September 2023 - Week 4 Edition

Now Available – For the First Time in History! San Francisco Minted Proof Morgan and Peace Dollars

For the first time in history, the U.S. Mint is making mirrored Proof Morgan Dollar and Peace Dollar coins bearing the “S” Mint mark, representing the historic San Francisco Mint, the original repository of 1850s California “Gold Rush” nuggets, bars and S-minted gold coins.

These new silver coins will have deeply mirrored fields contrasted by heavily frosted devices (images) projecting a gorgeous cameo effect. Only 400,000 Proof Morgan and 400,000 Peace Dollars were minted. Unlike the previous mirrored Proof Morgan dollars issued between 1878 and 1904, these Morgan and Peace Dollar Proofs will have silver fineness of .999, not the .900 silver alloy with 10% copper, like the original coins.  They will contain 0.859 troy ounces of .999 fine silver.

These gorgeous new proof coins are authorized under the 1921 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act signed into law January 5, 2021. That Act celebrated the centennial anniversary of the U.S. Mint’s transition from producing the Morgan Dollar to the production of the Peace Dollar, celebrating the armistice after “The War to End all Wars,” as ratified by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

The first new uncirculated Morgan and Peace Dollars were released in 2021. NGC and PCGS MS70 graded coins in that first issue have already increased in value 30% or more since then.

We have a limited quantity of these beautiful NGC PF70 ULTRA CAMEO Morgan and Peace Dollars in stock, along with coins graded by the new CAC grading service.

If you already own any Morgan or Peace Dollars, you need to compliment your collection with these beautiful sets. See them side by side to note the striking differences, and similarities.

I strongly recommend that you call our professional account representatives today to ensure that you are locked in on owning these incredible new proof coins at very affordable prices.

Are We Just at the Beginning of a New Energy Crisis?

October marks the 50^th anniversary of the first Energy crisis, the time when OPEC shut off oil supplies to America. There was a second oil crisis, courtesy of the Shah of Iran and President Jimmy Carter’s new Energy Department, in 1979. There was also a short crisis in 2008, which went by so fast you may have missed it.

Just in case you missed the oil price bubble of 2008, the all-time peak price came in June 2008, when oil reached $150 a barrel in a time of general commodity price inflation. Earlier, silver had reached $48 an ounce, in April, gold reached a then-record $1,900 in early September and grain prices also reached record highs in June of that year. This was due to massive flooding in the Midwest but most prices came down in the fall.

Surprisingly, oil prices then set an inflation-adjusted 75-year low as recently as April 2020, due mostly to the COVID-19 lockdown.  Amazingly, prices in 2020 were even lower, adjusted for inflation, than those now almost-mythical times of 20-cent-per-gallon gasoline in the 1950s and 1960s. In April 2020, oil traded under $19 per barrel for several days, lower in real terms than the $3 oil that prevailed before 1973.

Perhaps that recent $18 price sounds like a faint memory, now that oil prices are around $90 once again. You can thank President Joe Biden’s policies of closing down domestic oil production in favor of cost-prohibitive alternative sources, or even begging our enemies in OPEC (led by Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela) or OPEC+ (headed by Russia) to “pretty please” sell us some oil. In response, the biggest overseas producers (Saudi Arabia and Russia) have cut production quotas to increase prices even further. That, combined with bad domestic policy, is hurting American consumers not only at the pump but by forcing them to pay higher prices due transportation costs in the shipping sector.

Most energy crises are due to bad political leadership and we are living through it, again. In his first year in office, President Carter created a new Department of Energy and appointed an “Energy Czar” to oversee gas prices and distribution. The result was rationed gas, a doubling of gas prices and long gas lines at the pumps where people were only allowed to fill up their tanks on odd or even days. The Czar and his team of regulators tried to distribute gas evenly between states, thereby shorting the most populous states, causing gas lines.

Some Democrats never learn. President Biden has increased the Energy Department’s budget 50% from $32 billion in 2020 to $46 billion in 2022 and $48 billion this year, while delivering far less energy to us.

Most voters have noticed gas prices, so we may see a reversal in Congress and the Presidency in 2024 and much higher silver and gold prices. Don’t miss out on a chance to stock up on gold and silver while prices remain relatively low. History has shown the trend in similar economic situations is increased prices for precious metals.

Silver and Gold Prices Fall but Don’t Expect That to Continue

Silver was the best performing metal last week, up 2%, but gold was flat last week then fell sharply Monday and Tuesday on rising interest rates and a rising dollar. The U.S. Dollar index is up 2.7% so far in September. We’ve also seen a drop in the silver price in tandem with gold this week but don’t expect that to be a trend. The 10-year Treasury bond reached a 16-year high yield of 4.54%, which tends to send almost every other investment down for a while, including stocks, bonds and gold. However, I don’t think the price of gold and silver will be held down for long. As we enter a presidential election year and face continued threats around the world from computer hackers, foreign conflict and the desire by some countries to see America fail, I am confident precious metals will continue to serve as a safe haven for your investment dollars. Give our professional account representatives a call today to ensure you don’t miss out on this buying opportunity.

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