QuantumStacker

I am in Japan on holiday and had a day trip to the city of Kobe.   While there I thought I would see if there were any coin dealers and found a listing for “Coin Palace”. Thinking it would be a typical local coin shop I turned up to discover that I needed to book a time. They were not busy and very kind enough to let me in to take a look around their magnificent display room.   As I was looking at the first coin, an Edward III hammered gold Noble graded MS63, the owner explained that he specialises in rare British coins. As you can see from the photos he has some of the worlds highest graded examples along with Patten coin such as:- - the 1817 sovereign pattern coin; - 1817 Three Graces Pattern coin; - 1910 silver pattern coin with an alternative design for the “rocking horse” crown.   He had 12 Gothic Crowns on display.   An 1887 £5 sovereign graded PF 66 Ultra Cameo with its original presentation box.   And lots more! I only wish that I had taken more photos. 

Business opportunity for a courier company😂

The BBC's headlines were rather more subdued than some:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/63471074
Somewhere between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter lurks a massive metal asteroid known as 16 Psyche.
Nasa has announced it plans to launch a mission to the 140-mile-wide rock in October 2023.
The asteroid is thought to contain a core of iron, nickel and gold worth a whopping $10,000 quadrillion.
That's enough money to make everyone on the planet a billionaire. Not that there are any plans to remove it!
Whereas:
Giant asteroid has gold worth $700 quintillion. But it won't ...https://theprint.in › opinion › giant-asteroid-has-gold-w...
9 Jul 2019 — Asteroid 16 Psyche has enough gold to give everyone on Earth $93 ... $700 quintillion — enough to give everyone on the planet $93 billion.
and...
NASA headed towards giant golden asteroid that could ...https://www.foxnews.com › science › nasa-headed-toward...
gold planet steroid Asteroid from www.foxnews.com
27 Jun 2019 — NASA is eyeing up a nearby asteroid that contains enough gold to make everyone on Earth a billionaire.
Now if we could get free postage from Asteroid 16 Psyche to the UK...
😎
 

I know this is old post, just seen it. well this is funny, another Ponzi scheme believer is it? Never bought in to the crypto bull and never will. Biggest Ponzi schemes in world history, said it in 2010 and today we can all see what they are today. To the people that hated me for saying it .... call me old fashioned but i'm a hard asset guy. 

Anybody remember this:
"I now predict that Gold will crash in excess of $1000 from here and it started today, see you at $400-$600 area guys and gals!"
😎

Yesterday the Fed hiked rates. It wasn’t exactly a surprise. For gold and silver investors it was yet another great opportunity to remind ourselves why we invest in gold bars or buy silver coins - because central banks are predictable.

They do not have perfect economic knowledge, they do not create long-term value and they are always reacting to the consequences of their poor decisions. Of course gold and silver are in high demand right now - precious metals are one of the few remaining ways to keep out of the way of central banks decisions and to protect your wealth. 
 
The Federal Reserve raised the fed funds rate by a further 75 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, as expected this week. And the statement had hints of a possible pivot – or slowing of rate increases.  Citing the slowing of global activity and mentioning “the committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and financial developments”, the Fed gave faint hope to bond and equity investors. Markets took the statement as a dovish sign and rallied. Gold rallied too, for a moment. 
But then in what one Bloomberg commentator called a ’bait and switch’….  “Like a reproving parent, the Federal Reserve chairman quickly put the kibosh on any budding euphoria his comments about monitoring the lagged effect of interest rate policy might have provoked.”
 
Powell then went on to reiterate that “rates are going up” adding “probably more than people thought.”
 
After the initial surge markets sank – to finish far lower. The S&P 500 index surged 1% - then closed the day down 2.5% - its steepest drop since mid-October. 
Markets are looking for central banks to pivot to easier policy – which we think they will do next year as economic growth weakens and unemployment surges, but we also propose that there is an additional pivot on the horizon which is far more important for our readers – that the inflation target rate itself will ‘pivot’ higher.

Please take a moment to reread our primer on inflation target rates  from May 26 – Did Central Banks arrive at their Target Inflation Rate by Mere Fluke? As economic activity wanes, house prices fall, equity markets drop and mortgage rates rise - we remind readers that the 2% rate inflation target was set by a fluke.
Central bankers are, of course, denying that they are even thinking about doubling the inflation target from 2% to 4% – but central bankers change their messaging often. Remember it was last year at this time rates were still at near zero and central banks were trying to convince the world that high inflation rates were completely ‘transitory’ and we would be back to 2% levels by now.  
A higher target inflation rate could end up being the central banker ‘get out of jail free card’. It enables central banks to pause rate hikes while inflation remains high as economic activity weakens and housing prices fall – and it also benefits governments by inflating away some of the massive debt loads that have built up through years of overspending.
This pivot could play out as a ‘temporary’ increase in the inflation target rate. Again, going back to last year, central banks were also proclaiming the message that inflation could run above target for some time since it had been below the inflation target for many years.
Some inflationary pressures have abated – supply chains are being restored for example. However, others are long lasting new policies, such as ‘friend-shoring’ aka protectionist policies – no matter the name, the resulting higher prices are a new reality. Another source of higher inflation for years to come is the move to renewable and sustainable energy. New price hikes are coming as the technologies are developed but the commodities needed are in short supply.        
One might ask why governments would support central banks increasing the targeted rate of inflation – the simple answer: governments like to spend more than they have which has led to massive debt levels. One way to reduce these massive debt levels – higher inflation!

The only other way to reduce debt levels is financial repression and austerity. The problem with austerity is that governments choosing this route are quickly voted out of office. See our post from March 4 Central Banks Still Do “Whatever It Takes”! for more on government options on reducing massive debt levels.
Bottom line: The Fed Still Has No Idea What’s Coming Next, which was the headline to our March post after the Fed raised the fed funds rate for the first time this year.

Finally we remind readers that no central banker can inflate five pounds of gold into ten pounds of gold. Paper currency is inflated at a pace controlled by the government. One of the best reasons to own physical metals is storing wealth outside a system which is built on debt and government promise.
 
If you’re keen to hear more about FOMC actions, or the wider macro-economic landscape then have a look at our YouTube Channel, GoldCore TV. This week we discussed access to rare earths and how the West’s energy supply hangs in the balance. See the conversation with Dr Stephen Leeb, here. 

Bank of England Interest Rate Increase - Yet Gold and Precious Metals Higher as Pound Drops Against US Dollar
From the BBC News:
Biggest interest rate hike in decades as Bank warns of long recession.
Pound drops following interest rate move
Sterling fell sharply following the the Bank of England's interest rate decision.
The Bank's warnings over a prolonged recession saw the pound drop by nearly 2% to 1.12 against the US dollar in London trading. It also finished 0.7% lower against the euro.
The 0.75% increase to 3.0% was clearly intended to help steady and support the pound after the recent US Fed rate rise, but contrary to expectation the pouhd sterling dropped another 2 cents, to just below $1.12
As recently as Monday, it had been trading at above $1.16 making for a 4 cent fall on the week.
S.A News had this headline:
Gold prices slide to lowest in two-and-a-half years following latest Fed rate hike.
But in sterling terms the news was almost the opposite, for example Kitco's headline:
Gold price continues to rise against British pound as BoE governor said inflation threat has never been higher
So, on Monday we saw gold prices around £1415, we are now seeing it at almost £1460 per ounce.
In dollar terms, gold was around $1632 on Monday, rising to around $1655 only yesterday Wednesday, with one short spike to almost $1665; gold dropped to below $1620 earlier today, and is now about $1630 having been as low as $1617.
Despite the headlines, gold in dollars is almost exactly where it started the week, whereas the price in pounds is about £40 higher.
It sounds like the foreign exchange markets expect UK interest rates to rise again soon, although possibly the big damper was the Bank's gloomy recession warning.
What I don't understand here is why the outlook has turned so doomy in just a few days.
Is this still backwash from the Liz Truss / Kwasi Kwarteng fiasco, despite Rishi Sunak promising tax increases in place of tax cuts? Perhaps Truss / Kwarteng caused shook market confidence more than anyone realised. It is almost certain that if they were still in power, that sterling would be trading below parity to the dollar.
😎 - I use this emoji more in hope for the future.

Some more Au and Pt thanks to @kneehow2018 and @QuantumStacker

Received today 2016 Three-Coin Premium Set

This reinforces an argument to keep using cash, as @Paul seems to agree.
In small amounts it works very well, especially for local in person transactions.
I large amounts, it runs into anti-money laundering checks, and over £10,000 it hits a brrick wall.
It doesn't work very well for online purchases, hotel reservations, and the like.
It does take longer to count, costs more to pay into banks, and poses a greater physical security risk.
I am not advocating a total return to cash, simply airing a few observations.
All payment methods have advatantages and disadvantages.
😎

Glad people are coming to realize it.

Correct. Banks arent there for you as the customer.

Wow so one on the same page as me and prepared to say it as it is or at least how I see it. I went threw just under two hours of bulls—t just to spend my hard earned money on something I like doing, I am sure they don’t want people taking money out of the banks, probably getting ready for the great re-set.

So....... this just happened!
still not too sure how but hey, I’m gonna not try to over think it!
My first 1oz Gold piece so it had to be a 2022 and had to be a Brit. 
Many thanks to @QuantumStackerfor starting me off on my 1oz journey!