Gold is currently trading at $1906.20 per Troy ounce. That’s where it was trading in late September. By the end of September, that price had fallen more than $100.00. But since then, the trading price has rebounded to its end-of-September level and now looks very strong. 

A famous American politician was recently indicted on charges of taking bribes in exchange for doing political favors. We certainly have no comment on this case or on the innocence or guilt of the accused man, but what interested us was the fact that when his home was searched by FBI agents, they reportedly found gold bars that were worth about $100,000. They reportedly also found about $480,000 in cash.

If you are looking for excitement or romance when you are investing in precious metals, few investments can equal ancient Roman or Greek coins. Some of these coins bear the images of historical figures like Julius Caesar or Nero. Others are especially beautiful – true ancient works of art. And then there is the fact that just holding one of these coins in your hand makes you feel like you are in touch with ancient history. 

Where should you invest in 2023? You have a lot of options, of course, including stocks, mutual funds, municipal bonds. But if you are looking for investments that will produce an above-average return on the dollars you invest, you need look no further than these choices . . . 

Did you know that Queen Victoria, who ruled Great Britain from 1837 until her death in 1901, was buried with a lot of her favorite pieces of jewelry?

She personally selected the items of jewelry that she wanted to be buried with her. They included pieces of jewelry that had been given to her by her late husband Prince Albert, as well as a number of bracelets and other items that held personal value for her.

How much were these items worth? We don’t know. But we do know one thing about them . . .

“Over the last few years, my mother has spent about $500.00 to buy collectible coins she has seen advertised on television. They weren’t made by the U.S. Mint and seem to be base metal coins covered with an ultra-thin layer of gold or gold-toned metal. She is sure they are going to appreciate in value because they were advertised as rare. Should I tell her that she has made a bad investment or just wait for her to find out when she tries to sell them?”

- James, from Columbus, Ohio

If you look at trends in precious metal prices over the last decade, you will notice that prices have risen steadily. There have been some ups and downs, but prices have generally trended up.

If you then look at the trading prices of stocks and mutual funds, you will see a much different pattern. Some stocks have risen steadily in value, sometimes dramatically so. But you will see that other stocks have fallen dramatically in value and, in some cases, the companies that issued them have simply ceased to exist.

Holiday gift-giving season has started. You could give the people on your list all kinds of great presents – kitchen appliances, car accessories, actually anything you think they would like.

But if you are in a generous mood, we have a suggestion for you . . .

Cobalt is used in batteries that power phones and other rechargeable devices. It is also used in the batteries that power electric and hybrid cars. It could be the precious metal scrap of the future.

How much cobalt is found in, say, a battery that powers a Tesla? According to that carmaker, cobalt makes up only about 5% of the weight of its batteries. Furthermore, Tesla and other makers of electric vehicles are trying to reduce their use of cobalt because it is scarce and doggone expensive. Tesla is trying to find ways to eliminate cobalt entirely and shift to lithium-ion batteries. Why? Because although lithium is scarce, it is not as scarce as cobalt.

We hear the term “supply chain” often these days. Mostly, we hear it when we are unable to buy products we need because they are stuck somewhere on the supply chain, which can be defined this way . . .

We hope you’re visiting our home page daily to check on current trading prices for your favorite precious metals. Hopefully, they are the precious metals you have invested in, and own.

But today, we would like to consider the relationship between weight and value. Because you see, certain metals are simply heavier than others. That’s another way of saying, for example, that if you have two identically sized cubes of, say, aluminum and platinum, the aluminum cube is going to weigh a lot less than the one that is made of platinum. To look at it from a different perspective, let’s say you want to make two cubes – again of aluminum and platinum – and you want them both to weigh one ounce. If you do that, the aluminum cube is going to be about four times the size of the one that is made of platinum.

The coming year could be your opportunity to make money – perhaps a lot of money – by investing in precious metals.

There are many reasons why opportunity in precious metals could be knocking in your door right about now. One reason is that the economy is recovering quickly as the Covid-19 pandemic fades away. Another reason is that as a number of companies have closed, there are ample opportunities to buy up quantities of precious metals at low prices. The manufacturing supplies those companies had in stock, as well as the computers and other equipment they owned, can be bought for advantageous prices.

“I am about to build a new mixed-use building in a suburb of a major city,” a real estate developer asked us recently. “But before I build, I have to knock down an older wooden Victorian house on the site. Should I knock the house down and then sift through the rubble looking for hidden treasure and valuables, or would it be better to look through the house while it is still standing? Which approach makes it easier to find any treasures that previous owners might have hidden or left behind?”

For some reason we don’t quite understand, some people who invest in precious metals think it is smart to hide them where no one will ever find them.

The question is, why is it smart to hide precious metals and conceal all the clues to where they are? If you do that, you are only inviting a lot of problems. If you pass away or become incapacitated, your heirs:

Did you have a successful year recycling precious metals in the calendar year 2020?

If you didn’t, don’t blame yourself. The year 2020 was a bust in almost every way. People didn’t have discretionary income to invest in gold, silver, and other scrap, they were stuck at home, and they put their plans on hold. We only hope that you and the people you love have survived this year beautifully, and that you are in great health to start the new year.

How Much Do You Know about Precious Metal Refining?

Are you an expert about precious metals . . . and about other metals too? Do you know what a precious metal refinery does with your gold scrap, silver scrap, platinum scrap and other materials after you send them in to be processed?

There are many ways to enjoy financial advantages from the precious metals you own. You can have Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners process your gold scrap, silver scrap and platinum scrap, and have us send you a check for the value of the metal they contain. But there are other ways. You can fund your IRA or other investment accounts with precious metals, donate them to your preferred charity – and the list goes on and on.

“I was happy when my son decided to invest in precious metals with me,” says a man who lives in Maine. “But then I noticed that as soon as both of us were investing in gold scrap, silver scrap and platinum scrap especially, we started making a lot more money, well more than twice the amount of money I was making when I invested in precious metals all by myself.”

On July 27, just one week ago, we wrote on this blog, “Gold is trading for $1,900.90 on the London Fix. Just to put that price in context, let us mention that the all-time historical high trading prices for gold is $1,920. We are in stratospheric territory.”

There’s no doubt that the coronavirus crisis has changed everything. It has changed the way we connect with other people, shop, work, enjoy our free time, and much more.

So it only stands to reason that the crisis has changed the way we invest, and profit from, precious metals. But the funny thing is, not everything has changed. Gold scrap, silver scrap, platinum scrap and certain other investments were smart investments before the pandemic struck – and they are still good investments today. But how can you determine which forms of those scrap investments will yield the biggest return today? How can you make the smartest picks among all the precious metal investments that are available right now?