increasing. AND, we aren’t coming up with any quick fixes. This is probably why Alexey Miller, the chief executive officer of Russia's oil giant Gazprom, has predicted that oil would rise to $250 a barrel in the foreseeable future. The next few years should be spectacular for gold. The United States is now essentially a nation under economic siege. It has gone from the world's largest creditor to its greatest debtor. The value of the dollar is sinking and domestic manufacturing is diminishing. Middle Eastern oil producers may be forced to diversify their vast U.S. dollar holdings into precious metals and other currencies to protect themselves from further losses. As losses mount, other large, non-oil producing U.S. dollar holders like Japan, China, Korea, India and Taiwan would seek to diversify out of U.S. dollars as well. Eventually, this could result in a dollar sell-off and a corresponding increase in oil and gold prices. Investment analysts have long recommended that 10% to 20% of an investment portfolio be dedicated to gold and other precious metals no matter the financial climate. In times of crisis, this is imperative. In fact, until very recently, gold was humanity’s money of choice for some very good reasons. Gold exists in a limited supply. Presently, the world's mines produce about 2,500 tons of gold a year, while demand for gold is currently running about 4,000 tons. New demand from countries like China and India is soaring. Governments can’t make more of it, so its value tends to be stable All the conditions that led to its tripling so far in this decade are still in place. The U.S. and Europe are still borrowing far more than they can ever hope to pay off and financing this debt with newly-created paper currency, unable or unwilling to grasp the inherent risks in creating paper currency in infinite quantities. Oil and other commodities are still in short supply, as demand from China and India soars. The financial markets are anxious about the dollar and the U.S. monetary and banking system. If the dollar and other paper currencies continue to weaken, the world will look for alternatives, one of which will be gold. Massive amounts of global capital will start chasing a very limited supply of gold in its various forms, sending its value through the roof. We are already beginning to see this happen. Is the nation facing an economic upheaval of frightening proportions brought on by growing federal, personal and corporate debt, too little savings, a declining dollar, high oil prices and lack of domestic manufacturing? Are we looking towards a period marked by sizeable tax hikes, loss of retirement benefits, double digit inflation? Can we truly know what the eventual economic outcome will be? No, we can’t. However, no matter what happens, the savvy investor looks at the long term and at diversification. Long term because there will be ups and downs…often daily …wars, disasters, governmental mistakes and so on. And, because we know it is the healthiest, wisest and safest way to maintain a portfolio, diversification is essential. And, diversification means hard assets like rare gold coins. Demand for rare coins continues to expand There are numerous reasons why the demand for rare coins continues to expand among collectors and investors alike. They include both the aesthetic AND the financial. Historical art. Since coins have commemorated heroes, great achievements and significant events throughout the history of America, an investor or collector is essentially purchasing a piece of history and a piece of art. Diversification. In order to maintain diversification and overall risk, investment professionals recommend ten to twenty percent of an investment portfolio be devoted to tangible assets. And, while past performance is no guarantee of future results, it is well documented in the literature that rare U.S. coins have proven to be an excellent hedge against inflation and have generated strong long-term profits over the past thirty years. Liquidity. Rare U.S. coins have become the most liquid of collectibles due to independent grading by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). Tax benefits. Coins can only be taxed when profits are actually realized and there is no taxation on undistributed profits. Unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on like-kind exchanges. Privacy. Rare coins can be accumulated privately and cannot be confiscated by the government during times of crisis. Intrinsic value. The value of most U.S. rare coins is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity, yet gold coins also possess the security of bullion. Affordability. Despite consistent price gains over the years, quality rare coins are still affordable for the private investor. Call one of Monaco’s account representatives toll-free today at 1-888-900-9948 to initiate or enhance the rare coin portion of your portfolio. Among other benefits, our investment professionals can: Help you plan and/or review your rare coin investment strategy. Ensure that your rare coin portfolio is balanced. Recommend the best coins for your investment goals. Keep you updated on market news, what America's top numismatists are doing and recommending, and new offerings. Monaco Financial is a member of the Monex family of companies, industry leaders in hard asset investment since 1967 with over $30 billion in client transactions. Monaco will always make you an offer to buy your certified rare U.S. coins, even if you purchased them elsewhere. 2008-08-12T21:47:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/1861-p-paquet-double-eagle-sold-for-record-25-million-by-monaco/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/1861-p-paquet-double-eagle-sold-for-record-25-million-by-monaco/#When:22:41:00Z For immediate release February 21, 2008 (Newport Beach, California) – One of the two known 1861 Philadelphia Mint Paquet Reverse $20 gold coins has been sold for a record $2.5 million by Monaco Rare Coins of Newport Beach, California. "The buyer is an Orange County California business executive who has been collecting since childhood and now is assembling a marvelous collection of Type One ("Liberty Head" 1850 to 1866) Double Eagles. The record price for this spectacular rarity is indicative of the desirability of this historic coin as well as the continuing strength of the rare coin market," said Adam Crum, Vice President of Monaco. The sale was announced by Crum during the recent Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo where the coin was part of a multi-million exhibit of Type One Double Eagles. The coin is graded PCGS MS-61. The anonymous new owner issued a brief statement saying, "I am extremely grateful to Adam Crum and Monaco for the acquisition of this coin. I am honored to be the custodian of such an important piece of history." Nearly three million Double Eagle gold pieces were struck in 1861 in Philadelphia, but today only two are known with a slightly modified tail's side design made by Assistant Mint Engraver, Anthony Paquet. He also is known among Mint historians as the engraver of the first Congressional Medal of Merit. Born in Germany in 1814, Paquet arrived in the United States in 1848. He became an assistant to the Mint Chief Engraver, James Longacre, in 1857. Two years later he began working on new designs for the reverse of the Double Eagle, making the lettering taller and more slender. "Technical problems with striking the coins and perhaps some internal politics at the Mint in early 1861 resulted in a sudden halt to the production of the $20 gold pieces with the Paquet design on the tail's side of the coins. The mint resumed production using Longacre's version. Only two surviving 1861 Philadelphia Mint examples are known with the Paquet reverse design," explained Crum, who is co-author of the reference book, "An Insider's Guide to Collecting Type I Double Eagles." The pedigree of this coin traces back to the collection of Baltimore adventurer, Col. Mendes I. Cohen, which was sold at auction in 1875 by one of America's first major coin dealers, Edward Cogan. The coin then vanished from the radar for nearly a century until it was rediscovered in Europe in 1965 in a bag with other $20 gold pieces. Subsequent owners included notable companies and individuals including Paramount International Coin Corporation, Rare Coin Company of America (RARCOA), Abe Kosoff, Mike Brownlee and H. Jeff Browning. It was first acquired by Monaco for $1,610,000 at the Heritage Auction Galleries sale during the American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money in Denver in 2006, and subsequently privately sold for $1,771,000. "Few coins are as important, and even fewer can hold the distinction of being rarer. It's one of only two surviving specimens, and the fourth rarest United States coin behind three unique items; the 1870-S half-dime, the 1870-S $3 ‘Princess' and the 1873-CC No Arrows dime. This truly is a wonderful coin, and we're very excited to have the opportunity to assist a collector to own such a historical coin," said Crum. For additional information, contact Monaco Rare Coins toll-free at (888) 751-1933, or online at www.zoomcoin.com. 2008-02-22T22:41:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/is-the-us-dollar-becoming-just-another-currency/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/is-the-us-dollar-becoming-just-another-currency/#When:01:17:00Z by Adam Crum One of the challenges to a euro-based oil transaction trading system has been the lack of a euro-denominated oil pricing standard, or oil "marker" as it is called in the industry. The three current oil markers, West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), Norway Brent crude and UAE Dubai crude, are all denominated in U.S. dollars. I use the words "has been" because Iran switched its oil payments for its European Union (EU) and Asian Clearing Union (ACU) customers from dollars to euros in mid-2003. And it appears that a new oil marker based on Iranian crude and denominated in euros only has become a reality. Is it deja vu? Iraq's oil export currency was changed to the euro by Saddam Hussein in September 2000 when he announced that Iraq would no longer accept dollars for oil being sold under the United Nations' Oil-for-Food program. However, in June 2003, that country's oil sales once again became denominated in U.S. dollars after the involvement of the U.S. military. In actual fact, Iran has already committed a more egregious "offense." If Iran's oil bourse is successful, it would challenge the domination of both London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), both of which are owned, incidentally, by U.S. corporations. Tehran's oil bourse constitutes a clear encroachment on the supremacy of the dollar in a critically important international market. Without some sort of U.S. intervention, the euro will quite possibly establish a solid foothold in worldwide oil trade. The Euro has become the second world reserve currency? Throughout 2003 and 2004 Russia and China, for example, significantly increased their central bank holdings of the euro and continued this trend in 2007. As recently as mid-November 2007, Cheng Sewei, vice-chairman of China's parliament, announced that China will shift the country's reserves out of dollar-denominated investments and into the euro and other strong currencies. This could be construed as a move anticipating that the euro has become a second world reserve currency. Beijing central banker Xu Jian twisted the knife, saying, "the dollar is losing its status as the world currency. The U.S. dollar's global currency status is shaky," he said, "and the creditworthiness of dollar assets is falling." In July 2005, China re-valued the yuan/RNB; however, that was not nearly as significant as its decision to move towards a "basket of currencies" (including the yen, euro, and dollar), at the same time disassociating itself from a sole U.S. dollar peg. (The re-valuation immediately lowered China's monthly bill for imported oil by 2%...and that was when oil was $45) It is predicted that countries and companies unhappy holding huge amounts of overvalued U.S. dollars to finance their oil transactions will drive the success of the Iranian bourse. This could absolutely be true, if China is any indication. Huge sums could begin shifting from the dollar to the euro, although exactly how much will now be difficult to calculate since the Federal Reserve no longer publishes data on the M3 money supply, the data that tracks how many U.S. dollars are held by foreigners. Macroeconomic and geopolitical implications 
of a successful Iranian bourse critical In 2003, the United States-administered Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq canceled oil lease contracts from 1997-2002. These were contracts into which France, Russia, China and other nations had entered under Saddam Hussein's regime. Since these contracts were worth a reported $1.1 trillion, the nullification engendered political tensions between the U.S and the European Union, Russia and China. This was also, you may remember, when Iraqi oil sales once again became denominated in U.S. dollars only, having previously been replaced by euros under Saddam Hussein. Since Iran and China signed a substantial oil and gas trade agreement on October 28, 2004 valued between $70 billion and $100 billion dollars, should China's oil investments be subject to a similar fate in Iran, the geopolitical implications would be serious. Yet, China is just one example of the complex macroeconomic and political implications of a successful Iranian bourse if they did implement euro-settlement capability. The Iranian bourse could potentially remove the major technical obstacle for a petroeuro system in international oil trade, initiate petrodollar versus petroeuro currency hedging and introduce entirely new dynamics to the biggest market in the world. The Iranian bourse could create a significant shift in the flow of international commerce to the Middle East, while much of it is now linked to the United Kingdom's Brent crude marker. The United Kingdom will find itself even more uncomfortably situated between United States financial interests and those of the European Union. The dollar's international demand/liquidity value will most certainly fall further. Policy makers in the U.S. will face difficult choices: compromise, petrodollar vs petroeuro warfare or, in the extreme, military intervention. The U.S. dollar...just another currency? According to reports, the Saudis have shown an interest in the Iranian bourse since 9/11. Saudi Arabian investors have been increasing their investments in Iran over western markets. In fact, it is no surprise that many Middle Eastern countries would like to see the bourse successful for obvious reasons. Although we do not know exactly how the Iranian oil bourse will affect the dollar, clearly a euro-denominated oil exchange could catch on, and it would seriously challenge the unique position of the U.S. dollar as the world's sole reserve currency as well. A successful Iranian bourse will solidify the petroeuro as an alternative oil transaction currency, and thereby end the petrodollar's domination in the oil and gas market. On December 8, 2007 Iran stopped selling its oil for U.S. dollars. The Iranian ISNA news agency cited the country's oil minister G. Nozari as saying, "In line with a policy of selling crude oil in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the sale of our country's oil in U.S. dollars has been completely eliminated." Should the dollar become just another currency, its value would drop even further under the weight of the huge U.S. deficits and debt. Although I am not among the "doomers" that say a collapse is imminent, I do believe it reasonable to expect that the dollar will remain weak. I think is safe to say that the speculative impact these and other events have had a tremendous amount of positive impact on the value of gold and rare coins. Conventional wisdom says that to be truly diversified and safe, you must own gold in one of its various forms. Gold coins are a great value now (although quality coins will become more difficult to find). Now is an opportune time to trade up and add to a collection. Tens of thousands of new collectors and investors have emerged over the past seven years and many coins have been added to collections, which is good for the market since those coins will be off the market for years to come. Numismatic rare gold coins have attained long-term wealth preserving status because they... Can't be produced and, thus, devalued by governmental authorities; Are easily traded in a market that is always open and gets hotter and hotter; Provide an ideal hedge against inflation and consistently outperform other assets in times of economic turmoil, insecurity and rising interest rates; and Possess aesthetic and historic value. I encourage you to call one of Monaco's account representatives toll-free at 1-888-900-9948 to initiate or enhance the rare coin portion of your portfolio. Do it right now! Among other benefits, our investment professionals can... Assist you in planning your rare coin investment strategy or reviewing one that is already established, and Keep you updated on market news, what America's top numismatists are doing and recommending and new offerings. Monaco Rare Coins is a member of the Monex family of companies, industry leaders in hard asset investment since 1967 with over $30 billion in client transactions. Monaco will always make you an offer to buy your certified rare U.S. coins, even if you purchased them elsewhere. * The term "bourse" refers to a stock exchange for securities trading and is derived from the French stock exchange in Paris, the Federation Internationale des Bourses de Valeurs. 2008-01-04T01:17:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/kellogg-50-gold-piece-a-numismatic-classic/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/kellogg-50-gold-piece-a-numismatic-classic/#When:23:25:00Z The gold coins associated with the SS Central America continue to grow in value and popularity. There were a number of SS Central America coins that went under the hammer at the 2007 ANA Convention this past month in Milwaukee. Among them were two of the gold $50 Kellogg Proof Commemoratives which have raised (considerably!) the average prices realized for these classics. If you are not familiar with these beautiful, giant, 2.5 ounce gold coins, let me give you a brief overview: In 1855, a few splendid $50 gold coins were minted by Kellogg & Co. using gold processed in their assay office located near the California Gold Rush fields in the Sierra Nevada. Today, only about a dozen of these coins are known to exist, and all are proof strikes with an estimated value of $500,000 for a choice example. In essence, they are extremely rare and out of reach for most collectors if and when one does surface in the marketplace. By incredible circumstance, the original dies for these rarities survived, and under the direction of the California Historical Society, a limited number of beautiful gem proof cameo commemorative coins were produced using California Gold Rush gold processed in the 1850s by Kellogg! The story is as incredible as the stunning pieces themselves. Everyone knows the amazing story of the California Gold Rush and how, in 1848, the financial course of our country was dramatically changed. But few people outside of the coin world know just how important the Kellogg $50 gold coins are to knowledgeable coin collectors and investors. Obviously, when an item is valued at more than a half million dollars, it is generally popular with certain kinds of folks. But now, through amazing set of circumstances, a stunning example of the beautiful Kellogg $50 gold pieces can be acquired by nearly anyone savvy enough to save for their futures. Because of the discovery and recovery of the gold lost in 1857 shipwreck of the SS Central America, these Kellogg numismatic classics have been re-struck using gold actually assayed and processed by Kellogg & Co. during the California Gold Rush. In the rich treasure trove recovered from the Central America shipwreck, there were a total of 343 Kellogg & Humbert gold monetary ingots of various shapes and sizes found. Of that total, 69 of the gold "bricks" were melted and the gold from those historical artifacts were used to mint these Kellogg commemorative coins which have already become classics. The market for these beautiful commemoratives has steadily grown, and the auction records, which I watch closely, show steadily increasing prices. As I said at the beginning of this article, there were two lots of the Kellogg commemoratives which went on the auction block at this year's ANA Convention Signature Sale by HRC. Their lot numbers were 3539 and 3540 . . . and the average price realized was $3,881.25! I am on record for saying these coins would become numismatic classics, and I believe they will someday be worth multiples of current values. No doubt many of my industry colleagues will find this statement somewhat controversial, but most of them probably never believed the original Kellogg $50 coins would be worth $500,000 today (probably on their way to $1,000,000 or more) either! The marketplace, however, is showing the trend for the Kellogg $50 commemoratives to be extremely positive: I've watched the average auction prices realized on the couple of dozen coins seen over the past 18 months or so increase already . . . and by over 25% so far. If you don't already own one of these classic Gold Rush rarities, call your Monaco Representative today to check on their availability. I am certain we can, in short order, get you one of these beauties for just $3,300 to $3,500 . . . well under recent auction prices. And if we don't have one in-house at the time you call . . . we'll find you one quickly! So call our special Monaco hotline at 1-888-900-9948 to get the process started. 2007-08-22T23:25:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/lost-gold-of-the-republic-final-release/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/lost-gold-of-the-republic-final-release/#When:23:15:00Z The Story of the S.S. Republic Treasure In October of 1865, six months after the end of the U.S. Civil War, the side-wheel steamer S.S. Republic was bound from New York to New Orleans. Aboard the former Civil War blockade ship was precious cargo to aid in the rebuilding of the war-ravaged city of New Orleans to its prewar glory. Unfortunately, the ship never made port, sinking in a massive hurricane off the coast of Georgia. The ship and its cargo, including a reported $400,000 in gold and silver coins, came to rest 1,700 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 140 years later a team of salvage experts, aided by state-of-the-art electronics and recovery equipment, found and brought to the surface a stunning treasure trove of numismatic classics. The quality of the coins recovered cannot be overstated. You see, during and just after the Civil War, in both the North and especially the South, gold and silver coins were a valued but extremely scarce commodity. Rampant inflation, caused by both sides financing their huge war costs through the near-nonstop printing of paper currency, resulted in the widespread hoarding of "hard money." At the end of the war, the South, for all practical purposes, was broke...its paper money was worthless, its hard money virtually gone. The years following the Civil War saw wild fluctuations in the value of gold and silver. As a result of these fluctuations, many of the coins of this era were melted or saw heavy circulation. The wonderful and rare gold treasures offered in this final release are available today only because of the tragic loss of the S.S. Republic. The coins were literally preserved in their pristine condition due to the fact that they were locked in a time capsule at the bottom of the deep blue sea. The Coins The denomination of $10 was minted for a few short years, between 1795 and 1804. Orders by President Jefferson were given to cease the minting of $10 gold coins, or Eagles, in December 1804. The mint did not make the $10 denomination again until July 1838 when the Secretary of the Treasury issued orders to begin the minting of the $10 Liberty coin. The mintage issues remained very limited with only a few years seeing more than 200,000 coins minted annually, and some of those coins are now exceedingly rare due to the circumstances of the day. The $10 Liberty without the motto, "In God We Trust" was minted from 1838 to 1866 in several different varieties, many of which are available in this deal. The Deal I am excited to announce that Monaco Rare Coin has recently completed the acquisition of the last remaining "Lost Gold of the Republic" gold coins. This final release is noteworthy in that it includes some 48 different dates, mint marks and rare varieties of the "No Motto" $10 Eagles. The average grade is AU53-AU55, which is amazing given the fact that many of these rarities are nearly impossible to find in ANY condition. And, for the most discriminating of collectors, there are a precious few prized coins in mint state condition, but they won't last long. Here is the most exciting part of this deal: We are now offering these last remaining coins for BIG savings over what many S.S. Republic coins have been sold for by other dealers since the release of this exciting treasure. How can we do this? Very simple: "Cash is King," especially when negotiating larger purchases! Our ability to fund deals quickly is undoubtedly one of our greatest benefits for our clients. I worked many hours finalizing this deal and getting coins at the best possible prices for our valued clients. There’s no doubt the $10 Liberties in this deal are instant classics, but I want more for our clients than just great prices on gold coins. As part of my S.S. Republic acquisition, I also secured a small number of Seated Liberty Silver Half Dollars, as well as some other very interesting artifacts recovered from the shipwreck, and will include one of these beautiful Seated Liberty halves with your purchase of select S.S. Republic $10 Eagles... absolutely FREE! That is an incredible bonus, valued up to $1,250... IF you act before they are all gone. Don't miss this exciting once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a beautiful and certified piece of Civil War history. Call your Monaco representative as soon as possible at 1-888-751-1933. 2007-08-09T23:15:00-08:00