Precious metal coin values are in the Wall Street Journal daily
Posted by John Reed on
Ever since I bought foreign currencies in 2012, I check their current prices daily in the Wall Street Journal. Now that we recently acquired gold and silver (both of which I oppose but my wife inherited them), I do the same with those commodities.
But I was looking at the per-ounce prices. We actually own coins. Today, I noticed that the “Cash prices” box in the daily Journal has not only the per-ounce prices, but also the actual coins we own: the American Eagle, $1,262.94 and the “wholesale $1,000 (face value) bag of U.S. 90% silver coins,” $13,120. I sold my eagles last week for $1,218 each and paid $13,500 and $13,600 for the “junk silver” coins I bought.
Cool. I was not aware of those prices being in the Journal. As the word says, they are “wholesale” prices paid by dealers, not consumers like me. Also, coins are more useful and less efficient to manufacture than ingots so you pay a premium for them.
By the way, checking the prices of your stocks or bonds or commodities daily is not recommended. Most people freak when they drop. My AUD, CAD, and NZD dropped about 25% since I bought them in 2011 to 2013. My CHF, DEK, and SEK generally have not moved since I bought them in 2012 and 2015. But the drops do not bother me because I bought them as long-term hedges against USD inflation, not for short-term gains. From what I read, most people cannot handle a 25% “loss” without freaking out and selling. If you are one of those, don’t look at the prices.
If you own these assets for hyperinflation protection, you should regard them the same way you do your bank account at, say, Bank America. You do not move your deposits when the B of A stock drops. Nor should you.
I do periodically check to see if inflation or the national debt-to-GDP ratios of my currencies have gone up. Now THAT would cause me to reconsider owning them.
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