Photo used courtesy of United States Mint

The United States is honoring our Nation’s first spouses by issuing one-half ounce $10 gold coins featuring their images, in the order that they served as first spouse. The 2008 First Spouse Gold Coins feature Elizabeth Monroe, Louisa Adams, Andrew Jackson’s Liberty, and Martin Van Buren’s Liberty.

The First Spouse Gold Coin obverse features portraits of the Nation’s first spouses, however when a president served without a first spouse, as did Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, an obverse image emblematic of Liberty is depicted from a circulating coin of that era. This year, there are two “Liberty” obverses.

Below is a brief biography of Elizabeth Monroe and Louisa Adams along with descriptions of the two Liberty obverses selected for Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren”spouses” (more…)

Wednesday , 02 Jan 2008 NEW ORLEANS (January 2, 2008) - As gold broke through its previous record high of $850 Wednesday, set in 1980, Blanchard analysts say that while the macro-economic conditions between now and then may be similar, the fundamentals driving gold’s ascent are vastly different.

“When gold achieved its 1980 high of $850 per ounce, it maintained that level for only one day and was driven purely by speculation,” says Blanchard Chairman and CEO Donald Doyle. “Today, gold has maintained a consistent price point above $800 and is being driven by dollar weakness, rising oil prices and geopolitical tension, each of which seem to be locked in long-term trends.”

Doyle also says investor demand is at levels not seen in decades, which has also played an integral role in driving the price up more than 33 percent in 2007 alone. (more…)

WASHINGTON -Sales of the 2008 American Eagle Silver Proof Coin will open at 12:00 noon (ET) on January 3, 2008, the United States Mint announced today. This year’s coin is offered at $31.95. There is no production limit for this product, or mintage limit for this coin.

The American Eagle Silver Proof Coin, available in the one-ounce size, bears the distinctive “W” mint mark denoting production at the United States Mint at West Point. Each coin, containing 99.9 percent silver, is sealed in a protective capsule and housed in a satin-lined velvet presentation case. A Certificate of Authenticity, signed by the Director of the United States Mint, accompanies the coin.

Since its debut in 1986, the obverse of the American Eagle Silver Proof Coin has featured the full-length image of Liberty designed by Adolph A. Weinman. Liberty is rendered in full-stride with her right hand extended and carrying branches of laurel and oak in her left. The reverse of the coin, designed by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver John Mercanti, features the heraldic eagle clutching an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left. (more…)

There’s no fancy way to say it: Gold investors made a killing in 2007. Year-to-date, gold’s spot price is up 25%.

For some better perspective, consider the year-to-date gains of the three major U.S. stock indices: The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (6.17%), the tech-laden NASDAQ Composite Index (7.48%), and the broad-based Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (2.59%). Gold eclipsed them all.

Gold hasn’t punched out the broad equity-indices like this since the late 1970s - a period still remembered reverently by gold bugs and institutional investors alike, when the “yellow metal” surged to record highs during an inflation-fueled economic malaise.

“The best one can say is that in the past several years gold’s been going from the bottom left of the screen to the top right,” said Dennis Gartman, editor of the daily investment newsletter, the Gartman Letter. Read Full Story