The Royal Canadian Mint announced that it will be closing its doors or the next two weeks as a means of stopping the spread of coronavirus. The mint will stop producing gold and silver maple leafs.

Read More

James Turk es uno de los nombres más reconocibles en dinero sólido. Su carrera comenzó en Chase Manhattan Bank con proyectos en Tailandia, Filipinas y Hong Kong. Posteriormente se convirtió en el gerente del Departamento de Productos Básicos de la Autoridad de Inversión de Abu Dhabi y desempeñó diversos roles de asesoramiento en la gestión del dinero.

James Turk is one of the most recognizable names in sound money. His career started at Chase Manhattan Bank with assignments in Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. He thereafter became the manager of the Commodity Department of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and held various advisory roles in money management.

Silver prices are trading at $17.04, up 0.65% on the day.

That comes on the heels of the U.S. and China announced on Friday that a limited trade deal had been reached.

Yet, silver trails gold in terms of gains in 2019. While gold is almost up 15% in 2019. The 200 EMA is at 17.14, which is below resistance at 17.25. The 50-day EMA is 16.72.

New technology is increasing demand for silver. 

Like, for instance, the electrification of the vehicles. 

In order to electrify cards and trucks, including the new Tesla Cybertruck, manufacturers need silver. 

Spot gold hit a six-year high late last week. It is the first time since April 2013 prices soared so high – peaking at a value of $1,5334.31 an ounce. Due to this price bump, US gold futures rose by roughly 1.3% to $1,537 an ounce. Despite the positive momentum, these high levels could not be sustained over the weekend.

Several factors drive the current and future value of gold and silver. Weakness in the Argentine Peso, civil unrest in Hong Kong, and the US-China trade war has forced investors to seek safehaven. Read More

The Royal Canadian Mint is a favorite coin producer for precious metals investors. Many prefer the Mint’s 24k gold offerings or maybe the .9999 silver bullion. To investor delight, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled its fourth numismatic line for 2017.

Of note, the Mint celebrates Canada’s 150th anniversary in this line, including an ultra-high relief 10 oz fine silver coin featuring the 1867 Confederation Medal and an obverse of Their Majesties Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. The new line of coins celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary even features fireworks that light up!

Another 2017 $10 Fine Silver Coin – Celebrating Canada’s 150th: Wild Swift Fox and Pups, features the photography of Saskatchewan’s John E. Marriott.

The 2017 $5 Fine Silver Coin was designed by Tony Bianco and features a traditional Canada Day fireworks display surrounding a colored Canadian flag.

The fireworks will light up thanks to the inclusion of glow-in-the-dark technology.

Researchers believe they have discovered a way to add gold and silver to nail polish to create a durable, tined and perhaps even antibacterial nail coloring, extending the precious metals’ ancient uses for fashion in the form of jewelry.

Related: World’s Second Largest Gold Coin Stolen From Berlin Museum

The research, published in the ACS’ journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, highlights how modern techniques depend on pigment powders and additives. Scientists, investigating nano-particles in polishes, discovered they can make nail polish more durable, in the case of silver nanoparticles, treating fungal toenail infections.

To break silver, gold and platinum alloy, they shot lasers into gold in short bursts for periods of fifteen minutes. They learned that this resulted in colored, transparent polishes with a metallic sheen. Researchers used laser ablation to create a master batch of metal nanoparticles in ethyl acetate, a polish thinner, which could then be added to individual bottles of polish.

A-Mark Precious Metals CEO Gregory N. Roberts sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock on Thursday. Sold at $17.66, the overall sale totaled $58, 094.96. A-Mark Precious Metals Inc sales, which trade 0.35% during midday trading Thursday, reached $17.45.

Related: Spanish Government Limits Cash Withdrawal 1,000 Euros

Overall, 23,027 shares of the company traded hands, and the company’s 50 day moving average ended the day at $19.22. It’s 200-day moving average is $17.67. A-Mark Precious Metals Inc’s twelve month low of $14.02 and 12-month high of $22.00.

A-Mark’s market capitalization is $122.69 million. A-Mark’s net margin is 0.10%.

Silver has increased in value 9 percent since the start of the year, largely due to improving sentiment among institutional investors. But, in the past couple weeks, many of the gains in 2017 have been erased. 

Related: How to Start Your Own Gold Dealer Website

“Changing expectations towards the outlook for U.S. interest rates and the proliferation of negative policy rates across other key reserve currencies has rekindled institutional investor interest in precious metals,” according to the Silver Institute. “Meanwhile, a marked improvement in silver industrial offtake, led by photovoltaics, which achieved a record high last year, is also helping.  All these factors in turn have fueled investment inflows into silver futures, options, exchange traded products (ETPs) and over-the-counter products.”

A forthcoming U.S. Fed rate hike this month led to precious metals sales. 2016 marked silver’s first yearly rise in a 9 percent increase.

“Turning to physical investment, sales of silver bars and coins in 2016 fell from 2015’s record high, due to a downturn in U.S. and Indian demand, the world’s two largest markets, according to Metals Focus, the precious metals consultancy based in London,” writes the Silver Institute. “In part, this reflected some market saturation after several years of very strong demand. The price recovery also meant that 2016 saw no repeat of the surge in bargain hunting seen in 2015.”

Michael DiRienzo, Executive Director of the Silver Institute: “We expect that the factors that buoyed institutional silver investment over much of 2016, and have carried over into the early months of 2017, will remain relevant for the remainder of this year.”

If institutional demand can maintain silver’s gains on the year before March has yet to be seen. 

With a one-year lapse in availability, the United States Mint is returning in roaring fashion with its annual 2016 Limited Edition Silver Proof Set, which went on sale at noon today.

Silver prices have fallen since 2011, when it neared record prices. A strong dollar and rebounding economy, according to experts, has undermined that silver bull run. Read More

The Denver Broncos added silver Heisman Trophies to their locker room recently to celebrate their three Super Bowl Championships as football enters its stretch drive.

“That’s cool,” Broncos safety T.J. Ward said. “I like seeing those on a daily basis.” Read More

Markets did not know what to do after election results poured in, although many markets had been pricing in a possible Trump victory for about one month prior to the election, as polls were too close to call and also the accuracy of many mainstream polls were thrown into question.

Gold futures fell precipitously Friday, their lowest finish since June, thanks to strength in the U.S. dollars and equities. The Federal Reserve, according to many analysts, might increase interest rates next month. The main reason for precious metals decline is similar to why global currencies have fallen: the strength of the dollar. Read More

A-Mark Precious Metals, a Southern California based precious metals trading company distributor for all the major sovereign mints,  acquired a majority stake in Indiana-based SilverTowne Mint.

SilverTowne Mint, a leading producer of fabricated silver products, has produced about 12.5 million silver ounces.

A-Mark will increase its purchases of fabricated silver products from SilverTowne Mint as well as providing SilverTowne customers with A-Mark’s full range of products and services.

SilverTowne Mint designs and produces more than 25 different fabricated silver bullion products and more than 300 different seasonal and topical specialty products. A-Mark intends to leverage SilverTowne Mint’s longstanding fabrication capabilities and extensive coin die portfolio to expand its custom coin programs, as well as introducing innovative, new custom products for individual customers.

“It’s a remarkable opportunity for SilverTowne to join forces with A-Mark,” said Hendrickson. “We are excited to provide our customers with the product selection, and finance and service options that will be available to them through our partnership with A-Mark.  As a family owned and operated business for three generations, I’m proud of what we have accomplished within our industry, but I’m even more excited about the level of service we will be able to provide to our customers as a result of this joint venture with A-Mark.”

Greg Roberts, CEO of A-Mark Precious Metals, commented: “The acquisition of SilverTowne Mint is truly unparalleled in the mint fabrication industry. SilverTowne Mint will be one of the most efficient vertically integrated mints in North America, benefiting from Asahi’s global refining capabilities as part of the strategic supplier agreement and A-Mark’s industry-leading distribution network.

“The acquisition also provides A-Mark with two world-class traders in Rita Graft and Patty Roberts, who have 47 years of combined experience and will join our international trading team. In addition, the numerous operating synergies between A-Mark and SilverTowne will significantly expand our capacity to meet unforeseen surges in demand during volatile market environments, such as the one we experienced last August and September.

“Most importantly, our exclusive distributorship with SilverTowne will enable us to sell a greater amount of silver per year to fulfill the increasing demand of our existing customers and service a broader range of potential customers. This helps us further establish our reputation for being not only one of the leading bullion trading companies, but also a full-service precious metals provider with a complete array of value-added services, including financing, storage, and logistics.”

GoldSilverBitcoin – Entering into the gold business and starting your own gold dealing site is easier than ever. As goldbugs and silverbugs might notice, there is quite a bit of turnover in the online bullion retail scene. Moreover, the general websites that are highlighted are not the only ones. There are many, many online gold dealers who have carved out their own niche. The industry itself has gone through a lot of flux lately. We highlight in this article how you – Yes, YOU – can enter into the gold selling space. While we can’t go into certain technical details, this guide will make you aware of the tools you need. Here’s how.

There are numerous products precious metals oriented online retailers focus on, such as bullion gold, silver, platinum and palladium coins and bars, semi-numismatic gold and silver coins such as Morgan Dollars and Saint Gaudens (Pre-1993 gold coins), tube holders and survival gear. One thing many people, in my opinion, do not consider while opening a precious metals shop is jewelry. While precious metal coins oft carry small premiums – save for the Pre-1933 gold coins – jewelry has higher margins.

Read More

A group of eight central banks in the US and Europe, the London Gold Pool controlled the price of gold for six years until the Pool collapsed leading into a more than decade long bull run. Gold reached nearly $1,000 per ounce, silver nearly $50. The central banks had pegged the price too low causing runs on gold, the British pound and US dollar. France boisterously left the pool and repatriated gold reserves, like many nations today are wont to do. In March 1968, the London Gold Pool collapsed amidst chaos in the market.

A two-tier system of official exchange and transactions was implemented after the London Gold Pool controls failed in order to suppress the gold price. The gold window closed altogether in 1971 during the Nixon Shock. Gold rose in price to $850. Western nations had to sit out the bull run as eastern markets remained open in the days following the Pool’s collapse.

In 1960, gold buying sent the price to more than $40 per oz. The US Federal Reserve and Bank of England allocated for the sale of BoE gold supplies in order to keep the price down. Banks worked feverishly to maintain the $35/oz gold price despite the free market dictating appreciation. The banks began “targeted selling and buying of gold” in order to achieve the price controls. They ultimately failed.

Poor economic conditions amid Vietnam War protests created instability in the US and thus the London Gold Pool. Inflation became an issue for the US. It would not exchange foreign-held dollars into gold and France left the Pool in June 1967. The nation moved large amounts of gold across the Atlantic from New York to Paris.  In 1967, Britain devalued its currency causing panic and a gold run.

By spring 1968, according to the Federal Reserve, “the international financial system was moving toward a crisis more dangerous than any since 1931.”

The British government devalued the pound on November 18, 1967 by 14.3%. The US adopted measures to slow down the gold run. London sold 100 tons of gold at market price on March 8th, a major increase in a typical sale for the bank. The pool released a statement:  “the London Gold Pool re-affirm their determination to support the pool at a fixed price of $35 per oz”.

On March 14, 1968 the US government and the British government agreed to close the London gold markets the following day. The British government declared March 15 a bank holiday.

The London gold market remained closed for two weeks. Around the world, gold trading continued amid rising prices. Switzerland founded the Zürich Gold Pool, helping to establish Zürich as a gold trading center of the world. The Federal Reserve funds rate had increased from 2% on October 25, 1967 to 5.13% on the day the Pool collapsed. The fed fund rate appreciated to 10.5% during the summer of 1969.

The two-tiered system stipulated $35 gold. Gold pool members did not trade gold with regular people. The US government suspended gold sales to governments trading in private market.

Although the gold pool members refused to trade gold with private persons, and the United States pledged to suspend gold sales to governments that traded in the private markets inflation ravaged the US. West Germany abandoned the Bretton Woods System in May 1971. The dollar declined. Switzerland purchased $50 million worth of gold in August. France purchased $191 million in gold. By then, US gold reserves had reached their thinnest levels in nearly fifty years.

President Richard Nixon unilaterally ended dollar convertibility to gold in what’s called “The Nixon Shock.” This effectively ended Bretton Woods. The Federal Reserve wanted the US, BoE, West Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to begin selling gold so that gold would not appreciate.

According to Fed chairman William McChesney-Martin, the US would protect the $35 gold price  “down to the last ingot”. The London Gold Pool airlifted emergency shipments of gold from the US to London due to high demand. Demand for gold was overwhelming. The Fed failed.

So what can we expect from a Comex default?

Market manipulation and price controls do not work. Free markets manage supply-and-demand better than central planners. When central planners scheme to control the price of goods, services, etc. it is only a matter of time before their cartel begins to fade. They generally try harder to manipulate the market, but always the free market dictates.

The London Gold Pool collapse and the COMEX default could come amid a similar situation: the world reserve currency is at risk. However no amount of government authority, command-and-control economics (Communism) can drown out the reason of the free market over the long-haul.

The end of the London Gold Pool cost the member banks (and so therefore the countries) billions of dollars. The same would happen with a COMEX default. The gold price appreciated 2300% between 1968 and the 1980 peak. This time around, the silver price would skyrocket in a similar manner.

Discussion about whether or not there is a silver shortage has divided the silver community. More information about the situation has recently come out. The discussion usually revolves around to points of view: that there is no silver shortage, merely a coin shortage as certain Mints run out of blanks to mint coins. The other says there is not enough silver in the world. As David Morgan:

“A pet peeve of mine is when an article is published talking about a shortage in silver or gold. Recently, we have seen an increase in articles claiming that there is a precious metals shortage simply because both the U.S. Mint and Royal Canadian Mint ran out of blanks. Both Government Mints predetermine a rough amount they will mint at the start of the year. When demand surges, a “bottleneck” can occur and this has happened in the past. Why is this such a pet peeve? Because a shortage in a specific silver product does NOT mean a shortage in the raw material. It would be like saying there is a rice shortage if Rice Krispies stopped being produced momentarily.”

Another sources disagree. For instance, according to The Silver Institute the world’s silver supply is in deficit by 57.7 million ounces.  Nonetheless, news sources seem to only confirm a shortage of American Silver Eagles, Canadian Silver Maples, Austrian Philharmonics, Brittanias and Perth Mint silver coins. Others wonder if so many blank shortages at once has happened before. As Reuters reported:

Government mints around the world are struggling to keep up with unprecedented demand for silver coins, spurred by a drop in silver prices to six-year lows.

The mints in Canada, Austria and Australia have told Reuters they are rationing sales of silver bullion coins.

ROYAL CANADIAN MINT:
The mint has been rationing sales of its silver Maple Leaf coins since July after record monthly sales, an official said. Sales have hit records in August and September.

AUSTRIAN MINT:
The Austrian Mint has been rationing sales of its Philharmonic silver coins and has increased production of silver blanks after higher-than-expected demand in July and August, a spokeswoman said.

It expects supplies to return to normal by mid-October.

U.K. ROYAL MINT:
The U.K. Royal Mint has seen a 600-percent increase in sales of its silver 1 ounce Britannia coins so far this year on “unprecedented demand,” said Chris Howard, director of bullion at the Mint.
It is increasing production and has significant pre-orders for 2016-dated coins, he said.

PERTH MINT:
The Perth Mint, owned by the government of Western Australia, has begun rationing supply of a new line of coins this month as it is unable to keep up with robust demand, an official said.

It has sold over 2.5 million ounces of silver so far this month, which is a record and three and a half times more than August.

U.S. MINT:
The U.S. mint has been issuing a weekly sales quota for its flagship American Eagle silver coins since the end of July.

A spokesman said its Westpoint production facility is operating three shifts and paying staff overtime to meet demand.

The mint was forced to stop selling its popular silver coins for three weeks in July after selling out of inventory due to strong demand.

I spoke with traders at major bullion wholesalers recently and they said that things would return to normal in 3-5 weeks in terms of silver delays on the most popular products at the retail level.

On the retail level, procuring silver bullion has become an issue with delay in several products including American Silver Eagles, Canadian Silver Maples and even some private silver rounds. The premiums tell the entire story.

Silver.com has become the premium leader in the online retail market. As you can see by the chart below, the company raised its premium on American Silver Eagles from 22%-sub 30% around August 23.

Silver.com did similar with its Canadian Maple Leaf price.

APMEX increased its Canadian Silver Maple price:

Provident metals raised its premium on American Silver Eagles from 30%-40% in the past two weeks.

 Premiums on Austrian Philharmonics have also increased with little reprieve: 

While the premium change coincides with a decrease in the silver price to sub-$18 from $18.60, you can see that the silver price has regained much of this, while premiums remain high. There are still great opportunities to buy inexpensive bullion. Find them here.

US and New Zealand researchers recently  found massive gold and silver deposits in reservoirs underneath a volcanic range on New Zealand. Project researcher Stuart Simmons told Quartz that find could be worth between $50 million and $250 million, though that is speculation. As Simmons explains:

Taupo Zone [is]…similar to Yellowstone National Park in the US, volcanic magma enriches underground water with heat, chemicals, and in some instances, precious metals.

 The steam from the area’s hot springs is used as a source of geothermal energy, Simmons explained, and when the hot water moves toward the earth’s surface, it is sometimes caught in the pipes of geothermal production wells—which are designed to generate power from hot water in the earth. Over time, thin films of silver and gold build in the pipes of these wells.

In this day and age, energy comes from wind, water, sun and from geothermal forces below the surface of the planet. How to store that energy and transport it becomes more difficult. Oil is transportable and has a long shelf-life, making it a favorite option.

Elon Musk’s plan to bring a Tesla battery to homes and offices, the Powerwall, is a battery in 7 or 10 kilowatt-hour sizes. Tesla plans a battery for bigger operation with a 100 kWh unit named the Powerpack. The Powerwall can pull power from the grid during off-peak hours. Read More

July 23, 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the debasement of United States’ coinage. The Coinage Act of 1965 debased the coinage of silver from the dimes and quarter dollars and diminished the silver content of the half dollar from 90% to 40% before it, too, lost all of its silver content about 5 years later. The US government claimed the reason for the act was coin shortages caused by the increase in the price of silver.  The Act also forbade the mintage silver dollars for five years.

The demonetization of the silver came just over two year after US President John F. Kennedy delegated authority to the Secretary of the Treasury to issue silver certificates. In his book Crossfire, Jim Marrs posits that Kennedy created silver certificates to undermine the power of the Federal Reserve, though others say that Kennedy’s decision was merely a matter of convenience during a time of transition away from silver certificates.  Here are parts of the speech by Lyndon B Johnson announcing the change: Read More

A storm is brewing on the global level. In recent weeks the world has seen numerous nation-states plagued by economic turmoil. China, Greece, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and others have had a taste that the global crisis which shocked the world in 2008 was not in the past. Rather, it remained in the present, as well.  The Chinese stock market crashed, and its the second largest stock market in the world.  Pundits wondered – could the same happen in the US. 

Read More

Numerous nations throughout the world are currently dealing with currency or debt crises of one kind or another. Greece has stolen the headlines where they’ve needed to secure a bailout from the European Union so as to not go broke, and Puerto Rico, a US protectorate, has said it will not have the funds to service its debt. The Chinese stock market has collapsed with the government instituting controls to prop it up, while in Venezuela inflation ravages the food aisle, which have gone bear in recent months.

In China, you see gold is clear winner in the wake of recent turmoil. Included in this article are the regional interest data points from Google Trends.

Interest in gold in China has taken off.

Regional interest in gold

Regional interest in silver in China

Included in this article are the data points for regional interest. In China, regional interest in Bitcoin is different than the other countries. Whereas in Greece, Puerto Rico and Venezuela interest in Bitcoin is tied to the main cities of the country, in China the interest appears more diffuse. 

Regional interest in China in Bitcoin

As you see below, interest in both gold and Bitcoin have increased in terms of Google Trends search queries in Greece. Gold has seen a modest spike, while Bitcoin is clear winner in terms of new, recent interest in Greece.

Gold has seen a small uptick in Greece located search queries, while Bitcoin has seen a considerable spike.

As in the remaining countries, precious metals queries occurs throughout the nation, while Bitcoin queries is more-so located in Athens. 

Here you see Greeks interested in gold live throughout the country.

Here you see interest in silver spread throughout Greece.

For Bitcoin, most Greeks are centered in Athens who query Bitcoin.

In Venezuela, gold and Bitcoin have seen an increase in search queries, silver not so much.

And regional interest in Venezuela: 

 In Puerto Rico, similar trends: 

Interest in gold in Puerto Rico is spread out throughout the island.

Interest in silver in Puerto Rico is more centralized than gold.

With Greece inching closer to a default, and European partners putting pressure on the southern Greek nation, Greeks have pulled money out of banks to the tune of 2 billion euros this week. Alongside this trend, we see an increasing interest in the precious metals sector, as well as the crypto-currency sector, on Google Trends.

Gold, too, has seen a spike in interest.

And, finally, Bitcoin, which last saw a spike in interest in 2013, has also seen an increase in interest.

Denarium hopes to supply such coins to appease the demand for physical bitcoins.

“What we hope to achieve is to allow everyone to have an easy-to-understand gateway to the world of Bitcoin. Our first product is a simple, low-cost product that anyone can afford,”  Denarium co-founder, Henry Brade, told Crypto Coins News.
Read More

Originally appeared on Bitcoinomics.Net

Until last week, Blythe Masters was the butt-of-jokes from individuals like Max Keiser and the subject of many memes. In this episode of The Keiser Report, Max Keiser clarifies the claim by Blythe Masters that JP Morgan does not manipulate silver prices.

In this following meme, Banzai7 goes a bit further.

Read More

Bitcoiners have had quite a showing in March compared to most other markets.

US Mint sales for February ticked downwards as both American Gold Eagle and the American Silver Eagle sold fewer units than in previous months.

Although terms like “free market” are often used to describe modern life,  evidence of command-and-control markets  keeps finding its way into headlines, most notably with Libor – the rigging of global interest rates (or the price of money) – shocking the world

What fewer know is the consistent investigation by national authorities into the rigging of precious metals prices by major banks.  There have been more than a few. The Department of Justice antitrust division prosecutors investigation into the price-setting process, which was announced yesterday, is merely the most recent. Read More

Sales numbers (brought to the internet by CoinNews.Net) of US Mint American Eagle and American Buffalo sales increased in a big way in January with the newly dated 2015 bullion coins selling in quantity and attracting investors and collectors thanks to volatile gold and silver prices during the month of January. Many bullish sentiment has been expressed in recent months in regards to gold, and investors are nervous about a stock market that looks topsy-turvy. Read More

Silver and gold have been a big part of history, right alongside sports. And that is why it makes sense that many of the world’s most important trophy’s in sports. Yesterday we saw the end of Super Bowl XLIX, and everyone has spoken about the controversy swirling around Pete Carroll’s late decision which might have cost the Seattle Seahawks their second straight Super Bowl. Read More

How long have you been investing in silver?

Since my early 20’s, once I had a job and some sort of cash flow that was the real beginning.  I did buy a few silver coins as a kid but nothing of significance.

What got you interested in silver? Read More

As is made clear in the above announcement, GoldSilver, owned by well-known sound money proponent Mike Maloney, has begun accepting Bitcoin for gold and silver. While not the first bitcoin-to-bullion vendor, GoldSilver’s Maloney has made it clear he supports Bitcoin. He was brought to the coin very much the same way many other precious metals investors were – via Trace Mayer.

It’s not only Mike Maloney accepting Bitcoin now, but also Peter Schiff, who also recently began accepting Bitcoin for gold and silver.

Mike Maloney is perhaps best known for his popular YouTube series, The Hidden Secrets Of Money. For that series, click here.

Solar energy is seen as an important step towards cleaning up human society.  The process works by using radiant light and heat from the sun harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies like solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis.

The development of solar energy is so important that, in 2011, The International Energy Agency said that “the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries’ energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating global warming, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared.” 

One aspect of silver, which many people do not know about, is the amount of silver needed in order to create solar panels. Silver has long been needed in industrial applications.

Back in the days of analogue photography, film was coated with a minute layer of silver chloride, silver bromide or silver iodide.  Silver has also been important for the production of motion pictures, as movie screens were once covered in paint embedded with the most reflective metal – silver – thus resulting in the “silver screen.”

Obviously today things have become more digitized. Silver demand has fallen about 70% according to some sources. But that doesn’t mean silver today serves no purpose. Photovoltaic (PV) installation – otherwise termed solar energy – is a promising technology that could lead to sustained silver demand for the long term.

Each solar panel has between 15 and 20 grams of silver, which, assuming $15 silver, is about $20 per solar panel.

Solar is not the only industrial use for silver in the modern world. Cell phones, computers, automobiles and water-purification systems all require silver, and the so-called “devil’s metal” contains antibacterial properties, prompting its use in the manufacturing of surgical instruments, stethoscopes and other health care tools. Demand is worldwide, too, as China accounts for 30% of the market. Installed capacity has been increasing rapidly every year as costs decrease.

Solar photovoltaic system prices are declining steadily, having dropped by 12-19 percent nationwide in 2013, according to a report from the Energy Department and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

“These price drops are consistent with previous annual reductions achieved since 2010, when the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative was established,” NREL’s David Feldman, a lead author of the report said. “However, the report also indicates that there are significant variations in reported pricing both geographically and across market segments due to a variety of factors, including value-based pricing based on local competition within the marketplace and prevailing electric retail rates. Other factors include differences in specific system configurations such as panel efficiency, mounting structure, and geographic location; and the time lags between commitments and commercial operation for utility-scale systems.”

The report, entitled Photovoltaic (PV) Pricing Trends: Historical, Recent, and Near-Term Projections (2014 Edition), demonstrates a downward trajectory in PV system pricing continued in 2013, and it is expected to continue through 2016 and beyond. Some other findings in the report include:

• Modeled utility-scale PV system prices dropped below $2 a watt in 2013, and continued their decline in 2014, reaching roughly $1.80 a watt, which is 59% below 2010 pricing.

• PV is anticipated to reach widespread grid parity in the US without federal or state subsidies.

“There is still considerable uncertainty as to how low PV system prices will drop in the next five to 10 years,” according to Feldman. “However, there appears to be an emerging consensus that the SunShot’s price reduction targets are within reach and more and more likely to be realized. We see this reflected in the fact that many of the current projections are far lower than projections made in the recent past by the same sources.”

80 metric tons of silver are needed in order to generate one gigawatt, or 1 million kilowatts, of electricity, which could power about 90 average American homes annually. In 2016, experts anticipate nearly a million-and-half metric tons of silver are expected to be needed to meet solar demand in the US. Overall electricity generated by U.S. utility-scale solar photovoltaic power plants has increased more than 100 percent in 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. Over the last 40 years, prices have dropped considerably for photovolatic cells.

Ikea has been a big investor in alternative energies and, as can be seen by the photo below, many of their stores are powered by solar.

Solar’s future is looking bright as the average cost of city-provided energy increased 37%. Increasing numbers of homeowners are therefore looking to solar as a viable energy to power their homes.  Solar photovoltaic effect was first identified 175 years ago. It seems that, in the 21st century, it is poised to go mainstream.

Silver’s volatility should come as no surprise as the metal creeps back down to its lows around the 2008 banking collapse of $9-$12. The drop down to nearly the $13 handle could be considered a major washout in a market that has been sold en masse for the past few years.

Silver moved 18.7% from its intraday low of $14.15 according to FactSet data. The price of $14.15 for silver on Sunday was its lowest price since Sunday. Read More

This weekend might have left you wishing you were in semi-numismatic coins as the prices were wildly volatile. First ZeroHedge reported an uptick in the gold price of $190.

Then, when markets opened, metals tanked.

Read More

Ruth Crowell is modernizing the precious-metals industry. She oversaw the update of the silver fix, which had been around since 1897. Shortly thereafter, she was on to changing the way the world sets the gold price, which had been done the same way for 95 years. The 34-year-old American, who had spent seven years at the London Bullion Market Association after coming on as a temp worker, has become the international trade group’s first female chief executive. Read More

Is silver undervalued, widely ignored, and intriguing?

Are these price levels the opportunity that precious metals investors have been waiting for? Is the time now?

For many so-called “silverbugs” the answer is “yes.” Read More

Raytheon Co. received a $251 million contract from the US Navy to make Tomahawk Block IV tactical cruise missiles for fiscal year 2014 with an option for 2015, which, according to some, means a lot of silver will soon be needed.

Although much of the discussion surrounding the true composition of the Tomahawk missile is speculative, a boisterous group claims that 480 ounces of silver (16kg) is needed per cruise missile.

Raytheon will build and deliver Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles to the US Navy and the UK Royal Navy. Raytheon is charged with conducting flight tests and providing life-cycle support. Production and delivery of the Tomahawk missiles is set to begin in 2015. Read More

Gold and silver’s lower prices are not a sign the bull market is over. Instead, it is a sign that the US dollar is experiencing relative strength because other things are falling. For instance, the New Zealand central bank just finished off its biggest sale of the Kiwi in 7-years, but that is nothing compared to some other events, like protests for Democracy in Hong Kong, which is causing a selloff in the Hong Kong dollar and renminbi for US dollars. With more bullish news for the US dollar hitting the wires, it is uncertain when gold and silver will stop their slide.

Myriad speculators agree: silver is oversold. Traders and analysts point to a completely out of whack gold-and-silver ratio to explain this fact.

Overnight September 28 the gold-silver ratio was approximately 69.72. That means, for every ounce of gold, you could purchase 69.72 ounces of silver. At the end of August the ratio was 66. The ratio is above its 10-year average of 57.

This is a change from the usual.

Historically, the ratio has been much closer. Read More

In the following commercial, the low-end Mexican-American fast food chain Taco Bell shows a grandfather passing on a Morgan Silver Dollar, which had been in the family for generations, to his grandson. He is explaining the long story of the coin’s history, and just as he is about to give the Silver Dollar to the kid, he notices that Taco Bell has an awesome deal: a $1 menu! He tells the kid “nevermind,” and heads over to Taco Bell. Unfortunately, things don’t look good for that old man. Read More

Alibaba Group had a huge debut with its shares beginning to trade at $92.70, up over 36% from its IPO price of $68.  That increase on the New York Stock Exchange raised the company’s total market value from $168 billion to over $220 billion. Alibaba had raised $21.8 billion in its hotly anticipated IPO, the largest in US history, dwarfing Facebook Inc’s IPO.

The price of bitcoin has fallen from its $513 price of one month ago to as low as $381.17 on Friday. This week alone the crypto-asset fell from $513 to $381. Read More

Ron Paul certainly made an impact on US history.

And so we decided at GoldSilverBitcoin to create a list of some poignant Ron Paul quotes on some important targets. So, without further ado, here they are: Read More

In recent years Pete Rose’s Hall of Fame potential has been discussed with increased fervor, especially as players who took performance-enhancing drugs become eligible for Cooperstown. Read More

Provident Metals, a well-known gold and silver bullion dealer,  announced that they would start accepting cryptocurrencies for payment for coins, bars and even survival supplies in 2014.  The firm began by accepting Bitcoin, Dogecoin & Litecoin.

Provident Metals began August 25 2014 accepting Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Litecoin for payment on all gold and silver bullion and other products available at ProvidentMetals.com.

“The value of cryptocurrencies and precious metals are market driven, and they both appeal to forward-thinking investors,” said Provident Metals CEO Joe Merrick of the decision. “This integration was logical because many of our customers are proponents of alternative currency, and it’s our job to respond to their needs.”

ProvidentMetals claims one main reason why they chose to accept cryptocurrencies is because of customer requests. The requests increased after Provident began sponsoring NASCAR driver Josh Wise, who is sponsored by Dogecoin.

In fact, customer requests played a large part in the decision to accept cryptocurrencies, particularly after Provident began sponsoring NASCAR driver Josh Wise, who is also sponsored by Dogecoin.

Provident Metals COO Jake Haugen, said that Dogecoin community led the company to take the dive… “… it was time for us to recognize the effect cryptocurrencies are having on the marketplace.”

“Our goal is to provide our customers with new and progressive payment options that work to their advantage.” Haugen said.

According to Provident Metals’ website:

Provident Metals is a leading dealer of gold and silver bullion as well as other investment grade precious metals, along with a growing selection of food storage and other survival goods. The bullion dealer is also a proud NASCAR co-sponsor with Dogecoin. Provident Metals customers enjoy access to a secure online ordering system, or can call (800) 313-3315 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. CST. Visit http://www.providentmetals.com/ for more information.

Billionaire Hugo Salinas Price has campaigned for Mexico and Greece to return to a silver standard. He’s even laid out a five step plan to accomplish just this in this video clip. (fast forward to 13 minute point) In the above-linked Keiser Report, Salinas-Price makes these points: Read More

“Last year was crazy, and then we said we have to do something,” Miguel Vias, the director of metals products at CME, said.

In 2013 gold prices fell 28% with silver falling 36% representing the largest slumps for both metals in more than three decades. After bullion fell to a 34-month low in June, the yellow precious metals saw its volatility reach the highest levels since 2009.

CME, considering applying daily price limits on gold and silver, are looking to mellow out the wild volatility seen in the precious metals markets over the last few years.  There is precedent for this, as CME currently has limits for various futures contracts across commodities, like energy, agriculture, as well as as financial products. As yet, it has not introduced limits on precious metals.

CME’s major concern is the high level of buying and/or selling and the associated price fluctuations. “We don’t have price limits in gold and silver. That’s something that we are looking into,” Vias said.

The suggestion comes as allegations about high-speed frequency traders rigging markets via dark pools and off-book exchange trading. One of CME’s major concerns are the trading programs that could push the market higher or lower all on their own.

Through the first four months of 2014, COMEX gold futures volume decreased 10 percent from one year ago. Turnover in silver contracts increased about 7.5 percent.

Gold and silver futures are the most-traded commodity contracts behind crude oil and other energy products.

The frequency of wild price movement has only increased in recent years and so the exchange introduced circuit breakers in order to prevent cascading stop orders that could make price movements larger.

But not everyone supports setting limits on price movements.

“I think the breaks in trading are good, but I wouldn’t support fixing price moves,” said one U.S. trader.

Other analysts, like Bix Weir, claim this is a new stage in gold and silver price manipulation.

The moves by the CME could be seen as evidence that big movements are coming in the gold markets, what with geopolitical turmoil and emergency Fed meetings taking place, as happened this week. CME runs the COMEX, and many speculate the COMEX is actually short gold and silver, and thus any movements to the upside could hurt it, causing it to default on its obligations.

At any rate, the decision seems to come on the heels of the CME acknowledging that markets are manipulated via high speed computer programs.

[heading]Why Did The US Mint Lift Its Rationing Of American Silver Eagles?[/heading]

On Friday the US Mint announced it would stop rationing its popular American Silver Eagle bullion coins due to falling investment demand.

The Mint began rationing the American Silver Eagles last year due to sustained demand but recently told its authorized dealers they could buy as many Silver Eagles as they wish starting Monday.

The US Mint has been rationing coin sales to its authorized dealers since late January, 2013 following a suspension due to unprecedented demand, which depleted silver coin blanks. Read More

[heading]More Than A Few Risk Management Companies Want To Take Over The Silver Fix[/heading]

Market benchmarks across the globe have come under heavier scrutiny amid allegations and discoveries of endemic market manipulation across the economic spectrum. Indeed, from interest rates to the gold price.

The May 14 announcement regarding the August 14, 2014 cessation of the London Silver Fix caught many silver investors off-guard. The response has been diverse and, in the absence of much information, speculative. Read More