Letter Re: Bullion Coins vs American Gold Eagles or Junk silver

Hugh, I saw this on Tuesday’s blog and thought I would expand the thinking a bit. K.W. correctly pointed out that bullion coins, like Krugerrands and Maple Leafs, are often sales-taxed where legal tender coins are not is a notable observation. But it only tells part of the story. I recently wrote an article comparing the many ways to buy, sell, and hold precious metals in their various forms. One big advantage of U.S.-issued and denominated gold and silver coins is that both the current American Eagles and also many older coins are the only precious metal that qualify as …




Economics and Investing:

More info: Dallas on Verge of Bankruptcy Due to Pensions; Just a Matter of Time (For Dallas, Houston, LA, Oakland, Chicago, etc) o o o Dow & Nasdaq Hit All-Time Highs But The Stock Market Is On Borrowed Time, And Will India Ban Gold Imports? o o o Citigroup Leads U.S. Banks Higher in Global System Risk List o o o Symantec to Buy LifeLock for $2.3 Billion to Add ID Security o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.




Letter Re: Buying Krugerrands

Hugh, With regard to purchasing Krugerrands as opposed to American Gold Eagle (AGE) coins or Canadian Maple Leaf (CML) coins results in some states such as mine (in the American Redoubt, thank God) not charging sales tax on collector coins, but they do on bullion. Since Krugerrands do not bear a (symbolic) monetary denomination (like AGEs and CMLs do), and only have a gold weight and fineness, they are taxed as bullion, which usually drives their cost above the others when tax is taken into account. – KW




Economics and Investing:

Michael Snyder: We Are Being Set Up For Higher Interest Rates, A Major Recession And A Giant Stock Market Crash o o o Gold Price Forecast: Nasty Naughty November Gold Price Trend o o o Dallas, Texas, Stares Down a Texas-Size Threat of Bankruptcy – P.S. o o o National Taxpayer Advocate: The IRS Is Out Of Touch With The People It Serves – PLC o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.




Letter Re: Buying Krugerrands

Hi, I know you don’t give out investment advice, but I started buying gold and silver bullion ever since I read the first Patriots book. What’s your personal opinion of the 1-oz krugerrand? Right now at mintproducts.com there is a special price. It’s going for less than the price of the 1-oz gold eagle. – F.R. JWR’s Comment: Krugerrands are fine, and they usually do sell for less than comparable weight American Eagles. But make sure that you have plenty of small barter silver on hand, before you branch out into gold.




Economics and Investing:

Grey Champion Assumes Command (Part Two) – An interesting look at the current economic struggle and the expected outcome. o o o They’re Growing Older. Their Mortgage Debt Is Growing Deeper. – G.G. o o o James Rickards: End Game for the Global Economy o o o Housing in a time of rising mortgage rates: A big jump in mortgage rates is here to stay for these reasons. o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.




Economics and Investing:

The Peak & Decline Of International Reserves Warns Of Massive Asset Deflation Ahead o o o Dollar Extends Record Streak of Gains Versus Euro on Trump Plans o o o Trump Is Making Bond Markets Nervous o o o Why the Dollar Remains the World’s Reserve Currency o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.




Economics and Investing:

Gold Forecast: What Now For Future Gold Price? o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: National Debt is growing Faster Than You Think Yellen Says Interest Rate Hike Could Come ‘Relatively Soon’ – Let’s get real, the Fed said it would raise rates 4 times this year, so far it has yet to do so. They have no choice but to raise rates given the super high expectation to do so.. Do we have the same effect as last year or does the current “Trump Effect” stem that movement. I don’t yet see any fundamentals that change that but this …




Economics and Investing:

A major danger of paper money: Rupees cancelled– DSV o o o Saudis, China Dump Treasuries; Foreign Central Banks Liquidate A Record $375 Billion In US Paper – G.G. o o o The US Dollar Index just hit its highest point since 2003. This might be a good time to diversify into some select foreign currencies. My current favorite is the Swiss Franc, which just hit parity with the US Dollar. – JWR o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.




Letter Re: Fingerprinted To Sell Gold Coin

Hugh, In regards to this letter, I suspect that the ID is not so much an overt surveillance mechanism but rather a tool to prevent and or apprehend those who traffic in stolen merchandise. Locally, pawn shops are required to submit daily reports to the police department cataloging all incoming merchandise, and there is a “pawn shop detail” of officers whose function it is to review and compare those records to reports of stolen goods. Several well-documented arrests of burglars and others dealing in ill-gotten gains have resulted. – C.S.




Economics and Investing:

Why India wiped out 86% of its cash overnight – G.G. o o o War on Cash intensifies: Citibank to stop accepting cash at some branches – DSV o o o Gold Price Forecast: Bearish Pattern Calls For Caution o o o The US Dollar Index just hit its highest point since 2003. This might be a good time to diversify into some select foreign currencies. My current favorite is the Swiss Franc, which just hit parity with the US Dollar. – JWR o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our …




Letter Re: Morgan Silver Dollars

Dear Editor, In one of your guest articles today a gentleman mentioned that the old Morgan dollars are almost one ounce of silver. This is incorrect, and this rumor has been used by numerous unscrupulous dealers in the past to cheat customers. I’ve worked in the precious metals business for four years now, and I hear many such horror stories. Please let your audience know that the old Morgan and Peace dollars only contain .7734 ounces of silver, closer to three quarters versus a full ounce. – R.L.




Economics and Investing:

Saudi’s Issue Warning To Trump: Don’t Stop Saudi Oil Imports o o o National debt is growing faster than you think – B.B. o o o For anyone who believes that the Trump administration’s planned tax policies will result in an economic revival, I’d recommend parlaying some of their gold holdings into platinum, since platinum is more of an industrial metal. Presently, gold is selling for around $1228 per troy ounce, while platinum is at around $940 per ounce. In an industry-driven economic recovery, the gold-to-platinum price ratio is almost sure to return to its historic norm, with platinum selling …




Economics and Investing:

GrubHub Loses MILLIONS After CEO Demands Trump Voters Resign – W.C. o o o Chinese Steadily Buying U.S. Entertainment Businesses – H.L. o o o India’s War on Cash and the Poor o o o The most expensive housing market in the world: Vancouver levies a $10,000 a year tax on empty homes. Not telling the truth and it becomes $10,000 a day. o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.




Letter Re: Purchasing Power

HJL: That was a great article series. I personally work to create things with my knowledge, skill, and labor that will ride with inflation. Since I do it myself, my labor goes into the thing that rides with inflation without being taxed. I’ll also note that insurance companies watch very carefully what they will have to pay to fix your car or your house and adjust rates accordingly. My income is a percentage of that premium. My income is therefore indexed. The other side of the coin is that when business activity drops by half, like it did in contracting …