But doesn’t it at least reveal that gold is more in demand than the British pound, or shares of Deutsche Bank? by Chris Powell of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee […]
The post BOE Official Says Gold Price ‘Tells You Precisely Nothing’, A ‘Terrible Idea’ To Look At Gold As Inflation Predictor appeared first on Silver Doctors.
Elizabeth Taylor painted by Yoo Choong Yeul We’ve talked endlessly about building a jewelry wardrobe and what pieces make up our jewelry basics. So, this time we’ve decided to take a different approach and highlight the women who not only created solid jewelry wardrobes but legendary wardrobes that people all over the world coveted. […]
The post Jewelry Collections to Covet appeared first on PriceScope.
It’s a coin that prompts a double-take in more ways than one. First, there’s the name: Piedfort. Then, there’s the size: Piedfort coins are typically the same diameter as traditional coins but twice as thick.
So what exactly is a piedfort coin?
Let’s begin with the name. The word piedfort is French and means “heavy measure” or “heavy weight.” As you’ll find out, it’s an appropriately descriptive name for these super-sized coins!
What about that size? It’s thought that the piedfort coin owes its heft in part to the importance of keeping such coins out of circulation as legal tender. Engravers produced and distributed them to regional mints as a way to demonstrate what the finished coins should look like—a practice that ended in the late 16th century—and the additional thickness made an excellent safeguard against these pattern coins mixing in with official monies.
It’s been speculated that many early ancestors of today’s piedfort coins were returned to engravers and scrapped. It’s an unfortunate loss of coin history that helps underscore the appeal of today’s piedforts: What was once lost to history is available to us again.
There’s another reason for the Piedfort coin’s size, one that followed the more practical application developed by engravers. Wealthy and powerful members of society distributed them as gifts—gifts that had the additional benefit of demonstrating the giver’s wealth.
Thickness aside, a piedfort coin’s front and back display the same imagery as its standard counterpart.
“The coins are created with the same dies as the regular, circulating coins, but pressed onto planchets two to three times thicker than the regular-issue,” according to the American Numismatic Association. “[Piedfort] coins are somewhat like the Ultra-High Relief 1907 $20 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle coin which also has a relative thickness of two times the standard planchet size.”
The result is a coin with double the precious metal weight but the same exceptional artwork that graces some of the world’s most popular coins.
As a French word, piedfort is pronounced “pee-AY-fore.” For English speakers, “PEED-fort” is acceptable.
What you can’t call these coins, however, is ordinary. While traditional bullion coins remain popular, piedfort coins offer a:
For these reasons and more, piedfort coins are worth another look beyond the initial double-take they inspire.
The magnitude of a Piedfort coin comes to life when you compare it to a standard or regular coin. Refer to the table below for a comparison between the 2 oz. Proof Silver Piedfort Iwo Jima 75th Anniversary coin and a 1 oz. Silver American Eagle coin. (Both are available for purchase through U.S. Money Reserve!)
| Silver Piedfort Iwo Jima | Silver American Eagle | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 2 oz. | 1 oz. |
| Purity | .9999 Silver | .9999 Silver |
| Diameter | 40.90 mm | 40.6 mm |
| Thickness | 6.02 mm | 2.98 mm |
| Year | 2020 | Varies |
| Mint | Perth Mint (Australia) | West Point (U.S.) |
The exceptional design and inspirational American story behind the imagery on the Iwo Jima 75th Anniversary 2 oz. Proof Silver Piedfort coin adds to its prestige.
The iconic image is inspired by Joe Rosenthal’s famous photograph of U.S. soldiers raising the American flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. The coin’s obverse image honors America’s wartime allies Australia and Great Britain with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
Coupled with its .9999 purity—the highest purity of silver available—this is a coin destined for your portfolio. Contact U.S. Money Reserve to buy this remarkable piedfort coin today.
The post What Is a Piedfort Coin? appeared first on U.S. Money Reserve.
Zero Hedge/Tyler Durden/9-1-2020
“As Deutsche Bank’s Henry Allen writes, in terms of the highlights it wasn’t tech but silver that was the top performing asset in August for the 2nd month in a row, thanks to a +15.4% increase. That move cements its existing YTD lead, having now risen by +57.6% since the start of the year, in a move that outpaces even the NASDAQ. Matters weren’t so positive for gold though, as in spite of rising above $2,000/oz at the start of the month for the first time ever, the precious metal ended up losing ground to close -0.4% lower. Nevertheless, commodities generally performed strongly, with WTI (+5.8%), Brent crude (+4.6%) and copper (+6.0%) all seeing solid advances, even though oil remains one of the worst performers on a YTD basis, with Brent (-31.4%) and WTI (-30.2%) still well below their pre-Covid levels.”
USAGOLD note: An interesting overview posted at ZeroHedge based on a Deutsche Bank report ……
Financial Times/Tommy Stubbington and Colby Smith/8-30-2020
“Government bond prices around the world dropped after Jay Powell confirmed last week that the Federal Reserve was prepared to tolerate higher inflation as it steers the economy through the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. But many investors say that talking about inflation is one thing, and actually generating swifter price rises is another entirely. Unless the Fed can avoid a path trodden by the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank – where vast monetary stimulus has failed to nudge inflation back up to target levels – then a lasting reversal of the four-decade rally in fixed income is unlikely, they say.”
USAGOLD note: Henry Kissinger stated early on (reposted here yesterday afternoon, please scroll) that “the world will never be the same after the coronavirus”, and that rightly or wrongly “many countries’ institutions will be perceived as having failed.” To our great misfortune, his views gain more credibility as each day passes …
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Reuters/Anna Szymanski
“Adjustments to the Fed’s policy framework are important. But the bigger change – the central bank’s unspoken, yet obviously heightened, concern about upsetting asset markets – occurred in the past decade without any official fanfare.”
USAGOLD note: And it is the one, according to Symanski, that is still in place. A good companion piece to the two posts immediately below. “Investors,” she says, “are behaving as if the Fed won’t let asset prices fall.”
Repost from 8-27-2020