Gold American Eagles - A Slow Start For 2010

I have been checking the U.S. Mint's 2010 production numbers for Gold American Eagles (and Silver American Eagles also). New updates are scarce so the numbers below may be less than actual coins minted but it is all they have posted on their web site as of this date.

So far in January 2010 20,000 Gold American Eagles in the one-ounce size have been produced. None of the fractional Gold Eagles have been reported as being minted so far this year. Silver American Eagles for January are stated as 367,500.

After last year's late start on production of fractional Gold American Eagles, I would have thought there would be some production of them reported this late in January. Maybe they had a change of heart again and decided to just concentrate on the one-ounce size. Stay tuned for more U.S. Mint numbers as I get them.

Dealing With Local Coin Shops

There was a recent article written on Opening A Coin Shop which talked about the considerations when starting this type of business.

What the article reminded me of was the pitfalls of only dealing with one or more small local coin shops which may not be able to serve your needs when buying and selling gold and silver. My old boss used to say "the failure rate in the coin and bullion business is 90% every decade". If gold goes to $1500 or $2000 (as some experts are predicting), how likely is a local dealer going to be able to buy back the 10 or 15 Gold Eagles (or other one-ounce coins) you bought from them?

If silver goes to $50 an ounce (as it once did), how likely is a local dealer going to be able to buy back the bag of junk silver you bought from them (at 715 ounces per bag, that would be approx. $35,000).

If you are only dealing with a small coin shop, you might want to consider establishing a relationship with a large coin dealer who is more likely to be in business long-term and be able to handle the larger transactions you have or will have in the future.

Happy investing.

Local Coin Shops-A Useful Resource

A coin shop just opened up in my town. If you are asking yourself, "So what's the big deal?" let me explain. The town I am talking about has one gas station, one grocery store, a small bank branch, a post office, a couple of gift shops, a few churches, a couple of bars and a smattering of houses. And now a coin shop.

Even though I probably won't be doing big-time business with them, they are another investing resource for me. If you have one or more coin shops in easy driving distance of you, I hope you take advantage of them. Even if you do most of your gold and silver investing with a major out-of-town dealer, or call in to TV coin shows, or use eBay stores/auctions, a local dealer may fill in some investing "gaps".

Although small, this coin shop has a nice selection of coins, especially Morgan silver dollars. It's nice to be able to see these coins up close, examine them, discuss price, etc. By making a few small purchases and developing a relationship with a local dealer, you can use them as a sanity check before investing in particular coins, grades of coins or discussing your basic investing strategy.

There is one thing I noticed about this coin shop that raised a red flag regarding the grading of coins, especially the higher Mint State grades. I will cover that in a future post as this one is longer than I intended.