Precious Metals News: Stories on gold, silver and platinum

Silver and gold stocks are said to be showing very promising signs for a rally, according to The Market Oracle. When analyzing the latest gold prices, Dr. Robert McHugh noted that an upward trend is likely to begin and that the rally should last several months. Using advanced trend analysis, Dr. McHugh has built his reputation on forecasting the way stocks and precious metals will react to various market conditions.

"The next rally will be powerful and last a long time, probably more than a year," McHugh stated. While some could profit from mining stocks, owning physical quantities of gold and silver is an option that appeals to many investors. By holding these in one's portfolio, McHugh sees most people profiting as the market values continue to rise in the coming months. This is good news for those that are thinking of a short term investment, but also for those looking to invest in gold and silver over the long haul.

To elaborate, Dr. McHugh went on to say, "It will take time for those levels to be achieved, but the important point is precious metals and mining stocks remain in a Bull market, and the juicy part of this Bull market lies ahead.”

Owning precious metals and gold stocks is a popular investment choice for those looking to hedge against inflation. The rally mentioned by The Market Oracle closely resembles what other commentators, like Robert Russell, have been forecasting.

While no one can predict with absolute certainty what the economy will do, it is interesting to note that so many investors have publicly expressed their confidence that gold and silver will be able to maintain their value despite economic upheaval and that the price overtime will rise.

These are good conditions for those that want to start investing in precious metals. New investors are typically advised to take advantage of such an opportunity, especially if they are looking to build a portfolio for the long run.

A recent news article published by King World News quoted a top technical analyst from Citibank, Tom Fitzpatrick, as saying that gold is projected to make a move to as high as $2,400 within the coming 12 months.

"We’ve already iterated a target in the more medium to long-term of $3,400, and over the next twelve months as high as $2,400," said Fitzpatrick during the interview with King World News.

The analyst went on to relay his thoughts on how gold relates to the dollar. In Fitzpatrick's view, the dollar also faces a bright future in the coming months. He stated that over the last decade, gold has done well against a number of other paper currencies. The dollar, he said, has been going through a downtrend over the past 10 years and that is something he expects is going to change.

"We expect that gold will continue to go up against the dollar, but, over time, we expect it will go up even more against a currency like the euro," he said.

With a career that spans nearly 30 years as a key analyst at Citibank, Fitzpatrick is a voice those in the financial world trust. He pointed out that since 2000, gold has been relatively steady in rising and never moved very far below its 55 week moving average, something which can not be said for all commodities. Fitzpatrick was not at all shy about stating how crucial he believes the role that gold continues to play in the world today.

"Also, in this dynamic where we are seeing a lot of paper printing, a lot of money printing and monetary experiments, gold is reverting to its true safe haven status, which is first and foremost as a hard currency," he told the interviewer.

This is very good news for those who choose to invest in gold because it means that as the prices rise, the value of their investment rises. Fitzpatrick mentioned gold prices eventually hitting $3,400 and if that comes to pass as he's predicting, that would be an almost $2,000 per ounce rise. While sources will vary in their focus on gold's potential to rise in price, it is always reassuring to see an analyst from a global bank that manages over $1 trillion in assets state that gold is such a solid choice for those who hold a precious metals portfolio.

Keeping in mind what Fitzpatrick mentioned regarding the price of gold as it relates to the price of paper currencies, such as the dollar and the euro, could help investors see how gold's value is not only dependent on the value of paper currencies. As the analyst pointed out, it is possible for gold to fair well even when a currency is strong and therefore its value is not nearly so dependent upon a failing dollar or euro, even though such a connection clearly does exist in some cases.

The coming months should do a lot to prove whether Fitzpatrick's prediction comes to pass as so many investors are hoping it will.

In the world of coin collecting today, one of the most sought after of rare coins is the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. With only 5 that are known to have been struck, this incredibly rare coin became the first to ever be sold for $100,000 in the early 1970's - quite a feat considering that it was worth a mere 5 cents when it was first minted. Over 25 years later, another Liberty Head nickel would become the first coin to sell for over $1 million and in less than a decade after that, in 2003, a Liberty Head nickel sold for $3 million.

Today, we know of 3 of these coins being held in private collections and the other two have their homes in major museums. What is fascinating is the fact that the Liberty Head nickel was actually minted between 1883 and 1912 as a regular coin. These coins are not considered nearly as valuable as those produced in 1913 due to the fact that millions were produced each year. What makes this particular year's Liberty Head nickel even more interesting is that the majority of collectors had no idea any were made until 1919 when a man named Samuel W. Brown put an ad in publications related to numismatics looking to buy any Liberty Head nickels from 1913. Somehow, he knew that a master die had been created at the mint for these coins even though only a test run had been done.

Between 1928 and 1943, the world famous Texas coin collector Colonel E.H.R. Green had all 5 of the Liberty Head nickels known to be in existence, but they were eventually sold off. Today, one is held at the American Numismatic Association's Money Museum in the state of Colorado while another resides at the Smithsonian Institute of Washington DC. It is rumored that if one of these coins were discovered today, and was in flawless condition, it could be valued at around $20 million.

Here is where the story gets even more interesting, though. No one knows exactly why the 1913 Liberty Head nickels that exist today were made. There was no authorization for their minting and the Mint itself has no record of them whatsoever. California did receive dies for this coin, but those were to be sent back to Philadelphia and arrived there by the 23rd of December, after which they were most likely destroyed as per protocol of the time.

As it turns out, Samuel W. Brown worked at the Philadelphia Mint, but no one knew this until the early 1960's, long after Colonel Green had sold his five coins. Many history buffs today have maintain theories that Brown himself may have been involved in the minting of the coins or had knowledge of them that could assist him in gathering them up, knowing that there would only be 5 and therefore their value would become incredibly high.

The infamous Liberty Head nickel of 1913 is not a coin that any collector will likely ever see 'in the wild', but it is certainly one with a rich and colorful history. One was briefly owned by famed coin collector King Farouk of Egypt and was even the subject of an episode of the TV show Hawaii Five-O. All signs point to this coin's value continuing to rise due to its extreme scarcity and it remains a subject of great interest to collectors from around the world.

BOSTON (May 3, 2012) - Spain is back in a recession again, news that has caused a weak opening for Wall Street this week and made owning gold look like a stable choice for many investors.

While the latest gold prices fell about 0.1 percent, stocks in France and Spain took much harder hits, going down 1.3 percent over concerns about the stability of the European market. Spain's nosedive, compounded by news from the US Department of Commerce whose data shows the US economy's growth may be slowing, too, means that investors are reaching for assets with lower risks over the long term.

Investors note that this is the second time in the last three years that Spain has been in a recession, with its economy shrinking nearly a third of 1 percent in the first quarter of 2012 alone. Bad debt from the housing sector in Spain has been a problem for Spanish banks. Eleven Spanish banks have been downgraded by Standard & Poor, and fears continue to grow that should Spain go through deeper economic woes, Europe will not have the funds to properly bail it out.

In some respects, gold prices being lower in the US represent an opportunity for investors right now. Obviously, low stock prices represent a chance to seize quality stocks while they cost less, but in Spain the problem appears bigger than what we saw recently in Greece. A recent article in Time magazine indicated that with Spain being the 4th largest economy in Europe, if it does enter a crisis it could really strain the European Union. Only Germany, France and Italy have stronger economies than Spain, but Italy is hardly very stable and problems with neighboring Spain could spill over into both Italy and Portugal which currently stands at the edge of needing a bailout.

European economies have had a global reach for quite some time. If there is more financial havoc in Europe then the effects will certainly be felt around the world, Time magazine emphasized.

Roubini Global Economics' Megan Green was quoted as saying, "Watching developments in Spain since the beginning of April has been source of non-stop déjà vu for anyone who spent 2010 watching events unfold in Ireland."

This does appear to be what is going on in Spain and by being prepared in advance, investors can make wiser decisions about how they choose to diversify their portfolios.