Burt's Gold Page

Information and commentary from Burton S. Blumert [send him mail], dealer in bullion and rare coins since 1959, and publisher of LewRockwell.com.

‘Why in Heaven’s Name Isn’t Gold Moving Higher?’

The question is asked of me time and time again. If gold is a fever thermometer telling us how sick we are, it seems to me the patient has 106 degree temperature, and personally I would equate that to a $500 price per ounce for gold.

We may get there, and possibly sooner than we think, but with the kind of chaos all markets are facing at this point, nothing makes sense.

It is therefore a good time to accumulate precious metals, and not to get too nervous with the fluctuations.

Report on Precious Metals for March

The price of gold closed at $331.50 per ounce on the last trading Friday of the month. Trading has been featureless in a narrow range.

The silver market was uneventful, closing at $4.44 the last Friday of the month. Traders will need a definitive signal to get interested again.

Platinum closed at $634.00 per ounce last Friday. The erratic movement of the dull metal tests the nerve of those hearties who watch 3% spikes up and down almost daily.

The message from the equity markets is clear: "Life on the planet as we know it is in its final stages."

Dear Reader: Everything above, except the prices, is absurd. I simply wanted to demonstrate that I could use the jargon just like those know-(almost)-nothing talking heads that we see on the 24-hour financial cable channels spouting platitudes.

They are cheerleaders and their team (the equity markets) doesn't seem to be doing well at this time.

SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL

Hardly a day goes by without some customer inquiring about purchasing fractional American Eagles and Canadian Maples.

Two things motivate their question. (1) Some folks with modest budgets feel that they get more coinage for their money and that the smaller coins carry more liquidity than the one ounce. (2) When they think about the possible breakdown of the economic infrastructure (I hate that word!), they thing that the smaller gold coins will be more useful.

I've discussed this before, and I'll summarize my position: If things are breaking down, the clerks at Safeway may not know the difference between a 1/10 ounce Eagle and a side of beef.

Also, if someone has to liquidate fractional coins, coins they paid substantial premiums for (see Burt's premium page), they will lose those premiums.

I firmly believe that the one ounce bullion coin is the way to go, with "junk" American silver coinage filling the role of emergency money at the informal market square.

However, there are some smaller gold coins that I am crazy about as an investment. They make sense. I'm speaking of European coins containing a bit less than 1/5 of an ounce to 1/4 of an ounce. These coins were real money. When the US $5 gold coin was five bucks, prior to being demonetized in 1933, these European coins were also used as day-to-day money.

These coins are attractive because they are low premium. Indeed, they are a bargain!

Through the years these European coins have carried substantial premiums. Often, as high as 25% over their gold value! We will offer them here at 5% over spot. Yes, 5% over spot

What follows is a partial listing of the European coins that qualify for this "Special Offering" to LRC readers (Coins Enlarged to Show Detail).

20 FRANC COINS (each contains .1867 parts of a pure ounce)

French 20 Franc	Swiss 20 Franc

Belgium 20 Franc • Italian 20 Lira • (There are others)


Dutch 10 Guilder (Each contains .195 parts of a pure ounce)	British Gold Sovereign (Each contains .2354 parts of a pure ounce)
(There are others)

As a "Special" to LRC readers, I offer any of these listed above at 5% – I said 5% over their gold value.

You can do the math yourself.

Using $335 as a hypothetical spot price of gold, using the above formula, the 20 Franc gold coins would cost $65.67 each. The British gold coins would cost $82.80, and the Dutch 10 Guilder would cost $68.59.

You can buy British Sovereigns, or Dutch Guilders, or you can mix an match.

All confirmations must be done via the 800 number (see below).

One last thought on these terrific European coins: An American 1/4 ounce Eagle struck last Thursday carries a premium of over 8%.

Can you see now why I'm so enthused about these European gold coins?