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%.

The Idaho House of Representatives voted by a 56-13 margin last week to cease Idaho taxation on precious metals, including gold and silver coins and bars.

Related: China and Russia are Stockpiling Gold

Bill Sponsor Representative Mike Moyle (R) and the entire Republican caucus voted in favor of the measure. Now the Republican-controlled Idaho Senate must also vote in favor of the bill and Governor Butch Otter (R) must sign the bill.

HB 206, backed by the Sound Money Defense, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Money Metals Exchange and grassroots activists builds on Idaho’s sales tax exemption on precious metals to end income taxation on the sales of “precious metals bullion” and “monetized bullion.”

Representative Ron Nate (R), said from the House floor: “According to the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 10, there is only one thing that a state can declare as currency if they think that our federal currency is going out of whack and some might argue that they think our federal currency is going out of whack already. If we are not going to allow people to declare capital losses on their Federal Reserve Notes or their dollar holdings, it would also be unfair to tax people for their gold and silver holdings. Gold and silver is an alternative to holding Federal Reserve Notes and it is the ONLY alternative that the U.S. Constitution says that the state can allow as another currency. It’s unfair to tax it just as [it’s unfair] to tax losses on Federal Reserve Notes.”

Taxpayers who sell their precious metals might be on the hook for capital gain taxes. “Policies that discourage precious metals ownership reduce the likelihood that Gem State citizens will take prudent steps to insulate themselves from the inflation and financial turmoil caused by the Federal Reserve System,” said Stefan Gleason, director of the Sound Money Defense League. “Precious metals bullion is already exempt from Idaho’s sales tax. HB 206 removes the final disincentive in Idaho tax law that stands against ownership of the monetary metals.”

Utah and Oklahoma have enacted similar income tax measures. Arizona is considering similar legislation, and states like Tennessee, Maine, and Alabama seek to remove precious metals from the sales tax.

Image: Shutterstock

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. 

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

Check out Representative Brad Sherman (Democrat, California) make some religious-based assertions about when the Federal Reserve and Janet Yellen should raise interest rates. In a way, Representative Sherman makes some good points. Everything he says is true. Insert “nature” everywhere he says “God” – if you’re secular – and see the point he is making perhaps a bit more clearly. Now, learn about “interest rate” “Federal Reserve” and “Sherman” and things become a bit more mysterious.

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

At the third GOP presidential debate Wednesday night, moderator Becky Quick asked Ted Cruz how we could “try and help” working women in the US who “still earn just 77 percent of what men earn.” In a stumbling manner, Cruz ultimately landed on the gold standard to help women.  In a disjointed tirade Cruz began:

“Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and all the Democrats talking about wanting to address the plight of working women, not a one of them mentioned the fact that under Barack Obama, 3.7 million women have entered poverty. Not a one of them mentioned the fact that under Barack Obama and the big government economy, the median wage for women has dropped $733. The truth of the matter is, big government benefits the wealthy, it benefits the lobbyists, it benefits the giant corporations. And the people who are getting hammered are small businesses, it’s single moms, it’s Hispanics.”

Cruz later tied “loose money” to the plight of women. “I think the Fed should get out of the business of trying to juice our economy and simply be focused on sound money and monetary stability, ideally tied to gold,” Cruz said.

Cruz is not the only Presidential candidate to support the gold standard. Rand Paul has called for similar. “We need to think about our currency that once upon a time had a link to a commodity, and I think we should study it,” he once said.

Of course, in the end, it doesn’t seem like Cruz answered the question at hand.

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.

Why are US Mint gold sales on the rise? When you look closely at the news in silver market, of potentially two month delays on many products, the picture becomes clearer. Purchase of gold ETFs has increased, and the US Mint sold 7,500 ounces in gold coins and 871,000 ounces in silver coins. Sales splits in gold coins include 6,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 1,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins.

Silver has been the attention of investors this year, in particular with long delays in the metal over the past month. Nevertheless, gold sales have remained robust. American Buffalo 1-ounce gold coins sales in 2015 are ahead of 2014 levels. As of September 23, the Mint reported sales for the year to authorized purchasers of 169,000 of the 1-ounce gold coins.  In the first nine months of 2014, the Mint sold 139,500 Gold Buffalo coins.

Not only as the US Mint seen an increase in sales. As Reuters reported in September, gold coins sales have surged in the US and Europe, with sales from the US Mint reaching levels not seen since the 2013 prices crash. In the third quarter 2015, gold American Eagle sales have had the highest quarter since 2013.

“The industry has been on an absolute tear for the last three months,” Scott Spitzer, chief operating officer at Manfra, Tordella & Brookes in New York, told Reuters. “Every time there’s been a break in the price and there’s been volatility, there has been enormous growth in retail interest.”

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