In January 2000 an ounce of gold would buy you 215 gallons of gasoline. Now, despite record-high gasoline prices, that same ounce of gold will buy 368 gallons of gasoline or 153 gallons more. That’s 1.7 times or 70 percent more fuel now than 22.5 years ago – proving gold not only holds its value over time but it also outpaces inflation.
Beware! China Continues to Advertise & Sell Counterfeit Coins to Americans
Recently, I was interview by CNBC about the proliferation of counterfeit coins coming into the United States from China and if I can help you remember just one thing in investing, it’s “There is no ‘Free Lunch’” or, put another way, “There is No Santa Claus in Numismatics” (or any other investment).
When something seems “too good to be true,” that’s because it is literally too BAD (for you) to be true. Specifically, if a coin dealer (so-called) is offering you gold or silver coins well below the spot price (or melt value), that is a fraud! They can’t survive as a company that way, even if they call it an “introductory offer” or a “loss leader.”
Repeatedly, Facebook, Wish.com and other social media outlets have not been very careful in policing their advertising providers. They police certain conservative political comments very rigorously. However, when it comes to fly-by-night false advertisers paying top advertising dollars to make fraudulent promises, they have let too many of them through their ad screeners in previous years, too often fleecing retired Americans out of a good chunk of their life savings.
When you see a 1-ounce gold coin priced at $499, or a roll of 20 silver dollars priced at $199, you know it is a fake. Even if the photograph looks like a genuine coin and maybe the fake coins look “almost real,” they are easily flagged by an experienced numismatist as fake. Another trick is to picture genuine bullion products and ship counterfeit products to consumers. That’s why I have devoted a good part of my career to counterfeit detection and investigation, in conjunction with law enforcement in many cases and have been honored my peers over the years for my efforts.
That’s also why I’m a part of the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation (ACEF) led by Doug Davis, a former Texas Police Chief and coin enthusiast. We help seek partial or complete restitution of funds for wronged investors. Doug offers wise words to those buying coins: “Remember, if you don’t know precious metals or rare coins, you’d better know a reputable seller.” I suggest a safeguard of verifying if your dealer had been honored by his industry peers for his expertise and business practices.
U.S. Mint Gold Bullion Coin Sales Up in 2nd Quarter and First Half
The U.S. Mint has increased its sales volume of both the American Gold Eagle and Gold American Buffalo coins in the first half and second quarter of 2022, according to official U.S. Mint sales figures.
This is good news, seeing that American Gold Eagle sales and total bullion gold sales rose at a faster pace in the second quarter than in the first quarter. This has resulted in premiums rising significantly on American Gold Eagles and Buffalos. This is also true of the record sales of gold ETFs this year. Remember, gold bullion sales make for an important indicator of future rare coin demand and sales, since experience shows us that about one in six bullion coin buyers becomes a rare coin buyer within 18 to 24 months.