This week a “bullion related” news item crossed my desk which gave me pause.

A company called Gold Solutions Marketing Inc. (www.TheGoldBullionCard.com),  recently issued a press release announcing their new Gold Backed “credit card”, which will be available soon online. The card, which will be branded by either MasterCard or Visa, is supposed to function like a regular credit card, but will be backed by gold bullion coins you have to deposit into an account. If you don’t currently have any gold, the press release states that you will be able to purchase a quantity of gold. ” below market prices”, at the time of your account opening.

Jeff Silver, VP of Gold Solutions Marketing, Inc. was quoted to say, “Those who ‘believe in gold’ can see  the new (Credit Card reforms of Feb 2010) law reshaping attitudes and conventions about credit cards that will help make this breakthrough collateralized credit card concept a reality in the very near future.  They know that gold, which is a hard asset, can provide a higher level of liquidity and usefulness, while positively impacting the financial picture for millions of Americans” .

Now to be fair, I have to state up front that I am not a big fan of the credit card industry or the big mega banks in particular, and how Congress has allowed, and still allows them to engauge in what many consider to be predatory business practices is a whole different story. But something just didn’t make sense to me in this press release.

First, this is a collateralized credit card, where of the line of credit is backed by an asset you already own.  According to Jeff Silver, the ” credit card [will be] based on 75 percent of the value of gold coins on deposit……, which should give the issuing bank a much more secure feeling about extending credit.”  You Think ?

Now my mother drowned all of her stupid children, but it seems to me that if I have $20,000 in gold bullion coins, in my possession, why on earth would I ship them off to a depository in exchange for a “credit card” with a $15,000 credit limit? (more…)

Coin features first new reverse design in multi-year series with mintage limited to 8000

The United States Mint announced that it will begin accepting orders for the 2009 American Eagle One-Ounce Platinum Proof Coin at noon Eastern Time (ET) December 3, 2009. Orders will be limited to five units per household.

The reverse (tails side) of the 2009 American Eagle One-Ounce Platinum Proof Coin features the first design in a new six-year program that commemorates the core concepts of American democracy by featuring the six principles of the Preamble of the United States Constitution. Themes for the reverse designs in the new series of American Eagle One-Ounce Platinum Proof Coins are inspired by narratives prepared by the Chief Justice of the United States, John G. Roberts, Jr., at the request of the United States Mint. Coin designs reflecting the remaining principles of the Preamble will be released as follows: To Establish Justice (2010); To Insure Domestic Tranquility (2011); To Provide for the Common Defense (2012); To Promote General Welfare (2013); and To Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity (2014).

The 2009 design depicts four faces representing the diversity of our Nation, with the clothing and hair weaving together symbolizing the principle, To Form a More Perfect Union. A new design element, an American Eagle “privy mark,” has been added to the reverse of the coin. The privy mark is from an original “coin punch” identified at the United States Mint at Philadelphia. The reverse was designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Susan Gamble and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill. (more…)

Back in July of this year CoinLink ran a story about Gold IRA’s and the choices available to consumers/investors. Since we are coming up to the end of the year we thought it would be prudent to re-examine the topic, especially in light of the exceptional performance of Gold in the past 12 months, and the rather extraordinary events that have unfolded in 2009. But first a bit of background.

What is a “Gold IRA” ?

Traditional IRA investment accounts you open with a Bank or stock brokerage firm DO NOT allow you to purchase physical precious metals in the account. The closest you can come to this is to select one of the many ETF’s that have become available in recent years. Two of the most popular ETF’s are the GLD and SLV for Gold and Silver respectively. However what if you want to purchase the actual physical gold or silver itself? To do that, you need to set up a Self Directed IRA account.

Self Directed IRA’s require a bit more effort to set up initially, but they offer the investor the greatest level of flexibility possible by allowing you to place “non-traditional” assets into a tax deferred vehicle such as an IRA, in this case precious metals.

How do Self Directed Precious Metals IRA’s Work?

Essentialy Self directed IRAs are composed of three different elements; The Precious Metals Dealer, The Third Party Administrator and finally The Depository where your IRA assets are stored. Lets take a look at these components.

1) Your Precious Metals Dealer – where it all begins…..
For many investors this is where it all starts. Since most investors do not have existing relationships with the more esoteric components of the the Self Directed IRA , namely the third party administrator or the depository service, they often rely on the advise and hard work of their Bullion / Precious metals dealer to assist them is setting up and selecting the other two “legs of the stool”. But here is where you need to make sure that you, as the investor, are educated as to what your choices are, how they will effect your investment and to guarantee that you get the most bang for the buck.
(more…)