Market is on the move but at glacial speed
It appears gold and silver have each recently settled into a new and higher trading range. It is challenging to get a fix on how this has impacted the sale of bullion coins, but we know the U.S. Mint sold 27,100 ounces of Gold American Eagle and 4,017,500 ounces of Silver American Eagle coins during January. This is an increase of 7,000 ounces of GAE and an increase of 782,500 SAE for same month sales of one year earlier.
At the end of January, Comex gold for April delivery advanced to $1,325.20 while silver advanced to $16.072 an ounce for April delivery. This is a nine-month high and the fourth straight monthly increase. Platinum for April delivery advanced a modest three percent, while palladium increased by 8.6 percent.
The scarce to rare portion of the coin market is likely best measured by auctions. Here again it appears there is an increase in participation as well as in prices realized. Record prices continue to be sparse, but even here there is good reason for optimism.
The lower tier of the market, coins that are collectible but are also impacted by the spot price of precious metals, continues to be difficult to interpret, but the recent appreciation in these metals is drawing the attention of both collectors and an increasing number of speculators.
The market appears to be on the move but still at the speed of a glacier rather than what might be desired by long-time collectors. It isn’t long-time collectors that will drive this market, but new collectors. We still lack this needed growth.
This article was originally printed in Numismatic News. >> Subscribe today.
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