How America’s wars created a day of remembrance and influenced our coinage

Foreground: Reverse of a 1995 Proof silver dollar in honor of Civil War Battlefield preservation. (U.S. Mint photo) Background: In Arlington National Cemetery, soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) place a small American flag in front of more than 230,000 grave markers, to honor every individual buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and at the foot of each columbarium to account for the more than 400,000 interred. (DoD photo by Marvin D. Lynchard)

Foreground: Reverse of a 1995 Proof silver dollar in honor of Civil War Battlefield preservation. (U.S. Mint photo) Background: In Arlington National Cemetery, soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) place a small American flag in front of each of the more than 230,000 grave markers, to honor every individual buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and at the foot of each columbarium to account for the more than 400,000 interred. (DoD photo by Marvin D. Lynchard)


Today has been our national day to reflect on the sacrifices of American service members who have given their lives in battle. This is not a holiday that leapt into being all at once, with a single stroke of an executive pen—it’s a day whose foundations have been laid down in layers for more than 200 years.

Memorial Day’s origins actually go back for thousands of years, for as long as societies have honored their fallen defenders through ceremony, song, feasting, decorating grave sites, and other means. In the United States, one of the earliest such celebrations took place in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 1, 1865, just three weeks after the end of the Civil War. During the last weeks of the war, a racetrack called Washington Race Course and Jockey Club, which had been built for the enjoyment of wealthy planters in the region, had been converted into a prison camp. Under appalling conditions, more than 250 captured Union soldiers died of disease and exposure. They were buried in a mass grave behind the track’s grandstand. According to David W. Blight, 28 black workmen (presumably former slaves) entered the grounds on May 1 and re-buried the dead in individual graves. They erected a whitewashed fence around the cemetery, and on the arch above the entrance, wrote “Martyrs of the Race Course.”

Headstones marking about 100 of the graves at Washington Race Course, after the reburial of Union prisoners of war by 28 black workmen. (Library of Congress photo)

Headstones marking about 100 of the graves at Washington Race Course, after the reburial of Union prisoners of war by 28 black workmen. (Library of Congress photo)

Then, Blight goes on to say,

Black Charlestonians, in cooperation with white missionaries and teachers, staged an unforgettable parade of 10,000 people on the slaveholders’ race course. … At 9 a.m. on May 1, the procession stepped off led by three thousand black schoolchildren carrying arm loads of roses and singing “John Brown’s Body.” The children were followed by several hundred black women with baskets of flowers, wreaths and crosses. Then came black men marching in cadence, followed by contingents of Union infantry and other black and white citizens. As many as possible gathered in the cemetery enclosure; a children’s choir sang “We’ll Rally around the Flag,” the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and several spirituals before several black ministers read from scripture. No record survives of which biblical passages rung out in the warm spring air, but the spirit of Leviticus 25 was surely present at those burial rites: “for it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you … in the year of this jubilee he shall return every man unto his own possession.”

Following the solemn dedication the crowd dispersed into the infield and did what many of us do on Memorial Day: they enjoyed picnics, listened to speeches, and watched soldiers drill. Among the full brigade of Union infantry participating was the famous 54th Massachusetts and the 34th and 104th U.S. Colored Troops, who performed a special double-columned march around the gravesite. The war was over, and Decoration Day had been founded by African Americans in a ritual of remembrance and consecration.1

On June 9, 1866, the Ladies Memorial Association of Petersburg, Virginia, embarked on a project to tend the graves of their fallen Confederate soldiers, many of the dead being their own husbands, fathers, and sons. Mary Logan, wife of Union General John Alexander Logan (commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic), made a trip to Petersburg. The article she wrote about her journey was published in the May 30, 1903, edition of the Los Angeles Daily Times:

The weather was balmy and spring-like, and as we passed through the rows of graves I noticed that many of them had been strewn with beautiful blossoms and decorated with small flags of the dead Confederacy. The sentimental idea so enwrapped me that I inspected them more closely and discovered that they were every one the graves of soldiers who had died for the Southern cause. The actions seemed to me to be a beautiful tribute to the soldier martyrs and grew upon me while I was returning to Washington. … [A]s soon as [General Logan] met me at the station I told him of the graves of the Southern soldiers in the cemetery at Petersburg. He listened with great interest and then said: “What a splendid thought! We will have it done all over the country, and the Grand Army shall do it! I will issue the order at once for a national Memorial Day for the decoration of the graves of all those noble fellows who died for their country.”

One fact that struck General Logan right away was that the date of such a remembrance should be a time when the entire United States was abloom with flowers. Thus it was that, on May 5, 1868, he issued an order declaring that “The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

Mary Logan, General John Logan, and children. (Library of Congress photo)

Mary Logan, General John Logan, and children. (Library of Congress photo)

Mary Logan would remark in her 1903 newspaper article,

Time has shown how well that order has been obeyed, and although the observance of the day has grown as the years have glided into the past and every city and hamlet in the country assists in the noble work, the eyes of the nation are every year centered upon the great national cemetery on the Heights of Arlington where, lying under the emerald lawns and shaded by the great trees, are the bodies in whose honor the day was inaugurated. Nearby the graves of the men who wore the blue are hundreds of mounds that cover all that was mortal of those who wore the gray, and it is one of the most beautiful traits of forgiving humanity that none of them are overlooked on the most sacred day in the American calendar. In Dixie they garland with one hand the mounds above the ashes of the northern soldiers while with the other they strew beautiful blossoms on the graves of their own heroes. We of the north do the same, for they were all heroes, each dying for the cause he thought was right. They gave their all to prove their sincerity, and they all died true Americans whatever their political affiliations may have been.

For 50 years, Decoration Day was held in honor of the fallen in the American Civil War. When the United States entered World War I, the purpose of the day was expanded to include American service members killed in all wars. In 1966, President Johnson formally declared Waterloo, New York, the holiday’s birthplace (although, as we have seen, the observance has made a gradual entrance into the groundwater from multiple sources; other claims on the origin of the holiday come from Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Georgia; and Columbus, Mississippi). In 1967, the holiday was officially renamed “Memorial Day,” and in 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act (P.L. 90-363) changed the designated timing of the holiday from May 30 to the last Monday in May. Since January 1, 1971—the date the law went into effect—Memorial Day has been a legal holiday.

Memorial Day and the United States Mint

A Memorial Day parade in 1921, and a Peace dollar commemorating the end of WWI. (Background, Library of Congress; coin, courtesy Stack's Bowers Galleries)

A Memorial Day parade in 1921, and a Peace dollar commemorating the end of WWI. (Background, Library of Congress; coin, courtesy Stack’s Bowers Galleries)

America’s currency has often reflected the country’s military history; a few small examples:

  • The very existence of Nova Constellatio coppers and other post-colonial coins (including the state coinages of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York) was made possible by the military victory of the American Revolution.
  • The Civil War caused a shortage of coinage, which led to novel solutions such as Postage Currency as well as to the advent of Demand Notes and United States Notes. The federal mints in Charlotte, North Carolina; Dahlonega, Georgia; and New Orleans, Louisiana, were taken by the Confederates and ceased production in 1861. Only New Orleans resumed striking federal coinage after the war, operating from 1879 to 1909—and during those years, only coins that have the “O” mintmark came from a branch mint that changed hands during the war.
  • The Peace dollar, first issued in 1921, commemorated the end of the Great War.
  • During World War II, cents in 1943 were struck from steel instead of copper to save the latter for the military.

And of course, the Mint has issued numerous medals and commemorative coins to honor our fallen service members and surviving veterans. These items have generated money for the endowment, restoration, and preservation of memorials to the sacrifice of American service members. Commemorative subjects have included the Korean War Veterans Memorial (1991), Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1994), the WWII 50th Anniversary program (1991–1995), the Civil War Battlefield Preservation program (1995), programs honoring individual branches of the armed forces, and more—an entire book could be written about U.S. commemoratives honoring the sacrifices of the U.S. military.

Coin collecting is a quiet pastime, not often associated with heroics or wars or bloodshed. But coins, perhaps more than any other day-to-day objects, bring the realities of nationhood together with our own, personal reality. Coin collectors, whether of modern commemoratives or classic U.S. circulating coins, are uniquely in touch with this reality. They can appreciate how the humblest clad quarter binds U.S. Mint history to American history—and to the freedom to live as we please, pursue careers, earn money, and argue about the fairness of taxes. Without the sacrifices of our armed services, those freedoms, and so many others, would be impossible.


David W. Blight, “The First Decoration Day,” Newark Star Ledger, April 27, 2015. In 1871, as the “Martyrs of the Race Course” cemetery was suffering from neglect, the bodies were relocated to two different national cemeteries. When the City of Charleston acquired the property in the early 1900s, it was renamed Hampton Park—after Confederate General Wade Hampton III, one of the largest slaveholders in the South prior to the Civil War.   ❑


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Comments

  1. TemplePriestess says

    As a teen I my dad was leaving the house one Memorial day as I sat on the swing, I asked if I could go with him. He took me to a local cemetery where he put coins on headstones as he contemplated life. Never in my young life did I think of my Korean war vet dad as a solider. When I asked him why he left the coins he explained it was a sign to let people know the solders grave was visited by a living veteran. As I looked at some of the headstones I realized some of the dead were young men not a lot older than me, guys killed in Vietnam. Had a long talk with my dad about what it was like going to fight, and how the thought the Vietnam conflict was bulls#$t. It was only cutting young men’s lives short. And not spreading Democracy to a far off land. Dad was not a coin collector, I got that from an uncle. But watching him pay his respects made me like coins that much more. That’s why I like the idea of the liberty coins as they roll out.

  2. cagcrisp says

    Thanks for So Krates making my point on the other blog. He Admits that IF you buy generic bullion Silver that you will pay a Premium and Lose ALL your premium at the time of sale.

    In his Premise he Buys for $.79 premium and Sells for Spot. A Loss of $.79 / oz.

    In my post I stated ““What you save on the purchase you will lose on the sale”. That is my point.

    Now I have never bought 20 count rolls of ASE’s for $2.50 Above spot. 2 or 3 weeks ago I bought 20 count rolls of ASE’s for Slightly Less than $380 per 20 count. Approximately $2.75 Above spot.

    SO…Buy as close to the $2.50/oz AP cost as possible and IF you sell then keep in mind that you shouldn’t sell unless you get your $2.50/oz. premium back.

    IF you can’t afford to Hold until you get what you want back from your investment then you Shouldn’t be in Silver to start out…

  3. cagcrisp says

    In my Above post I’m not planning on Selling ANYTIME soon. I don’t buy coins to sell. I only buy to Hold for years and years in a family. IF I wanted to buy Silver at $17.50 and sell for $25.00 then I would buy a more efficient Silver ETF

    In 100 years I hope to have in my family ASE’s that are worth Much Much more than Spot.

    I DO have some Sunshine 1 oz. rounds that I bought before ASEs were sold. They are still worth Spot. I have some other bullion ASE’s that are worth much more than Spot.

    NOW…I do hope that my 1982 Sunshine 1 oz. will be worth more than Spot in 2082, however, I’m not counting on it.

    I DO expect that my ASEs will be worth many times what my Sunshines are worth…

  4. So Krates says

    As always, I try to compare apples to apples. I used very competitive dealer buy and sell prices (thus the rock bottom $2.50 premium in my example to make your case even stronger). You are comparing apples to oranges. As a smart guy you can’t not understand what I am illustrating with the SIZE of the spread. You say you will lose the premium on bars but not on ASEs. Not so. David can just as easily not sell his bars until he finds a buyer to pay $.79 over spot so he also doesn’t lose premium. He may even wait until he gets spot plus $1 and make money (on the premium), again outperforming your 500 ASEs that you sold at spot plus $2.50. This is because of both the smaller premium spread and having more ounces invested to make gains instead of putting a larger % into unproductive ASE premiums.

    BTW 100 year old 5 ounce ingots bring way per ounce than Morgans (equivalent of 19th century bullion ASEs)

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEVADA-SILVER-CO-Rawhide-NV-RARE-vintage-silver-ingot-3-93-OZS-old-poured-bar-/192130198896?hash=item2cbbda2d70:g:gdcAAOSwYXVYyE7b

  5. cagcrisp says

    “David can just as easily not sell his bars until he finds a buyer to pay $.79 over spot so he also doesn’t lose premium.”

    David will be LUCKY to get Spot for generic Silver. To get $.79 for generic Silver on a regular basis is a pipe dream.

    The premium the APs pay for ASEs is $2.00. I will agree with that.

    Other than that, buying generic Silver vs. ASEs is a Losing proposition…

  6. cagcrisp says

    @So Krates, I will ALWAYS get my spread back on ASEs and you will NOT get your spread back on generic Silver.

    It is a Simple as that. Apples to Apples.

    Comparing something that has Demand (ASEs) to something that have Little demand (generic Silver).

    I will state my proposition Again ” @David, I would Never buy generic bullion Silver.”…

  7. David says

    I find the whole bullion thing to be very complex at times. There are so many options, so many variables involved. The generic silver vs government issues silver debate is interesting. On one hand, you may get more ounces for your buck buying generic silver as they have no numismatic value…just bullion content. On the other hand government silver DOES have numismatic value along with its content and its often sold with a premium and you initially get less bang for your buck. But there is potential of a greater numismatic value if said issue has a low mintage. Government silver is also backed by the respective government. Although I prefer government issued silver, I find the premiums to be a turn off. Look at the premiums for Kookaburras and Koalas. Beautiful coins in their own right but I’m not sure the premiums are worth it.

  8. So Krates says

    @ Cagcrisp – What you are essentially saying is that the because of higher demand the ASE spread doesn’t really exist but the generic silver spread is real.

    There are published bid/ask prices for both ASEs and bars. I compared the bid/ask spread of one product to another. This is apples to apples. You are inserting hypothetical sell prices for both and are being kinder to ASEs because of demand. But don’t forget, this better demand/liquidity is already factored into the spread.

    I never like to use “never” and I’m always hesitant to use “always” 🙂 , but as a matter of fact I liquidated a roll of generic Indian Head/ Buffalo rounds yesterday. They cost me $.50 under spot and I sold for spot plus $2. Like you, I’m not the average bear, so wouldn’t want to apply that example to David’s situation but it can and does happen.

    BTW – 1980s dated Sunshine Mining (not Minting) Bullion brings spot plus $3-$7+ over spot on eBay currently. The probability of those having a real nice premium in 2082 is quite high.

  9. So Krates says

    The only thing you can be sure of is that things change. This is why Diversification is a time honored principle.

    I know a guy that loves Sunshine stuff. He likes the history of the mine, the company, the reputation, etc. He’s been there, inside and out. He’s got all shapes, sizes, and ages of bullion with the Sunshine hallmark . As a result of this affection for the brand his stack is overweighted. Imagine a big scandal involving slave labor in the mine or a hoard of lower purity bars is exposed. Nobody wants them anymore. Of course a scenario like this is very unlikely but this thought experiment can be applied to ASEs. What if your whole stack is Eagles and the gov.’t decides they’re actually US property and calls em all in, or a FOIA request reveals the 74K from Philly were .925 pure, whatever the (bad) case may be…if you’re only in one type of coin and there’s a problem, you’re overexposed unnecessarily. Don’t put all your eggs in one (high demand) basket.

  10. Sith says

    Semi-numismatics vs bullion…two totally different investments, that tend to overlap based on the investment strategy. IE this is like someone trying to convince someone else that stocks make a better investment than bonds. Its all pretty subjective, and that subjectivity is defined by your goals.

  11. cagcrisp says

    @Throckmorton, Thanks. I have yet to use that terminology but I will Consider it in the future…

  12. cagcrisp says

    16AN 2016 ATB SILVER UNC 5 OZ – FT MLTR 17,131 +33
    17AJ 2017 ATB SILVER UNC 5 OZ – EFF MNDS 15,090 + 106
    17AK 2017 ATB SILVER UNC 5 OZ – DOUGLASS 14,908 + 251

  13. cagcrisp says

    Continued Dismal numbers for BTs…

    17CA 2017 BOYS TOWN GOLD PROOF 1,309 +17
    17CB 2017 BOYS TOWN GOLD UNC 1,743 + 11
    17CC 2017 BOYS TOWN SILVER PROOF 19,613 +287
    17CD 2017 BOYS TOWN SILVER UNC 9,025 +84
    17CE 2017 BOYS TOWN CLAD PROOF 15,090 +142
    17CF 2017 BOYS TOWN CLAD UNC 13,592 +77
    17CG 2017 BOYS TOWN 3-COIN SET 4,765 +55

    17CH 2017 LIONS CLUBS SILVER PROOF 59,575 +822
    17CJ 2017 LIONS CLUBS SILVER UNC 15,749 +70

  14. cagcrisp says

    Continued Sales of the 2016 proofs cannibalizes Some of the 2017 proofs…

    16EA 2016 AM EAGLE SILVER PROOF 1 OZ 558,230 +830

    16EB 2016 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1 OZ 23,615 + 22
    16EC 2016 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ 5,705 + 12
    16EF 2016 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 4-COIN SET 17,262 +9

    16EG 2016 AM EAGLE SILVER UNC 1 OZ 197,048 +362

  15. cagcrisp says

    17EA 2017 AM EAGLE SILVER PROOF 1 OZ 263,139 + 5,708

    17EB 2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1 OZ 5,066 + 214
    17EC 2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ 1,037 +37
    17ED 2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1/4 OZ 1,687 +96
    17EE 2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1/10 OZ 7,378 +176
    17EF 2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 4-COIN SET 6,860 +94

    17EL 2017 AM BUFFALO GOLD PROOF 1 OZ 9,227 + 228

  16. cagcrisp says

    JQ1 2015 FS GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ – TRUMAN 2,674 + 4
    JQ2 2015 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – TRUMAN 1,874 + 1
    JQ4 2015 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – EISENHWR 2,012 + 6
    JQ6 2015 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – KENNEDY 6,682 + 6
    JQ8 2015 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – JOHNSON 1,788 + 2

    16SA 2016 FS GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ – NIXON 2,539 + 8
    16SB 2016 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – NIXON 1,625 + 7
    16SC 2016 FS GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ – FORD 2,347 + 7
    16SD 2016 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – FORD 1,609 + 3
    16SE 2016 FS GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ – REAGAN 3,499 +14
    16SF 2016 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – REAGAN 1,876 + 3

  17. cagcrisp says

    Both of these items Should have been pulled Months ago…

    16XA 2016 WALKING LIBERTY 24K GOLD .5OZ 63,503 +63
    16XC 2016 STANDING LIBERTY 24K GOLD .25OZ 89,929 + 93

  18. cagcrisp says

    What do these 24 Combined Revenue Golds have in Common for the Past week ?

    2015 FS GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ – TRUMAN
    2015 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – TRUMAN
    2015 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – EISENHWR
    2015 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – KENNEDY
    2015 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – JOHNSON

    2016 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1 OZ
    2016 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ
    2016 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 4-COIN SET
    2016 FS GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ – NIXON
    2016 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – NIXON
    2016 FS GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ – FORD
    2 016 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – FORD
    2016 FS GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ – REAGAN
    2016 FS GOLD UNC 1/2 OZ – REAGAN
    2016 WALKING LIBERTY 24K GOLD .5OZ
    2016 STANDING LIBERTY 24K GOLD .25OZ

    2017 BOYS TOWN GOLD PROOF
    2017 BOYS TOWN GOLD UNC
    2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1 OZ
    2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1/2 OZ
    2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1/4 OZ
    2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 1/10 OZ
    2017 AM EAGLE GOLD PROOF 4-COIN SET
    2017 AM BUFFALO GOLD PROOF 1 OZ

  19. KCSO says

    cagcrisp says, Another Strong number…

    17XA 2017 AM LIBERTY 24K GOLD 1 OZ 22,101 + 826

    Yup.., this thing is gaining steam, quite surprisingly given how typical most releases peter out by the 4th week, and then by the 5th or 6th week, a mass of returns hit and then there’s a large negative number for the week, which hasn’t happen to-date –

    06 APR – 1st Day: 14,285
    09 APR – 16,039 +1,754
    16 APR – 17,704 +1,665
    23 APR – 18,597 +803
    30 APR – 18,913 +406
    07 MAY – 19,304 +391
    14 MAY – 20,087 +783
    21 MAY – 21,275 +1,188
    28 MAY – 22,101 +826

    If the momentum continues, this thing will punch through 30,000+

  20. gatortreke says

    Re: the generic bullion vs. government bullion discussion, there is one opportunity to me that shouldn’t be overlooked. JM Bullion has an offer where each household can buy 10 1 oz Sunshine rounds at spot price. It’s a once in a household offer but to me it is a no brainer. I had never bought generic rounds before this offer though I have bought “collectible” rounds such as the Zombie Apocalypse or Elemetal’s Privateer series. The Sunshine rounds are nicer than I imagined and I may divert a little money that way when deals are offered but generally I’ll stick with buying 90% junk silver and ASE’s, CML’s, Austrian Philharmonics and Armenian Noah’s Ark silver, the latter two due to lower spreads but still a recognizable government coin.

    JM Bullion offer: https://www.jmbullion.com/starter-pack/

  21. KCSO says

    What do those 24 Combined Revenue Golds have in Common for the Past week ?

    Lowest weekly revenue generation, e.g. Lowest Cumm sales, over the past 36 months? 60 months?

  22. KCSO says

    Just did a fleabay search on ‘2017 Congratulations’

    This ‘S’ ASE clearly rates 1st Place in the number of label and holders being offering for a single release.

    Never in my life have I seen so many varied labels offered (and like 5 different color holders), it’s actually quite comical. And the listing count continues to grow as well.

  23. cagcrisp says

    @KSCO, Nope…

    What do they have in Common?

    Answer: Weekly Revenue for 2017 Gold HR Exceeded combined Revenue of All 24 other Gold offerings…

  24. MikeinPA says

    as world tensions continue to grow, how much would a major conflict say with Korea affect the PM prices if any, thinking of buying a monster box of ASE, as a possible hedge in any large spikes, I have several thousand stashed now (ASE that is) any thoughts? I feel a conflict of some sort is inevitable

  25. gatortreke says

    @MikeinPA: I follow George Friedman, formerly the head of Stratfor and now of GeoPolitical Futures. He believes we’re telegraphing that a conflict with North Korea is likely in the near future if diplomacy fails to rein in Kim Jong Un. He’s not saying it is guaranteed, just that the probabilities have increased. You can read -his reasonings at https://geopoliticalfutures.com/north-korea-stares-abyss/.

  26. gatortreke says

    Diana, I’ve failed to mention this in previous posts but I agree with KCSO above, very nice article. Thanks for posting it!

  27. data dave says

    Diana, I agree, very nice posts. I find them very educational and a nice contrast to some of the less than educational comments.

    With regard to the FS Gold numbers posted, the UNC Reagan just passed the UNC Truman. The proof Ford is approaching the proof Harding.

    Compared to the fall off in Gold Commemoratives, the FS series is doing just fine!!! The UNC Ford and Nixon will probably set new lows, but on the Proof side Ford and Nixon have surpassed the low mark.

  28. cagcrisp says

    @MikeinPA , “as world tensions continue to grow, how much would a major conflict say with Korea affect the PM prices if any, thinking of buying a monster box of ASE, as a possible hedge in any large spikes, I have several thousand stashed now (ASE that is) any thoughts? ”

    1. I would Not be a player
    2. IF I was to play I would play on the Gold side and Not Silver
    3. IF I was to play I would play an ETF and Not physical Silver
    4. IF I was to play on the Silver side I would have played when Silver was a 12% lower when tensions started
    5. To be profitable on ANY trade you have to be correct two times. Profitable selling of ANY political event is all about timing and selling a physical Silver ASE is not an efficiently timed event
    6. The political precious metal trade could get very crowed
    7. How, when and where would you liquidate a monster box of ASEs? That’s a LOT of ASEs to sell
    8. Who do you think will be on the other side of the trade when it’s time to liquidate?
    9. In other words who does NOT know that Trump is likely to do something with Korea from a political point of view?
    10. Don’t fight the tape and the tape is Not your friend

  29. Dustyroads says

    Mike, It’s amazing to me how resilient the markets have been lately to any and all geopolitical events. At some point in time we can agree that silver will become a safe haven again, but no one can predict when that will be. I think we’re all better off dollar cost averaging.

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