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Friday, July 6, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Liberty Coin & Precious Metals Puts on Sale Silver Fractional Coins
At the request of numerous customers, Liberty Coin & Precious Metals, located in San Diego, CA, now stocks fractional silver coins. These coins offer protection against inflation and hyperinflation now threatening the global economy in the face of economic uncertainty.
While today silver trades at only $32.50 an ounce, many experts predict that it could trade as high $60.00 an ounce by year's end due to Federal Reserve Quantitave Easing policies. With silver at high prices, fractional rounds could make an excellent option for those individuals who prior purchased 90% junk silver in bulk. They might even one day be as coveted as the fractional gold bullion coins now trading for all-time high premiums. The new fractional rounds, offered by Liberty Coin & Precious Metals, offers the advantages of junk silver (US coinage pre-1964),
but with investment grade purity.
but with investment grade purity.
Many experts are predicting a possible currency collapse involving the US dollar. In such an event, it is highly advisable that individuals have alternative forms of money. Historically, silver and gold have offered one such solution times of economic crisis. That's why pure silver in fractional form is the way to go.
The coins come with the classic Indian Head gold coin design on the obverse and reverse, with "one troy ounce" stamped into the reverse. They are easy to store and highly valuable. Many people consider the junk silver to be an excellent option in the event of a barter situation, and surely so too could these fractional rounds be considered such.
For a short time, Liberty Coin & Precious Metals is happy to offer our customers these fractional coins for only $1 over spot. This price makes these coins a low-premium yet investment grade silver coin, excellent as a store of value or investment.
'Time to Cash Out of Stocks,' Says Precious Metals Dealer Liberty Coin & Precious Metals
On April 2nd, Liberty Coin & Precious Metals told its customers in its company newsletter, "The Liberty Letter," that it is now time to cash out of stocks. Citing the historic Q1 of 2012, the company wrote:
"Time to cash out your 401(k) statement! The first quarter is now history and it was the best for stocks since 1998. Friday saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average close at 13,212.04, as well as the S&P 500 finishing at 1,408.47, 8%, and 12% gains respectively. If that's not enough, throw the Nasdaq's best quarterly performance since 1991 into the mix, and you'd never think that hard assets were on the rise as well."
The precious metals and bullion dealer out of San Diego, California also wrote in the newsletter about the great quarter for hard assets enjoyed from January to the end of March. Gold (7%), silver (11.6%), platinum (16.4%) and palladium (no gain) all gained or maintained recent highs based on uncertainty over the future of the US Dollar, which, in the past three-and-a-half years, has seen unprecedented trillions of liquidity created by decree through the Federal Reserve.
Liberty Coin & Precious Metals remains skeptical in its economic forecasts, pointing towards monetization of the debt and poor jobs growth as the reasons why. In the Liberty Letter, the company wrote:
"But where is the money really coming from? $3.6 trillion dollars have been added to U.S. stock since the S&P 500 fell to the years' low in October, and have climbed back to the levels of pre-market meltdown of fall 2008. Moreover, there has been excessive printing by the Federal Reserve, funding expeditions far-and-wide, such as bailing out Europe and buoying the stock market here at home.
"Nonetheless, the fundamentals which caused the 2008 banking crisis still remain. If anything, they have only become more solid, as the derivatives market has expanded exponentially along with the money supply, and today all of the major indexes in the United States stand at their recent highs. Many remain rightfully skeptical, as in March US Mint sales were up from the prior months, hinting at steadfast demand for the two hedges against inflation and economic chaos."
The company suggested to its readers that they consider moving their IRA and 401ks into a precious metals IRA, so as to enjoy the security of gold and silver investments. According to the company, now offers a great opportunity for individuals to exit from mutual funds and other paper assets in favor of stores of wealth which have withstood the test of history: gold & silver.
Most intriguingly, gold and silver, after reaching highs of $1,920 and $49 respectively, have been consolidating, thus making now an excellent time to try the water.
Liberty Coin & Precious Metals Receives 'A' Rating from Silver Vigilante
Liberty Coin & Precious Metals celebrates today their 'A' rating at Silver Vigilante. Liberty Coin & Precious Metals has been serving its international clientele for two years now, and has received attention from well-known silver investors such as David Morgan, SGT Report and now, The Silver Vigilante.
Silver Vigilante offers cutting analysis of the silver market and its history, as well as features on all the silver retail products on the market and reviews of dealers. Recently, Silver Vigilante included Liberty Coin & Precious Metals on its list of company's reviewed, and he had some pleasant things to say about the company which offers low-price precious metals products, such as 90% Junk Silver, Silver Canadian Maple Leafs, 10 oz Silver Bars, 1 oz Rounds and Silver Austrian Philharmonics.
"When SV gave Liberty a try, I spoke with the President of the company, Mark, who handled my purchase. He answered my questions saying that the company would mail the coins out as soon as funds had cleared and that it should not take more than two weeks, but that the USPS was slow. When I asked why the company used USPS and not a private service like UPS or FedEx, he said that he personally chose the Postal Service because it was a federal crime to tamper with the mail. The candid nature of our conversation warmed me up to the company most, not to mention the opportunity to speak with the owner, who graciously offered his insights on the silver and gold market."
Liberty Coin & Precious Metals currently has a number of specials running, including Gold American Eagles at merely $64 over spot and Silver American Eagles at $2.60 over spot. We would like to add to these specials by offering Modern John F. Kennedy Silver Half Dollar Commemoratives at spot, in limited quantities, as a way of thanking Silver Vigilante for his kind words.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Goldline Suit a Warning for Precious Metals Buyers
To be sure, this is not the first time Goldline has come under scrutiny, as last year Congressmen grilled Goldline over its mark ups and sales practices. Last summer, Santa Monica authorities disclosed that they were investigating the company.
The attorney who brought the charges forward to the Los Angeles Superior Court claimed that salespeople for Goldline were rewarded with large commissions for selling “collector” coins and reprimanded if they instead made bullion sales.
The attorney’s office said that each charge in the 19-count criminal complaint carries up to one year in jail and fines between $1,000 and $10,000 per offense for the defendants—which includes its CEO, a former CEO, two other executives, and two salespeople. The misdemeanor charges include grand theft by false pretenses, false advertising and conspiracy.
In a statement published by Goldline on their website, Executive Vice President Brian Crumbaker—not named in the complaint—said, “The so-called bait and switch allegation is preposterous because bullion accounts for more than 40% of the ounces of gold sold by the company during the past year.”
However, according to Google search trends for the current calendar year, 2011, if Goldline's bullion to numismatics sales were a true reflection of countrywide trends, the company would be selling eleven-and-a-half times more bullion than numismatics. In the year 2007, the year before the banking crisis, bullion was worldwide searched just six-and-a-half times more than numismatics.
Google Trends For Bullion compared to Numismatics 2011
| bullion | 11.4 |
| numismatics | 1.00 |
Google Trends For Bullion compared to Numismatics 2007
| bullion | 6.55 |
| numismatics | 1.00 |
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Crumbaker wrote that “the company’s business practices are appropriate and transparent to its customers. Goldline is the industry leader in its commitment to compliance and disclosure so customers can make informed decisions.”
On the company’s website, Goldline says that a typical spread on Goldline’s most commonly sold bullion coins is 5% to 20%, whilst the spread on “semi-numismatic coins, rare or numismatic coins and rare currency” ranges from 30% to 35%.
On the BBB, Goldline has a rating of F. But, of course, a company cannot appease everybody. Of the factors leading to Goldline having received the lowest possible BBB rating, the following played a role:
10 serious complaint(s) filed against business
Overall complaint history with BBB
Government action(s) against business
The BBB reports that Goldline has made good faith efforts to resolve the complaints brought against them, however rarely does has this resulted in a satisfied customer.
Many talk show hosts have put their reputation on the line in championing the company. Glenn Beck has said in ads that Goldline is “a top-notch organization” and the “only gold company I recommend and use.” Other talk show hosts like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Mark Levin, former GOP presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson, have endorsed Goldline. Goldline has used these talkers credibility to their brand’s advantage.
The old proverb is of the utmost importance in this story: buyer beware. Whenever one buys anything, there is inherent risk, which is why it is so important that the customer informs him or herself of the companies, products and markets with which they plan on engaging, before they engage. Have a chat with the owner, compare the company's prices with similar companies. Beware, however, of companies who advertise attractively, to-good-to-be-true prices, that tack-on a bunch of “commission” fees or additional percentage points under originally undisclosed guises.
Many people enter the precious metals market because they anticipate a further erosion of the international dollar standard. Numismatics, it is argued, offer a means of entering into the precious metals market in such a way whereby, if the world's economic plight were to improve, the collectors premiums on numismatic coins would rise. In this school of thought, the world economy is in the middle of a Great Recession, and in a few years or so we will be seeing our way out of this. Therefore, with premiums on numismatics at historical lows, it would be a great play to enter into that market now in anticipation of stronger premiums in the future; that is, of course, if the economy improves.
Those who are entering the gold market are doing so because they believe that the global economic crisis will worsen, and as fiat currencies across the world lose value, real goods such as food, gas, energy and precious metals will rise. They are not hedging that people will have leisure time enough to inspect rare coins, let alone have the funds to pay for considerable premiums over the precious metal content of the coin.
Big players on the world stage, such as The People's Bank of China, Reserve Bank of India, Goldman Sachs, Barclays Capital, western central banks are buying gold, and they are buying bullion.
Much of the premiums paid on numismatics have no more real value than the premium paid for a Nolan Ryan rookie card. Baseball cards, numismatic coins and other collectors hobbies do well in times of affluence. In times of crisis, however, such items are sold off in monumental quantities in a dash for cash and, ultimately, securer savings, such as gold and silver bullion. Those who take pleasure in collecting coins typically do not have funds to pay the premiums in times of belt-tightening.
For thousands of years gold and silver have not been collector's items. Instead, they have been money, numismatics a hobby. When somebody is looking to purchase gold or silver bullion, they should see the transaction as an exchange—they are exchanging Federal Reserve Notes for gold and silver. The premiums over the spot price of gold, which often cover expensive mining, minting and transportation costs, are a service fee of sorts. People should do research about why they want to enter into the precious metals market, and why they want bullion instead of numismatics. They should also get to know their local dealers.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Liberty Radio Interview with Dick Boddie
Liberty Coin and Precious Metals Interview with former Libertarian Presidential Candidate Dick Boddie
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The End of Silver Manipulation
The story of the Hunt Brother's—Nelson and William Herbert—attempt to corner the silver market in the 1980’s is one of the best known examples in the commodity markets of financial heavyweights purchasing enough stock so as to be able to manipulate it as they please. The Hunt brothers did not keep the greatest market share for long, but they certainly did help to make completely lopsided, in favor of finance capital, the silver market since that time.
In the mid-to-late 1970s, the world was a very unstable place, much like today. Not only did the American economy experience during this period inflation and even stagflation, but fear of international communism pulled at the shoulders of nearly everyone. Bunker Hunt believed that silver was undervalued and could only rise in price. In the middle of the 1970s the Hunt brothers owned nearly 10% of all silver stock and, from then on into the 1980s, they put increasing pressure on the market and caused the price of silver to rise from $2 per ounce to $6 per ounce.
All of their capital was invested into silver. Further, they were salesmen of the stock, doing what they could to convince others to do the same as them. Eventually, they partnered with a group of Arabian investors who were in such a position to purchase voluminous amounts of silver. The Hunts and these Arabs, over time, gained increasing influence over the silver market, allowing them the means to loan more money and buy more silver, creating a feedback loop of manipulated price discovery.
By 1979 the price of silver was $35 per ounce. By then, other investors started looking to silver as a viable investment opportunity, thus giving the price an even larger boost. In the 1980s, the Hunt Brothers had made a market. Inside of one decade they had inflated the price from $2 per ounce to $50 per ounce at the beginning of the 80’s. Some believed that silver would rise to $200/$300.
But, in the early 80’s, the prices of silver started to stall and fall. The market had grown so inflated that the Hunt brothers could not find paper enough to purchase enough silver to keep the market rising. Investors began investing money into bank certificates for higher interest rates. Moreover, the Brothers had taken on massive loans to fund their silver scheme but could not repay the debts. The brokers, who had made the loans, such as Bache, A.G. Edwards, Merrill Lynch and others, began to protect themselves from a market crash by shorting the price.
The Federal Reserve then changed the rules on speculative silver investments, and the price plunged. A broker demanded a $100 million dollar payment. The Hunts defaulted. Out of desperation, the Hunt brothers tried to counterfeit paper obligations backed by their 200 million ounces of silver. Essentially, they tried to create a new international currency backed by silver. By then, however, silver was linked in the public mind with the unstable situation of the Hunts. On Blood Thursday—March 27, 1980—the price hit an all time low. Many of these banks were bailed out by taxpayer money, and investigations found that the Hunts owned considerable stake in Bache.
The banks involved in this silver play had gained insight into the silver market. What they had gained was the ability to suppress the price of silver whenever it began to go up. The price of silver became divorced from supply and demand.
Today, upward pressure on silver stems from somewhat similar circumstances to what the U.S. was experiencing in the mid 1970’s: a lack of confidence in the US economy and therefore the dollar. Not only do such global circumstances and fears of currency devaluation cause the public and institutional buyers—such as central banks—to run to commodities, like gold and silver and agriculture, but increasing transparency regarding manipulation in the silver market by big players such as JPMorgan and HSBC put the precious metals market in the headlines—and with negative sentiment towards Wall Street right now, silver offers people an exciting way of not only preserving purchasing power, but also exposing big banks to risk.
In short, JPMorgan, HSBC and other international financial institutions have over the long-term bet on the price of silver to fall. The capital expended to ensure the price did act in such a way has “artificially depressed the price of silver dramatically downward.” Thus, class-action lawsuits have been filed against the banks.
The CFTC began investigating the manipulation through its Enforcement Division three years ago after issuing letters in 2004 and 2008. As yet, no findings have been made public. Backed by taxpayer money, as it is, one can imagine it has been a rather expensive investigation.
Western economies are bankrupt. Silver and gold will not meet demand in the coming years, which is why platinum and palladium—historically, for the most part, viewed as only industrial metals—will play large roles as monetary hedges. Today, central banks and other large institutions are net buyers of gold, and many are even scooping up large positions in platinum. They were late to the gold game, entering in a meaningful way in 2007 and 2008, more than five years after the start of the extraordinary bull market. Tomorrow, these same institutions will be net buyers of silver in a big way. Again, they will be late. Either way, this will cause the price of silver to snowball in a manner similar to what has been seen in gold over the last fifty years.
The US mint has seen periods this year where they sold just as many dollars in silver as gold, despite that gold is priced in dollars around 40 times the price of silver at any given time. In the Spring, world markets bore witness to a rise in silver of near $50, before heavy manipulation—that is, large sell-offs—took advantage of a quiet market on a Sunday night and early Monday morning, when few trades were being made.
Silver works at times as a sort of schizophrenic precious metals. It has moments where the underlying demand for it as a monetary hedge causes the price to run north quickly. Other times, dismal industrial outlook causes it to follow the coattails of platinum and fall. But, as many young people—and not to mention wealthy folks and institutions— are looking to silver as an investment, a hedge or a savings account, demand for the metal as a monetary instrument is sure to drive price discovery.
Silver prices are poised to rise, thus putting pressure on the JPMorgan stock price. As the JPMorgan stock price and the silver price conflate, investors will concern themselves, in regards to the bank’s stock price and derivatives holdings, with their risky short position in silver. Usually a firm will short a stock 8-1, whilst JPMorgan holds a short of about 40-1.
For every ounce of silver sold on the COMEX, JPMorgan sells between twenty to fifty ounces of silver, similar to fractional reserve banking. This is called naked short selling; that is, they sell silver that does not exist. In fact, it is estimated that the bank has sold between one billion and three billion ounces of non-existent silver. They have sold more silver than exists above ground. In terms of derivatives, JPMorgan has about $1.5 trillion in exposure, much of which are silver shorts. Knowing this, large hedge funds can purchase large quantities of silver, and eventually force JPMorgan to go long.
Silver has a myriad of uses today. Not only is it an investment or a hedge, but for many it is a savings account. It also has industrial purposes and, for some, is representative of a political movement to expose too-big-to-fail banks to risk. It is also the jewelry metal of choice among the youth in the US and Europe, for it is more affordable than gold. Many simply like the color.
Just as the gold cartel eventually lost its control over gold in the late sixties, causing its price to begin running upwards from $35 an ounce, the silver cartel sees its days numbered. Today gold is a de facto world reserve currency, and everyday more people catch onto this reality. Silver has historically traded in tandem with the yellow metal. Many analysts see $10,000 an ounce as a given for yellow. At the very feasible 20-1 ratio, that lands silver at roughly $500 an ounce.
*this is an opinion piece and is not designed to be taken as investment advice.
*disclosure: we are bullish on silver
In the mid-to-late 1970s, the world was a very unstable place, much like today. Not only did the American economy experience during this period inflation and even stagflation, but fear of international communism pulled at the shoulders of nearly everyone. Bunker Hunt believed that silver was undervalued and could only rise in price. In the middle of the 1970s the Hunt brothers owned nearly 10% of all silver stock and, from then on into the 1980s, they put increasing pressure on the market and caused the price of silver to rise from $2 per ounce to $6 per ounce.
All of their capital was invested into silver. Further, they were salesmen of the stock, doing what they could to convince others to do the same as them. Eventually, they partnered with a group of Arabian investors who were in such a position to purchase voluminous amounts of silver. The Hunts and these Arabs, over time, gained increasing influence over the silver market, allowing them the means to loan more money and buy more silver, creating a feedback loop of manipulated price discovery.
By 1979 the price of silver was $35 per ounce. By then, other investors started looking to silver as a viable investment opportunity, thus giving the price an even larger boost. In the 1980s, the Hunt Brothers had made a market. Inside of one decade they had inflated the price from $2 per ounce to $50 per ounce at the beginning of the 80’s. Some believed that silver would rise to $200/$300.
But, in the early 80’s, the prices of silver started to stall and fall. The market had grown so inflated that the Hunt brothers could not find paper enough to purchase enough silver to keep the market rising. Investors began investing money into bank certificates for higher interest rates. Moreover, the Brothers had taken on massive loans to fund their silver scheme but could not repay the debts. The brokers, who had made the loans, such as Bache, A.G. Edwards, Merrill Lynch and others, began to protect themselves from a market crash by shorting the price.
The Federal Reserve then changed the rules on speculative silver investments, and the price plunged. A broker demanded a $100 million dollar payment. The Hunts defaulted. Out of desperation, the Hunt brothers tried to counterfeit paper obligations backed by their 200 million ounces of silver. Essentially, they tried to create a new international currency backed by silver. By then, however, silver was linked in the public mind with the unstable situation of the Hunts. On Blood Thursday—March 27, 1980—the price hit an all time low. Many of these banks were bailed out by taxpayer money, and investigations found that the Hunts owned considerable stake in Bache.
The banks involved in this silver play had gained insight into the silver market. What they had gained was the ability to suppress the price of silver whenever it began to go up. The price of silver became divorced from supply and demand.
Today, upward pressure on silver stems from somewhat similar circumstances to what the U.S. was experiencing in the mid 1970’s: a lack of confidence in the US economy and therefore the dollar. Not only do such global circumstances and fears of currency devaluation cause the public and institutional buyers—such as central banks—to run to commodities, like gold and silver and agriculture, but increasing transparency regarding manipulation in the silver market by big players such as JPMorgan and HSBC put the precious metals market in the headlines—and with negative sentiment towards Wall Street right now, silver offers people an exciting way of not only preserving purchasing power, but also exposing big banks to risk.
In short, JPMorgan, HSBC and other international financial institutions have over the long-term bet on the price of silver to fall. The capital expended to ensure the price did act in such a way has “artificially depressed the price of silver dramatically downward.” Thus, class-action lawsuits have been filed against the banks.
The CFTC began investigating the manipulation through its Enforcement Division three years ago after issuing letters in 2004 and 2008. As yet, no findings have been made public. Backed by taxpayer money, as it is, one can imagine it has been a rather expensive investigation.
Western economies are bankrupt. Silver and gold will not meet demand in the coming years, which is why platinum and palladium—historically, for the most part, viewed as only industrial metals—will play large roles as monetary hedges. Today, central banks and other large institutions are net buyers of gold, and many are even scooping up large positions in platinum. They were late to the gold game, entering in a meaningful way in 2007 and 2008, more than five years after the start of the extraordinary bull market. Tomorrow, these same institutions will be net buyers of silver in a big way. Again, they will be late. Either way, this will cause the price of silver to snowball in a manner similar to what has been seen in gold over the last fifty years.
The US mint has seen periods this year where they sold just as many dollars in silver as gold, despite that gold is priced in dollars around 40 times the price of silver at any given time. In the Spring, world markets bore witness to a rise in silver of near $50, before heavy manipulation—that is, large sell-offs—took advantage of a quiet market on a Sunday night and early Monday morning, when few trades were being made.
Silver works at times as a sort of schizophrenic precious metals. It has moments where the underlying demand for it as a monetary hedge causes the price to run north quickly. Other times, dismal industrial outlook causes it to follow the coattails of platinum and fall. But, as many young people—and not to mention wealthy folks and institutions— are looking to silver as an investment, a hedge or a savings account, demand for the metal as a monetary instrument is sure to drive price discovery.
Silver prices are poised to rise, thus putting pressure on the JPMorgan stock price. As the JPMorgan stock price and the silver price conflate, investors will concern themselves, in regards to the bank’s stock price and derivatives holdings, with their risky short position in silver. Usually a firm will short a stock 8-1, whilst JPMorgan holds a short of about 40-1.
For every ounce of silver sold on the COMEX, JPMorgan sells between twenty to fifty ounces of silver, similar to fractional reserve banking. This is called naked short selling; that is, they sell silver that does not exist. In fact, it is estimated that the bank has sold between one billion and three billion ounces of non-existent silver. They have sold more silver than exists above ground. In terms of derivatives, JPMorgan has about $1.5 trillion in exposure, much of which are silver shorts. Knowing this, large hedge funds can purchase large quantities of silver, and eventually force JPMorgan to go long.
Silver has a myriad of uses today. Not only is it an investment or a hedge, but for many it is a savings account. It also has industrial purposes and, for some, is representative of a political movement to expose too-big-to-fail banks to risk. It is also the jewelry metal of choice among the youth in the US and Europe, for it is more affordable than gold. Many simply like the color.
Just as the gold cartel eventually lost its control over gold in the late sixties, causing its price to begin running upwards from $35 an ounce, the silver cartel sees its days numbered. Today gold is a de facto world reserve currency, and everyday more people catch onto this reality. Silver has historically traded in tandem with the yellow metal. Many analysts see $10,000 an ounce as a given for yellow. At the very feasible 20-1 ratio, that lands silver at roughly $500 an ounce.
*this is an opinion piece and is not designed to be taken as investment advice.
*disclosure: we are bullish on silver
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