My name is Shawn Ozbun, and our goal is to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the world of Gold and Silver by providing you with current news and precious metals pricing.
The Silvertowne Vault Cast is brought to you by www.Silvertowne.com
Welcome to the 40th episode of the SilverTowne Vault Cast. It’s crazy to think that this is the 40th time I’ve gotten behind this microphone and recorded this show. I thank all of you for supporting the show. The fact that our YouTube views are increasing everyday and our iTunes downloads are increasing every day is really exciting and I hope that this little fifteen minute segment that I do twice a week is making a difference for you and I hope that it’s helping to keep you informed.
Like I do every episode I would like to ask you for your feedback and comments. You can leave them on YouTube, Facebook, iTunes or you can email them to me at vaultcast@silvertowne.com
Today we are going to talk about a 1400 year old coin that was found in Iraq, we are going to talk about what could happen with silver in 2013, we are going to go over a few collapse of Europe facts and finally we are going to talk about this so called trillion dollar coin that people have been talking about.
Now lets get into today's precious metals pricing!
Gold - $1664.77 Up $7.01
Silver - $30.60 Up $0.27
Platinum - $1610.00 Up $15.00
Palladium - $696 Up $14.08
Financial News:
Iraq unearths 1,400-year-old gold coins
Iraqi archaeologists have found 66 gold coins that are at least 1,400 years old, officials said on Monday, adding that they hope to put them on display in Baghdad’s National Museum.
The artifacts, which date back to the Sassanid era that extended from 225 BC to 640 AD, will be sent for laboratory tests in order to confirm their authenticity.
They were discovered in the town of Aziziyah, which lies 70 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Baghdad in Waist province, according to Hassanain Mohammed Ali, director of the provincial antiquities department. The coins bore drawings of a king or god and depicted flames, he said.
Many of Iraq’s archaeological sites have been vandalized and encroached upon in recent decades, but especially in the years following the US-led invasion of 2003. The capital’s National Museum was also looted in its aftermath.
At the time, nearly 32,000 pieces were stolen from 12,000 archaeological sites across Iraq, and 15,000 others disappeared from the National Museum in Baghdad, according to official figures.
Thousands of artifacts were also taken before the invasion in illegal excavations at remote sites. During the rule of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq enforced laws protecting historical sites. But since his overthrow, such laws have seen lax enforcement and the government has prioritized reconstruction of the war-battered country over preservation of its heritage sites. Read More...
What could be Silver this year?
Whilst silver’s drop last month might be the overlying memory for those looking back at silver in 2012, we mustn’t forget its stellar performance since June lows of $26.13 rising to above $33 in early December. According to a survey carried out by Bloomberg, analysts, traders and investors see the silver price rising around 29% in 2013.
Currently 70% of silver mined is used for manufacturing, its applications are still increasing primarily thanks to the environmental market where silver is used in solar panels – 40 million ounces of the precious metal was used in such products this year. Demand for it in other industrial items such as medical instruments, phones and food packaging are also increasing.
Despite the recent price drop suggesting less people wish to sell silver than buy silver, we cannot ignore the record demand for silver investment this year. Holdings in silver-backed exchange traded products reached a record 18,854 metric tons in November. Bloomberg data shows investors have added 1,464 tons to their holdings this year, bringing the total value of holdings to around $19.2 billion. Ted Butler points out that holdings in SLV have seen more stability in the last year and a half than GLD holdings.
China is officially the shining light of the silver investment market. It is now, according to a Silver Institute report, the world’s largest market for physical investment and paper trading of silver futures. Not only are they big on investment, their supply of silver is also growing rapidly, increasing by 281.5 million ounces between 2002 and 2011. Also, by 2011 demand for silver bars and coins in China accounted for 8% of worldwide net purchases of silver, soaring to 17 million ounces.
As we head into 2013, silver’s move towards (and beyond) $40 seems perfectly feasible. Considering its performance in early 2011 when it appeared as though the world economy was on the rebound, we seem set for a repeat of this as we see the fiscal cliff resolution and China’s positive data put some concerns to one side. Read More...
Will the White House Kill 'Platinum Trillion-Dollar Coin' Talk?
The White House has remained silent so far on the subject of the miraculous, debt-ceiling-evading, trillion-dollar platinum commemorative coin. But that’s because no one has asked. This could change today, if someone in the White House press pool finally pops the question.
The best bet is that the White House will spoil the blogosphere’s fun by saying it has no intention of having Treasury issue a coin and “sell” it to the Federal Reserve as a way to raise money and avoid hitting the debt ceiling. That would track what happened in 2011, when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner denied any intention of using the Fourteenth Amendment to avoid the debt ceiling.
In a way, an official denial from the West Wing would be a shame, because the online frothing and fuming over the trillion-dollar platinum coin has been great fun. Washington will be drearier if pundits and bloggers are forced to go back to arguing over more prosaic matters like the long-term entitlements crisis.
What has juiced the debate is that there really does seem to be a loophole in the law that might theoretically allow Treasury to fund itself in a way that would not count against the debt ceiling. The loophole is large enough that Representative Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has vowed to plug it with legislation banning such a move. The coin gambit wouldn’t necessarily cause short-term economic damage, either, since it wouldn’t inflate the money supply if it didn’t result in more lending and spending in the economy. The downside? Most likely a constitutional crisis. Read More...
20 Facts About The Collapse Of Europe That Everyone Should Know
The economic implosion of Europe is accelerating. Even while the mainstream media continues to proclaim that the financial crisis in Europe has been "averted", the economic statistics that are coming out of Europe just continue to get worse.
#1 10 Months: Manufacturing activity in both France and Germany has contracted for 10 months in a row.
#2 11.8 Percent: The unemployment rate in the Eurozone has now risen to 11.8 percent - a brand new all-time high.
#3 17 Months: In November, Italy experienced the sharpest decline in retail sales that it had experienced in 17 months.
#4 20 Months: Manufacturing activity in Spain has contracted for 20 months in a row.
#5 20 Percent: It is estimated that bad loans now make up approximately 20 percent of all domestic loans in the Greek banking system at this point.
#6 22 Percent: A whopping 22 percent of the entire population of Ireland lives in jobless households.
#7 26 Percent: The unemployment rate in Greece is now 26 percent. A year ago it was only 18.9 percent.
#8 26.6 Percent: The unemployment rate in Spain has risen to an astounding 26.6 percent.
#9 27.0 Percent: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Cyprus. Back in 2008, this number was well below 10 percent.
#10 28 Percent: Sales of French-made vehicles in November were down 28 percent compared to a year earlier. Read More...
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For the best source for acquiring gold and silver please contact Silvertowne at 1-877-477- coin, that’s 1-877-477-2646 or you can visit us at www.silvertowne.com. Silvertowne has been a trusted precious metals and numismatics dealer since 1949.
One of the most common ways to invest in silver is with silver ingot. They are affordable, portable and easy to stack and store. Popular SilverTowne Trademark Silver Bars, featuring a classic prospector and his donkey, are guaranteed .999 fine silver and available in 1, 5 and 10 ounce sizes and SilverTowne is currently offering free shipping for these ingots. Contact Silvertowne today.
[Disclaimer] Shawn Ozbun is not a licensed financial adviser, there is risk associated with all investment including gold and silver. You should seek advise from a licensed financial expert before making a purchase.
