See You Next Year!
(December 18, 2004) As gold settles in for a short Winter’s nap, so will we - shutting down our database on Christmas Eve. This year we are taking a week off to rest up, re-acquaint ourselves with our families, take a few deep breaths, and maybe head north and go play in the snow...   >Click for full story

Gold or GLD?
(December 3, 2004) Gold has finally and decisively broken out of a 12-month trading range of $388 to $428, today closing at another (ho-hum) new 16-year high of $456. Coincidentally, November saw the introduction of a point-and-click gold product, an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) known as GLD. >Click for full story

Gold Breaks out into Uncharted Territory
(November 17, 2004) Today’s gold close of $445 is the highest since 1988. Yet despite gold's 4-year price climb, we're not yet seeing the raging excitement of a true bull market in gold. In fact, we're seeing the more sobering reality of a stampeding bear market in the US dollar.   >Click for full story

Gold Trades at a 15-Year High
(November 5, 2004) On Thursday, November 4th, both the 2nd London fix and the New York Comex settlement came in at over $430 for the first time since 1989, while the dollar closed at new lows against the Euro. That’s not good news for our faith-based dollar…  >Click for full story

A Report about Reporting
(October 15, 2004) When I buy gold do I get reported to the IRS? Is my gold purchase registered with the government? Isn’t every transaction over $10,000 reported? What does my gold dealer or broker report? Which gold is ‘reportable’ and which is ‘non-reportable?’   >Click for full story

On the Fallacy of “Certified MS69” American Eagles
(August 23, 2004) There's always a new angle in the art of separating numismatic investors from their money. The latest scam - "certified bullion coins" - seems to have started with the coin hucksters seen on TV shopping channels, but has spread to numismatic telemarketers that tout this stuff as an investment.   >Click for full story

Back Up and Running!
(July 26, 2004) We have returned from our yearly hiatus, tanned, rested, and ready to go. Gold seems to have slipped $18 or so in our absence, so Alan Greenspan must have said something significant while we were away. We'll try not to let it happen again.   >Click for full story

Gold – Obsolete Relic or Prudent Insurance?
(June 3, 2004) Much as we’d like to market the cheery yellow metal just by repeating over and over that it’s fun and satisfying to have your own shiny stacks of gold, we feel that some gravitas is lacking in the Scrooge McDuck approach to hawking gold portfolios. So let’s talk insurance…  >Click for full story

Touting the Nags, or, Last Call on the Cheap Horses
(May 21, 2004) Now that the gold price is meandering around at the sub-$400 level, it’s becoming even more attractive to take a position in the world’s favorite precious metal. The question often is, what form of gold should I buy? We have one good answer for you, but time is running out…  >Click for full story

Precious Metals Visit the Wasteland
(April 30, 2004) Looking back to April Fool’s day 2004, we see gold at near the top of its 15-year price range at $427.80, silver at the lofty heights of $8.14, platinum hanging at $919, and palladium over the $330 mark. But what a difference a month makes.   >Click for full story

Gold: Home on the Range
(April 20, 2004) The gold markets last week showed us some excitement – a drop of about $20 in 48 hours’ time. The sudden move was invigorating, and brought out lots of bargain hunters - once they got over the shock. With inflation picking up, gold-buyers are looking for some protection.  >Click for full story

The Increasingly Precious Metals
(March 27, 2004) Gold, silver, and palladium have been on a tear this month. After gold hit a 15-year high in January of $430, it sank to a low of $390 on March 3rd, and climbed to close at $422.10 on Friday the 26th. Our busiest shipping month ever reflects the fact that this rally is attracting a new wave of US bullion demand.   >Click for full story

Metals on the March (March 1, 2004)
Precious metals roared March in like a lion, with platinum soaring over $900 for the first time in decades, silver trading above a 21st century-high $7, gold back over the $400 mark, and I paid $2.07 for unleaded this morning. A year-long commodities run continues, and we hear from an old voice in the gold market…  >Click for full story

A Pause in the Gold Action
(January 21, 2004) While the bull market in gold pauses to take a breather, let’s take a moment to consider whether gold is a commodity, a currency, or a canary caged in a mineshaft, ready to let us know ahead of time when inflation is on its way.   >Click for full story

2004 Sends Gold to a 14-Year High
(January 5, 2004) Gold prices surged dramatically on the first full trading day of the new year, breaking through the $420 level for the first time since February 1990. Gold was the best performing asset class of 2003, and early indications point to another year in which it takes increasing numbers of dollars to buy the same amount of gold.  >Click for full story