Metals Market Report Archive
Metals Market Report 09-22-2014

The Mike Fuljenz Metals Market Report

September 2014, Week 4 Edition

Gold and silver had another disappointing week, with several promising developments turning sour: (1) The Federal Reserve indicated that interest rates would turn up in the first half of 2015, pushing traders out of gold and into the dollar, which continues to rise to 14-month highs; (2) the voters of Scotland rejected the referendum to break away from Great Britain, which would have likely have thrown currency markets into chaos, boosting gold (before the vote, gold demand soared in Scotland, up 91% year-over-year), but demand collapsed after the Scotland vote. Then: (3) Friday’s launch of Alibaba, the biggest Initial Public Offering (IPO) in history helped push stocks to record highs, luring some investors away from gold and into stocks.

STUPID COIN ADS

I always enjoyed television features on stupid criminals. Most memorable to me was a thief who wore blinking shoes and was caught in a chase because the police could follow the blinking lights in the woods. Another criminal wrote a note to a teller on the back of his deposit slip that had his address on it. The police arrested him at that address later.

This week I noticed a large stupid coin ad in my Sunday newspaper for 1922 Peace silver dollars. The ad featured prominent copy claiming the 1922 Peace silver dollar was the first year of issue. Actually, 1921 was the first year of issue and any numismatist “worth his salt” knows this simple fact. The dealer running the ad listed no professional affiliations like BBB, NGC or ICTA. Always make sure those you do business with are respected by their peers.

FEDERAL MARSHALS CHASE FAMED TREASURE HUNTER

Tommy Thompson was the toast of treasure hunters and the coin world in October 1988 when he discovered the stunning lost treasure of the SS Central America, a ship that went down in a storm off the South Carolina coast in 1857 with millions of dollars in gold on board. Now Thompson is a man on the lam with U.S. Marshals on his tail.

Thompson’s elation at finding the rich treasure was short-lived as challengers came out of the woodwork to claim a piece of the pie. Long and arduous legal battles followed. In 1996, Thomson’s company was awarded 92% ownership of the treasure find, with the rest divided among some of the insurers of the ship.

His legal troubles weren’t over, though, as investors in his company and even members of his crew claimed they hadn’t been paid shares that were promised them. So he disappeared.

It’s not clear exactly when he dropped out of sight. What is known is that on August 13, 2012, he failed to appear at a hearing in the court battles, and a federal judge found him in contempt and issued an arrest warrant. In a court deposition, maintenance worker James Kennedy said that not long after that he went inside the Florida mansion where Thompson lived and found pre-paid disposable cellphones and bank wraps for $10,000 bills, along with a book called “How to Live Your Life Invisible.”

Gil Kirk, a former director of one of Thompson's companies who says he put $1.8 million of his money into the treasure hunt and has not been repaid but still supports Thompson, commented that Thompson’s dream became his doom. “Tommy used the word, what's the word?” Kirk said. “Plague of the gold.”

Meanwhile, salvage operations continue off the coast of South Carolina at wreck site of the SS Central America. Remotely operated vehicle dives, using more modern equipment, have recovered more gold and silver coins. The recovery and sale of more Type I $20 Liberty gold coins from this shipwreck should boost interest in all types of $20 Liberties in the near future.

SUPER-RICH BUY “ITALIAN JOB” STYLE GOLD BARS

The super-rich of the world seem to some to be clamoring for those big shiny gold bars that starred in the movie “The Italian Job.” The number of 12.5kg gold bars being bought by wealthy customers reportedly has increased 243 percent so far this year, when compared to the same period last year.

“These gold bars are usually stored in the vaults of central banks and are the same ones you see in the film ‘The Italian Job’,” added David Cousins, bullion executive from London based ATS Bullion. The bars are made from pure gold and are worth nearly half a million dollars each at today’s gold prices.


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