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THE MANY COINS OF 1873 and Ed Reiter Article about pocket change and how it has changed over the years.

 1st American Reserve finds Ed Reiter's article about change very apropos for the problems America is facing during our current pandemic and change shortage.

The “small change” jingling in Americans’ pockets today is small in more ways than one.  There are only four denominations in the current lineup of circulating U.S. coins – the smallest number in the nation’s coinage history.  And two of those coins – the cent and nickel – are in danger of being discontinued, which would leave just dimes and quarters to supplement paper money in U.S. commerce.

 
 
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Make This Our Customers’ “One Shining Moment”

Remember those college basketball championship moments when the victorious team was able to gather around the net and hug their families and hear the song “One Shining Moment”?  Well, this moment of gold’s record high is one of those once-in-a-decade “shining moments.” All of our hard work has paid off. Maybe some of our customers had initial doubts, but they finally put a “toe in the water” with one Silver American Eagle when silver was only $12 an ounce and then bought a dozen more at $15 an ounce, then some rare coins, and now many of their portfolios are worth more than they were worth just 12 months ago.  Some of our largest customers started by ordering only a few Silver American Eagles a long time ago.

 

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One Reason Gold is Soaring: The Fed is Recklessly Fueling Future Inflation

Gold has shot up to a record high. Silver has also gone parabolic in price, rising to $24.85 (a 7-year high), doubling since March 18 (at $12.42) and thereby falling under an 80-to-1 gold/silver ratio, which we had predicted a few months ago. Part of the rise of both metals is due to a falling U.S. dollar. The Dollar Index is down 4% in July alone and down nearly 9% in the last four months, due in large part to the massive printing of fiat paper money.

The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury – with the aid of the spendthrift U.S. Congress – are throwing unprecedented amounts of fiat money (unbacked paper currency) at the coronavirus problem, in a series of four (going on five) multi-trillion dollar stimulus packages to keep the American economy afloat. The Federal Reserve is fighting recession and deflation by fueling the economy with excess liquidity and is thereby sowing the seeds of future inflation – which came about prematurely, as the Labor Department recently said the Consumer Price Index soared 0.6% in June (a 7.2% annual rate).

 

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Gold is Always Gold, but Stock Indexes Frequently Change Names

At times like this, beware of articles that say gold has not done very well, using 1980 as a starting point. As soon as gold retreats below its new high, you will see articles in many major publications saying that gold has not even reached a new “real” after-inflation high. They will say the $850 peak in 1980 is really around $2,500 to $3,000 in today’s dollars but taking any investment’s peak as a starting point is unfair.

 

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Small Change, Big Haul - What would you do with 29,000 pounds of coins?

1st American Reserve wanted to post this interesting piece that was written by the late great writer, Ed Reiter, of things to do with coins and numismatics.

Reiter had suggested that the article might be called the 21st-century version of buried treasure.

Reiter suggested that it might be called the 21st-century version of buried treasure. 
        FBI agents investigating a missing Federal Reserve coin shipment struck paydirt – literally – on Feb. 4, 2005, when they dug up 676 bags of nickels, containing more than 2.7 million coins, behind a stable on a farm outside Miami, Florida. The coins weighed more than 29,000 pounds, or nearly 15 tons.

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1st American Reserve notes that Many Popular Rare Gold Coins Outpace Gold Bullion Gains

Many Popular Rare Gold Coins Outpace Gold Bullion Gains

As of Monday morning, gold was up from $1,515 to about $1,815. In the last six months, gold has moved up $300, while the premiums on some MS-63 $20 Liberties have moved up $600. The premiums on some gold MS-63 $10 Indians have moved up proportionally in that same time span, also outperforming gold Rare Gold coin rise in valuebullion.  Reasons for the rise in premiums are that we had recent large quantity melting of vintage U.S. $10 and $20 denomination gold coins and have seen periodic shortages of classic gold coins that are becoming scarcer. 

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The Adens Declare “Gold is the Best Investment in the World Today”

In their popular financial July 17 newsletter, Pamela and Mary Anne Aden declared gold as “the best investment in the world today” and told their readers “we want you on board the gold train as it pulls out of the station.”  The Adens outlined some of the reasons why: “Gold is, and always has been, the world’s safe haven. That is, during times of uncertainty, insecurity, economic or political upset, war, devaluations and more, gold has always come out as #1. And this track record goes back more than 5,000 years… Throughout history, gold has always maintained its purchasing power, and again, no other investment comes close…. Pamela and Mary Anne AdenPlus, gold is durable and it’s beautiful, which has also made it superior to other mediums of exchange.”  They then go back through history, from the Egyptian pharaohs, who were buried with their gold, through the Roman empire, to the Spanish conquistadors, to the 1849 Gold Rush, the Vietnam boat people; to the present, when we’ve seen gold beat every other investment since 1970, since 2000, and this year, too.

 

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Major coin shortage affects the nation - some companies are trying to provide some relief by buying change from customers.

1st American Reserve has noticed the many articles about the coin shortage issues spreading across the nation. Are you aware how you can help with this problem?  Below are some excerpts from some articles discussing the issue. 

Chick-fil-A helps solve coin shortage problemFrom Fox Business:  A Chick-fil-A in Virginia is offering customers food vouchers in exchange for coins to avoid going cashless amid a nationwide coin shortage due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For every $10 of rolled coins, customers will receive the same value in paper bills in addition to a Chick-fil-A card for a free entree during select hours on Wednesday.

In a virtual hearing last month, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the flow of coins has "kind of stopped" as a result of consumers not going to stores and businesses facing lockdowns.

 

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Gold breaks $1900 an ounce on July 24, 2020 and 1st American Reserve applauds the gain

This is an article that helps explain some of the reasons why gold is moving upward so quickly. The article was contributed by Mike Fuljenz for 1st American Reserve's blog.  There is a lot of good informtion here to digest.

“What’s Driving Gold” – Three Important New Tailwinds

Gold hits $1900 per ounceIn past years, we relied on a weak dollar, inflation, and some global hotspots as gold’s primary tailwinds. We don’t have all those “tailwinds” in gold’s favor yet this year, but we still have gold moving to within 5% of a new high on three new tailwinds, according to Giles Coghlan, writing for FX Empire on Yahoo!  These tailwinds are related to the Coronavirus outbreak. One is Rising Gold ETF Demand. Through May, gold-backed ETFs registered inflows totaling $33.7 billion, the largest-ever annual total, breaking the previous record ($24 billion in 2016) by almost $10 billion after only five months of buying demand.

 

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Get to Know the “Team Mike” Professionals at 1st American Reserve

I think it is time for you to get to Know the “Team Mike” Professionals at 1st American Reserve  who work with Dr. Mike Fuljenz, America’s Gold Expert®. 

Robert Patton, Manager of 1st American Reserve, has worked there for almost three decades. Working that long with a company is quite astounding these days.  Robert is also, very much a family man who has been blessed with a wife and five children – two sons and three daughters. His favorite hobbies include cooking and hunting, sometimes combined by camping with his family. He has been a Boys Haven Board Member in Beraumont, Texas for many years and has volunteered in support of many of his children’s activities.

 

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Silver shoots above twenty dollars an ounce.

1st American Reserve celebrated the upward movement of silver during these trying times.  While I was writing this short entry silver was hovering at $21.35 Change Shortagewhich is a  seven percent move upward from the previous day.  Just yesterday we posted an article which was writen last year in late July predicting this event in silver price movement and we are proud to see it now happening.  Another interesting event regarding coins talked about in the news lately is the lack of coins. 

The news is reporting that since fewer people are shopping and going out to eat and drink, there are fewer coins in circulation. The pandemic has also disrupted production at the U.S. Mint and has retailers, restaurants and banks in search of coins bearing Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR and Washington.

 

 
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2020 Silver Secrets Report - The Case for $18 Silver by Year-End 2019 and $20 in 2020- 1st American Reserve 2019 prediction

In July of 2019 this was an article we ran - looks like it is coming true.

A number of mainstream investment banks and commodity market analysts see fundamental reasons why silver ought to be higher – perhaps $17 to $18 later this year – even though silver remains mired around $15 now. Three major banks have issued price projections of $18 for 2019: Bank of America Merrill LynchNatixis and ABN AMRO. In addition, the commodity market analysis group Capital Economics predicts $17.50 silver this year. Some private firms Silver will hit $20 in 2020have predicted even higher prices of $20 and more.

Their reasons are fundamentally sound: Positive investor sentiment has driven higher bullion coin sales, while industrial demand has also risen, and new supply has fallen slightly over the previous year. Rising demand and falling supply generally yield a rising price, unless massive amounts of old supplies come onto the market.  In addition, there are the financial considerations that also impact gold: falling interest rates in the U.S. and around the world, soaring debt levels in the U.S., and a weakening U.S. dollar as a result.

 

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"God"-less Buffalo nickel - a great 1st American Reserve article

Exactly half a century before the motto “In God We Trust” first appeared on circulating U.S. coinage, a close approximation of this now-famous phrase turned up in a poem that went on to attain equally iconic status when it was set to music and became “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Few Americans are aware of this precursor, for the words are embedded in the seldom read – and almost never sung – fourth stanza of the poem, but it provides a fascinating link between their country’s official national motto adopted in 1956 and official national anthem adopted in 1931.

In the poem’s penultimate sentence, those who read – or sing – the entire set of lyrics will find the following reference to the Almighty:

Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.” 

In his 1863 report to the Secretary of the Treasury, Pollock acknowledged the influence our National Hymn had on his work when he wrote:

“The motto suggested, “God our Trust, is taken from our National Hymn, the ‘Star-Spangled Banner.’ The sentiment is familiar to every citizen of our country; it has thrilled the hearts and fallen in song from the lips of millions of American Freemen. The time for the introduction of this or a similar motto, is propitious and appropriate. Tis an hour of National peril and danger, an hour when man’s strength is weakness, when our strength and our nation’s strength and salvation must be in the God of battles and of nations. Let us reverently acknowledge his sovereignty, and let our coinage declare our trust in God.”

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ELIZABETH JONES: UNCLE SAM’S DESIGNING WOMAN

1st American Reserve is proud to offer to our numismatic friends a great article writen by the late great Ed Reiter who is remembered George Washington 250th Anniversary half dollaras a one-man institution in coin writing for over half a century. His articles appeared in various publications including the New York Tmes.

The George Washington half dollar was a breakthrough – the first U.S. commemorative coin in nearly 30 years and the start of the “modern era” for American commemoratives. 

But the issuance of this coin in 1982 was a groundbreaking event for still another very important reason: It was the first coin designed by Elizabeth Jones after she became the first woman to serve as the U.S. Mint’s chief sculptor-engraver.   

 

 

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Reactions to the First View of the Gold on the Floor of the Ocean (from Pages 450-455 of “The Ship of Gold”)

This is an excerpt from an article posted on 1st American Reserve website:
“It was just … it was just … covered with gold! I couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t believe it! That was the most thrilling…. We had it right on a pile, nice low pictures, nice and clear. I mean everything was perfect, man. It was incredible! But I looked at it, and I looked up, and, Naaah, this can’t be. I thought, That’s gotta be a bunch of brass laying there. So I looked again! Holy! And I just started looking at the other shots, and I … mean … it … was … PILES! I’m not kidding you, it is awesome! It is absolutely awesome! Stacks of coins and bars of gold of every size and shape are just sitting there!”
– John Doering, the first man to see the first photograph of the sunken treasure (page 450)

 

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