May 2015 - Dillon United - Focused on Making You a Better Precious Metals Investor

Gold Settles Near 4 Month High

Gold settled to a three-month high on Thursday while silver marked its best close since late January. Both, along with platinum, are riding a three-day winning streak.

Gold for June delivery tacked on $7, or 0.6%, to end at $1,225.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the highest since Feb 13 when gold closed at $1,227.10 an ounce.

According to Ken Ticehurst gold is an extreme value, but price stagnation remains in the short term.

Patience and an open mind are still required for the next few months, until we see genuine evidence that gold is either an extreme value play (still our preferred scenario), or it has gained enough energy to start to breakout in the months ahead. Either way, we are looking for evidence that sentiment is changing rather than concentrating on the great story that will inevitably drive prices far higher.

Would You Buy a Gold Coin For $20?

A few years ago, David Morgan of SilverInvestor.com set out to prove just how little Americans know about physical gold and silver. It’s estimated that while more than 40% of Americans own some type of gold or silver jewelry, physical gold and silver coins and bars is said to have ownership of around 2%.

View the video and try to predict how many people will actually get the quiz answers correct.

Q&A: Gold Coin Investing For Americans Going Overseas

Q: As an American considering retirement in Panama, whose currency is pegged to the USD, would you recommend that I purchase Gold coins minted by the US Government or bars minted by private mints?

A: Being in the physical precious metals market for more than 11 years, I have gotten this question numerous times in various forms covering various questions. Let’s analyze a few considerations.

– American Gold Eagles and American Silver Eagles are the most recognized government minted bullion coins in the world. Their popularity is associated with the popularity of the United States dollars. The advantage of buying the most popular coin can be analogized to buying an Apple laptop computer. Because of it’s visibility and demand, the international market has an appetite making a resale and an appraisal much easier than less known coins. Additionally because of the US Mint stamp, this coin is less likely to be melted for its gold content and maintain it’s premium over a simple gold bar.

– Going to Panama makes an interesting case study because the appraised value of the coin in the United States and Panama will fall in the same range. If you were going to countries under the EU, or countries were the dollar is stronger, your valuations may indeed be affected by the current temperature of the exchange rate. But for many US travelers, this is a great appeal. I have clients that prefer to travel with coins as they feel they are presented with better exchange rates for their gold in times of economic turmoil. You can find a list of global gold to currency exchange rates here.

– Depending on how you transport the metals, there may be taxes or fees or duties that should be considered.

– Learn more about the demand for gold and silver around the world and which countries are using the metal for uses other than jewelry.

Conclusion: Consider the premium charged for US minted coins not as a loss, but a placeholder of value. If you choose to purchase privately minted coins or bars for international consideration research the more popular names to ensure that your value crosses borders and you can avoid getting less than the full value of your exchange.

The Gold Confiscation Millionaires of 2015

The Associated Press has issued a report following the decision by a Federal Appeals Judge to return 10 very valuable 1933 St. Gaudens coins to the Langbord family. Why so valuable? If you know your U.S. History, 1933 was the year that private ownership of gold coins became a punishable crime. See: Executive Order 6102. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on April 17 vacated a previous declaratory judgment by a district court that declared the coins as government property that was unlawfully removed from the U.S. Mint.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A U.S. appeals court Friday overturned a jury verdict and awarded a Philadelphia family the rights to 10 rare gold coins that could fetch $80 million.

U.S. Treasury officials insist the $20 Saint-Gaudens “Double Eagles” were stolen from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia before the 1933 series was melted down when the country went off the gold standard. They argue that Joan Langbord and her sons cannot lawfully own the coins she said she found in a family bank deposit box in 2003.

Her father, jeweler Israel Switt, had dealings with the Mint in the 1930s and was twice investigated over his coin holdings. A jury in 2012 sided with the government.

However, the appeals court Friday returned the coins to the Langbords because U.S. officials had not responded within the 90-day limit to the family’s seized property claim, filed in about 2004.

Pure .999 1 Ounce Silver Bullet

Wholesale Direct Metals is offering a 1 ounce silver bullet for just about $20. The bullet is molded of pure .999 silver bullion. A great conversation starter and an ideal accessory for the forthcoming vampire wars. (However, with no gun powder, the bullet will not fire).

Details: These brand new, uncirculated, silver bullet cartridges are made by a private mint. Each pure silver replica of .45 cal bullet cartridge contains 1 Troy ounce of .999 fine silver and are a great collectible bullion item to add to your precious metals portfolio.

How Much Gold Does The US Treasury and Federal Reserve Hold?

In an extensive report from CoinNews.net, we are given a rare behind the scenes accounting of total ounces of gold held by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve. In the following table, note that the book value is not calculated by current market prices but rather the 1973 Book price of $42.22, the statutory price of gold for accounting purposes. While overall market value has fallen in the past 4 years, precious metals hedgers have made a handsome profit and experienced very little risk

This table breaks down the status of U.S. Treasury-owned gold:

	Fine Troy Ounces	Book Value
Summary
Gold Bullion	258,641,878.074	$10,920,429,098.79
Gold Coins, Blanks, Miscellaneous	2,857,048.156	120,630,858.67
Total	261,498,926.230	11,041,059,957.46

US Mint Held Gold – Deep Storage
Denver, CO	43,853,707.279	1,851,599,995.81
Fort Knox, KY	147,341,858.382	6,221,097,412.78
West Point, NY	54,067,331.379	2,282,841,677.17
Subtotal – Deep Storage Gold	245,262,897.040	10,355,539,085.76

US Mint Held Treasury Gold – Working Stock
All Locations- Coins, blanks, miscellaneous	2,783,218.656	117,513,614.74
Subtotal – Working Stock Gold	2,783,218.656	117,513,614.74

Grand Total – Mint Held Gold	248,046,115.696	10,473,052,700.50

Federal Reserve Bank Held Gold
Gold Bullion:
Federal Reserve Banks – NY Vault	13,376,987.715	564,805,850.63
Federal Reserve Banks – Display	1,993.319	84,162.40
Subtotal – Gold Bullion	13,378,981.034	564,890,013.03

Gold Coins:
Federal Reserve Banks – NY Vault	73,452.066	3,101,307.82
Federal Reserve Banks – Display	377.434	15,936.11
Subtotal – Gold Coins	73,829.500	3,117,243.93

Total – Federal Reserve Bank Held Gold	13,452,810.534	568,007,256.96

Total – Treasury Owned Gold	261,498,926.230	$11,041,059,957.46

Market Value

Of course, market conditions have changed significantly over the last 40 years with gold’s value at about 28 times higher than the 1973 set $42.2222 per ounce statutory price.

To highlight some of those changes, the chart below shows total ounces of U.S. Treasury owned gold over the last few years, the recorded book value and the approximate market value of the precious metal based on the London price of gold at the time of the report.

Treasury Owned Gold Book and Market Values

Report Date	Ounces of U.S. Treasury Owned Gold	Book Value (based on $42.222 an ounce)	Approximate Market Value
January 31, 2012	261,498,899.316	$11,041,059,487	$456,054,080,407
January 31, 2013	261,498,926.247	$11,041,059,958	$435,330,337,470
January 31, 2014	261,498,926.247	$11,041,059,958	$327,135,156,731
January 31, 2015	261,498,926.230	$11,041,059,957	$329,554,021,781
March 31, 2015	261,498,926.230	$11,041,059,957	$313,014,214,697

The market value of the gold today, May 1, is $307,509,662,300 at the latest London gold price of $1,175.95 an ounce.