By David Morgan Founder of the Silver-Investor.com website

In 2001 I was asked to write the “Ten Rules of Silver Investing” for the investing rules book published in Great Britain in 2001. The complete title of this book is The Global-Investor Book of Investing RulesInvaluable Advice from 150 Master Investors. My portion is available for free to anyone on the Internet willing to sign up here

. In this week’s article, let us examine Silver Investing Rule Number Six.

What’s yours is yours - so keep it that way.

While it is wise to keep some of your silver where you can get to it easily, it is also important to keep the bulk of your metal in a safe placeespecially as your holdings increase. However, if you establish an account with a brokerage warehouse or other public storage facility, you should make sure your holdings are kept segregated and that you can inspect them when you wish.

Anyone who has studied the Silver-Investor.com Web site knows there is far more paper silver than real silver in the world. In last week’s article, we discussed the fact that there is 100 times as much paper silver as there is actual metal. Certainly, I am not the only silver commentator pounding the table on this point, and we will look at a few more in this article.

In fact, my primary premise is that the real sustained move up in silver will not occur until the market recognizes this fact. You certainly can participate in alternative precious metals investments such as pool accounts or options, but remember, you are dealing in the paper world and should expect settlement in paper not in metal. I wish to be crystal clear: fully paid COMEX warehouse certificates held by you in your name do comprise real silver.

Read Full Article Here

By Pham-Duy Nguyen

Gold tumbled the most in almost six weeks as the dollar rallied, reducing the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver plunged more than 5 percent.

The dollar climbed as much as 0.8 percent against a weighted basket of the euro, yen and four other major currencies on speculation that the Federal Reserve may begin to raise U.S. borrowing costs this year to curb inflation. Crude oil dropped below $128 a barrel after reaching a record $135.09 on May 22.

“With the dollar stabilizing, gold could fall quite a bit,” said Matt Zeman, a metals trader at LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago. “There’s a lot of talk about inflation, which works both ways for gold. If the Fed does start tightening, that will strengthen the dollar and could really pop the commodity bubble.”

Gold futures for August delivery dropped $23.30, or 2.6 percent, to $881.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The percentage drop was the biggest for a most-active contract since April 18. The metal fell for the third straight day. The price reached a record $1,033.90 on March 17.

Silver futures for July delivery plummeted 90 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $16.515 an ounce, the biggest drop since March 20.

Read Full Bloomberg Article Here

By: Silver Institute

Unprecedented investor demand has caused a market shortage for American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins, and the Silver Institute has called on the U.S. Mint to take immediate steps to increase production of this popular physical precious metal investment vehicle.

Today, the Silver Institute has written to the Director of the U.S. Mint expressing its concern over published reports that the coins are essentially being rationed to thirteen authorized dealers, reflecting a major kink in the supply chain, thereby making it difficult in many cases for consumers to purchase them. Silver Institute Executive Director Michael DiRienzo said, “It’s clear that the Mint misjudged the strength of the current silver market, and we are encouraging the Mint to take immediate steps to increase its production of these popular investment coins and plan accordingly for the balance of 2008 and for 2009. The trend line is clear, silver investment is on the rise, so the Mint should position itself to take advantage of this market momentum.”

Congressionally authorized American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins provide investors with a convenient and cost-effective way to add physical silver to their investment portfolios. Since their launch in 1986, American Eagles have become a leading silver bullion coin investment product and have produced over 165 million one-ounce coins, with 9.8 million sold in 2007, and already over 7.2 million have been sold in just the first 5 months of 2008.

Understanding that demand for the extremely popular coins is strong, the Silver Institute is urging the Director of the U.S. Mint to consider methods for streamlining the silver Eagles’ production process.

“We are very concerned about interruptions in this market and have requested a meeting with the Mint Director to seek stability for this important silver coinage program,” DiRienzo added.

A copy of the letter from the Silver Institute to the U.S. Mint can be viewed at http://www.silverinstitute.org/news/DirectorMoyMay29.pdf. (more…)

Record gas prices and climbing food costs combined with the eroding the value of the dollar, have pushed the American Silver Eagle $1 bullion coin to more than $20.

Demand for the Silver Eagle, which is one ounce of 99 percent-pure silver, has become such a popular option for investors that the U.S. Mint can’t keep up with demand and has limited sales.

The mint has already sold about 7.6 million of the ASE coins in the first quarter of 2008 alone. Typically the annual mintage is between 8 million and 9 million coins per year.

“I think the 2008 Silver Eagles aren’t going to be scarce, they’re just going to be expensive because everyone wants one,” said one bullion dealer.

Despite the large number of silver coins in the market, the mint, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury, sent a memo to dealers last month stating that it would limit allocations to distributors.

The letter said: “The unprecedented demand for American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins necessitates our allocating these coins on a weekly basis until we are able to meet demand.”

Silver closed Wednesday down 45 cents to $17.38 per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But prices have doubled in three years and a case of 500 coins now sells for close to $10,000.

The mint has authorized only 13 buyers worldwide who can directly purchase the coins. The mint charges the going price of silver, plus a small premium, to this select number of brokerage companies, wholesalers, precious-metals firms, coin dealers and banks. One of those buyers, Coins ‘N Things Inc. in Bridgewater, Mass., said it has seen demand double compared to last year. (more…)

Gold and silver coins featuring the late Sir Edmund Hillary against a backdrop of Mount Everest were released in New Zealand on Thursday, the 55th anniversary of his historic ascent of the world’s highest peak with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

New Zealand Post, which issued the commemorative coins, said part of the proceeds of their sale would go to the Himalayan Trust that Hillary established for the Sherpa people of Nepal.

One of New Zealand’s best loved national heroes, Sir Edmund Hillary’s life was filled with many great achievements that earned him worldwide fame.

The first man to conquer Mount Everest in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary went on to devote much of his life to improving those of others, especially the people of his beloved Nepal.

Following his passing in January 2008, and with the exclusive support of Sir Edmund Hillary’s family, this very special New Zealand coin release pays tribute to this extraordinary but humble man who will be remembered for ever. (more…)