Chinese Silver Coins

The Buzz Around Gold is Growing Louder

I outlined last week the increasingly bullish consensus among analysts about gold stocks . The same pattern exists with gold itself; growing numbers of analysts have either joined the movement or have upped their bullish outlook.

The following comments and developments have all been reported just this month. It presents quite a convincing case when one strings them together like this. Keep in mind that this is what these analysts and managers are telling their clients.

SICA Wealth Management’s Jeffrey Sica: “Right now, I think gold looks better than ever.” He sees a “painfully high probability” of troubling events occurring in the months ahead. “There has been a general loss of confidence in the ability of central banks and governments to manage the economy. That will continue to give gold and other precious metals a boost.”

Empire Economics chief economist Clifford Bennett expects gold to come close to $2,000 an ounce this year and $2,200 an ounce within 18 months. “There is risk in the second half of the year of a bit of a ‘panic spike,’ if you like, as everyone thinks there isn’t enough to go around and starts to hoard. That’s when you’ll really see gold take off toward $2,000 an ounce.”

Franco-Nevada Chairman Pierre Lassonde said the coming mania in gold will make the 1970s run look like child’s play. “In 1980, the only players, or the dominant players, were the Americans. Today the dominant players are China and India; 58% of all the gold sold this year will be sold in these two countries. When we reach that mania phase… watch out, because it will truly make your head spin.”

Antaike analyst Shi Heqing had this to say about Chinese investors: “Record high prices won’t scare away investors… they are likely to chase the rally and continue to buy gold because paper money feels increasingly worthless and they are worried about inflation.” Shi expects China’s gold demand to rise about 20%, due in no small part to the country’s 6.4% inflation rate.

Reuters: “The case for gold in the longer term is still very strong,” said a Singapore-based trader. “Gold may appeal to new classes of investors who previously avoided the market in favor of more mainstream investments like bank deposits, bonds, and equities. Potentially there’s a whole new market for small-sized gold bars if these investors lose faith in paper.

Fake Silver Coins From China

Several years ago I bought a $450 Seated Liberty Dollar from a (unknown to me) hijacked ebay account. The coin was an unbelievably well made forgery right down to the weight and silver content. Granted I only paid $90 for, at the time, $8 worth of silver, but it took an expert to give me the bad news. These coins are actually minted in presses, exactly like the ones at the U.S. Mint! Beware!!! I WAS going to dispute the paypal charge, but couldn't muster the time and effort it would have taken to fight this "international" fight. I just wrote off the loss.

Commerce reports

Encyclopedia Small Silver Coins

Chinese Coins, Money in History and Society

The China White Paper, August 1949

The Silk Road, trade, travel, war and faith