Gold hits all time record high; silver dollars still blazing

By Steve Roach – http://www.steveroachonline.com
First published in the March 21, 2011, issue of Coin World

Gold reached an all time high on March 2, breaking $1,440 an ounce and hitting $1,441.30 an ounce during the day’s trading in the New York bullion markets before closing at $1,435.70.

Silver continued to build on its gains from last week, reaching a high of $35.02 an ounce during the day before closing at $34.68 an ounce.

Unlike gold, which is at an all-time high, silver has some room to go to reach the $50 an ounce that it briefly traded for in 1980 before crashing to $16 an ounce at the end of the year and dropping to less than $5 an ounce in 1982.

In what feels like a broken record over the past month, Mint State generic Morgan dollars, certified by either Professional Coin Grading Service or Numismatic Guaranty Corp., continue to reach even higher prices and trade at substantial volumes.

Dealers are now offering $59 for MS-63 coins, $79 for MS-64 dollars and $155 for MS-65 Morgan dollars. These are relatively steep increases from last week’s wholesale prices of $53, $73 and $146, respectively, which themselves were jumps up from the week before.

In wholesale trading, Peace dollars are going for $53 for MS-63 examples, $61 for MS-64 coins and $130 for MS-65 pieces. Just last week they were $46, $54 and $123, respectively. (Pictured is a MS-65 Peace dollar certified by PCGS, image courtesy of HeritageAuctions.com)

Some major coin shows are approaching that will test the market.

The American Numismatic Association National Money Show, also known as the Midwinter ANA, will be conducted March 17 to 19 in Sacramento, Calif., followed by the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Expo in Baltimore March 31 to April 3.

Some dealers won’t be attending the ANA National Money Show because of concern about California’s tax laws under which conducting too much business in the state of California exposes dealers to potential tax liabilities.

Tax issues are also threatening the Baltimore Whitman show as current state legislative action may eliminate the bullion and coin sales and use tax exemption for transactions over $1,000, as reported in the March 14 issue.

Nearly all major dealers will be attending at least one of these shows, providing a test to see if the attention precious metals are currently attracting will also increase value perceptions for other aspects of coins.

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Steve Roach is a Dallas, Texas, based rare coin appraiser and fine art advisor who writes the world’s most widely read rare coin market analysis each week in the pages of Coin World.  He is also a lawyer and helps create estate plans for collections. Visit him online at http://www.steveroachonline.com, join him on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenroach or follow him on twitter @roachdotsteve