Blanks headed for the US Mint.
Posted on 11/25/2009 6:24:59 PM PST by bruinbirdman
The United States Mint has a gold problem. As demand for precious metal in the futures indexes and in physical gold bullion coins increases as the dollar weakens, there's been a run on the Mint. Don't worry, there's no shortage of gold. It's just that the Mint doesn't have the resources to make it into coins due to outsourcing and budget cuts decades ago.
The problem lies in manufacturing the blanks. The blank planchets are not made at the Mint, which hasn't had the production capacity for this stage of the minting process since the budget cuts of 1981. The Reagan administration began using private companies, which process and ship the blanks to the Mint's West Point, N.Y. site for stamping and engraving. Today there are three refineries that supply planchets to the Mint: VennerBeck Stern Leach in Rhode Island, Sunshine Minting in Idaho and Goldmark in Perth, Australia.
Though some have taken the shortage of gold coins to mean a shortage of gold in general, folks in the industry say it's not a worry. The Gold Bullion Coin Act, which put the coin programs in place in 1985, stipulates that the gold must be mined in the U.S. Johnson Matthey ( JMPLY.PK - news - people ), the London-based company that refines most of the gold that is mined in the U.S., says, "there is no shortage of gold" coming out of the ground these days.
The Mint's Oct. 6 announcement that it would not produce any gold "proof" coins this year is testament to its diminished capabilities. Even 5,000 proofs for the 2009 edition of the American Eagle coin series would offer a limited number to collectors that would still be a particularly rare year for the coin. When questioned by Coin World, a collectors' trade publication, about
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
My, my, my...now what?
Watching print money go nuts is no reason to believe gold will not rise. That was 2003. Everything beyond that is just nuts. Fast Forward to now. Calling gold investers trolls is not at all accurate.
Oooh! Pretty!
The gold bullion bars look cool too.
That facility doesn’t look all that secure, though. Maybe looks are deceiving.
Gold really IS a beautiful metal. There’s no denying it.
I call it divide by one-third and take the rest. The hard part is when? The old threads attacking me and others became just that. The Fed has been printing for some time and the big players knew it.
>> I call it divide by one-third and take the rest. The hard part is when?
I’m not sure I understand. Are you referring to a strategy for selling after a run-up?
Just protecting my butt. The 1/3 is a myth. A tax on currency is illegal.
Well, seems there are _two_ "dollars": one is the common paper form (and electronic & credit variants) everyone is familiar with (and is devaluing over the long run), and then there is the "dollar" as in the face value on US Mint gold/silver/platinum coins (and whose value is tied to the metals, $20/oz gold and $100/oz platinum, and always has been). If the two conflated "dollars" could be separated & named, interesting days would follow.
If the two conflated “dollars” could be separated & named, interesting days would follow.
worth repeating
LOL, no way are ya gonna get away with that! They were wise to the game a long time ago.
Why do you think the Dentists are pushing those nice Porcelain implants and crowns?
I buy on the internet and I am having no problem finding supply.
IMHO, I live in the Midwest and by all accounts would be considered to be in a comfortable position with reasonable options in how and where I choose to live. Uh, yes honey I know that you make all the decisions, I was just sayin.
If I committed the entire generous inheritance that I received from my wonderful grandmother, God rest her soul,I would be able to purchase about 275 American Gold Eagles. Sad huh! We just had an Insurance exec go bankrupt with a car worth that much.
I only mention this as I believe that most Freepers, all of whom I dearly love, cannot ever get in the game and do not have access to financial and social connections that would make them money players; me included, especially me since I don’t trust anyone that is prettier than my uncle Harold. Yeah that’s right, I’m referring to people on TV like Lou Dobbs and other girlie men. Nice tan Lou. Piss off.
Get real y’all and don’t be concerned with the $800 million dollar profit India just made and why they would hurry and commit to purchasing the remaining 200 tonnes from the IMF.
It is not meant for us to know about or understand and why should we.
When I wake up tomorrow I will still be an average, pink slippin, tea partying, bus riding, home made sign carrying white woman living in Carmel Indiana waiting for Sarah to come save me. OK guys, leftovers tonight.
This forum is infested with metals dealers.
You are a paranoid loony bird newbie.
o_O
Travis, how about this for a plot element. Criminals infiltrate one of the blank-producing outsourcing companies, and develop a way to produce gold-clad tungsten blanks that coin properly.
When the fake are discovered, it not only made the anti-American criminals billions, but it further destroys the political/economic credibility of the US.
The news sure is good disaster fiction fodder these days, isn’t it?
I agree with post 19. When times get really bad, ammo, canned meat, canned vegetables and medical supplies will be better trade goods than gold. You can use ammo to protect your family and food for survival. Gold is way down on the list of necessities when tough times come. Keep a well stocked larder of food that has long good by dates and rotate it through use. A case of good booze on hand is never a bad idea too.
PS: If I were an aspiring novelist, I’d be working on a “GOLD” crime/politics novel, because everyone is going to be talking about gold in about a year. It should be informative about every historic and technical aspect. The “Unintended Consequences” of gold.
I loved the notion of Clintonian billion dollar Tungsten fraud!
Seriously.
They’ll come back later to read your “early work.”
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