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Investors fear, copper down

Looking for another sign of how nervous investors are about tariffs? Copper prices plummeted 7% Friday to about $4.50 a pound in New York. Copper has plunged nearly 15% since hitting a 2025 peak price of about $5.25 in late March. But copper is still up about 13% this year. That may not last much longer.

Source – Barrons

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    HAPPY NATIONAL COIN WEEK!

    Hey Numismatics!

    I’m sure that you’re looking for coins in honor of National Coin Week and you’re getting rare coins on eBay, Whatnot, Instagram or whatever you online buying you can find. Well, here you can find reputable coin and bullion dealers to buy in person and skip the shipping costs to get your coins.

    If you’re looking for rare coins and are in the Chicago area, check out Harlan J. Berk. They have more than 50 years of expertise in the precious metals space. They have a dedicated space to do more research on pieces and even help you enhance your portfolio.

    Coins are a specialty at Arizona Coins & Collectibles in Tucson, AZ ranging from ancient to modern. You will see coins on the walls and over 45 years of experience. If you’re not in the area, they have an online eBay store you can visit.

    At Bullion & Coin Exchange in Mesa, AZ they are recommended by the U.S Mint. If you’re looking for coins they’ve got you covered and have 39 years of experience to show for it.

    If you’re close to Pittsfield, MA then Pittsfield Precious Metals is the place to be for gold, silver, and you guessed it COINS! They offer a variety of collectibles and professional coin grading services.

    • American Eagles
    • Silver Rounds
    • Maple Leafs
    • Ancient Coins
    • Modern Coins

    These are what you can find at these local gold and silver dealers and coins dealers. See their listings and visit their sites. You won’t be disappointed at any of these locations. Their combined experience and expertise will give you comfort knowing you are investing with the right people.

    Happy Coin Hunting friends! Good luck!

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    Silver breaks above $33.45

    After briefly dipping to $32.66 last week, silver has regained the $33.45 pivot, which now serves as near-term support. The level is seen as a trigger for momentum trades, and a sustained move above it could drive a retest of the recent high at $34.24. A breakout above that zone would open the path toward resistance between $34.87 and $35.40. Conversely, a failure to hold $33.45 could expose the downside to the $32.53–$31.81 retracement range.

    Source – FX Empire

  • How to Find Reputable Gold Dealers in Your State

    Have you been looking for a place to sell your gold and silver valuables? Are you having trouble trying to figure out how to find reputable gold dealers? Or have you just wondered where to buy gold and silver bullion and coins? Maybe even platinum or copper? Well here is the simple guide to finding reputable gold and silver dealers in your state.

    I’m currently building a comprehensive directory of gold and silver dealers across all 50 states HERE, and through this process, I’ve learned that not all “gold dealers” are created equal. Many shops listed on Google as gold dealers are actually jewelry stores, pawn shops, collectible shops, or novelty stores not specialized precious metals dealers.

    This confusion makes it frustrating for investors and collectors like you who want to find legitimate bullion dealers who understand the market, track current spot prices, and offer fair, transparent pricing. That’s what this guide is all about helping you cut through the noise and find reputable gold and silver dealers in your state.

    Let’s get started!

    What Makes Gold Dealers Reputable?

    When dealing with decisions like spending your money like on anything really, you want to make sure you’re purchasing an item from a place you can trust. Make sure that when you’re searching you find out if the gold dealer is licensed or certified. This helps build trust for you and brings you back to a reputable place.

    Finding a physical storefront is one of the key signs of reputable gold dealers. Unlike online only operations, reputable gold dealers with physical locations offer face-to-face service where you can ask questions, inspect products before purchasing, and build a trusted relationship with knowledgeable staff. This is my preferred way to purchase gold and silver. I like to know what the they have, when they might get more silver rounds or gold rounds, and the list goes on. It’s the piece of mind that I’m buying from a real person that just makes the buying process easier.

    While looking or calling around make sure to pay attention to when the dealer has been established in the area. The business could be apart of the community for as long as 10 to 20 years or more and others as little as a year. This could be important to you as it could show that it is a trusted business, has made a name for itself, and is trusted in the surrounding community.

    Once inside the establishment ask questions. Make sure the people you are talking to are transparent on their pricing and their processes. What they look for when buying gold and silver. How they do their percentage vs the spot price. For example, some dealers will give you 80% of the value in cash or check.

    Reputable gold dealers storefront exterior

    Red Flags to Avoid

    There are some red flags to look out for when checking out these shops. Many that I have found have not had these red flags but that’s also because I know what to look for so let me help!

    No physical address or “mobile only” operations

    When I have googled some locations you will only see a street and real address to go to but they have a website. Check the website, trust me that’s a sure fire sign that’s an online business and they don’t take walk-ins or have any items to physically look at. This is a red flag because it looks dishonest to those who want to see what they are buying or want to sell their valuables.

    Pressure tactics or “limited time” offers

    Feeling pressured into buying their items or selling your valuables without getting a second quote is unprofessional and disrespectful of you and your time. That’s your red flag that you need to go elsewhere. There is also no such thing “limited time” on gold and silver. This isn’t a sale of merchandise that can be marked down that’s not how precious metals works.

    Prices that seem too good to be true

    Similar to the “limited time” offers, these are prices that just can’t come down like that. This could mean that these precious metals are not 100% gold, silver, platinum pieces. These could be “mixed” metals and/or could just be plated in gold that could bring the price down.

    No reviews or all negative reviews

    Having no reviews at all is not a good sign for businesses that are claiming to be “gold dealers” or “coin dealers”. So that is definitely a red flag. And of course if there are only bad reviews that you see within the first scroll through, and I’ve seen some, maybe don’t go there.

    Unwilling to show credentials or explain process

    This is a no-brainer. If the store owners or managers don’t have their credentials at least mounted somewhere or are unwilling to tell you how they handle their process HUGE red flag.

    Cash-only, no receipts

    Another no-brainer, if you’re not given a receipt. I’m sure many would think “why would I want a receipt?” Well the answer is clear. You will need this for your and their protection. If you are someone who is selling their coins for cash you, as the customer, need documentation that you agreed to the price given to you for the cash or check you receive. This is also have your signature and carbon copy (usually). But if this is not something that happens RED FLAG!

    What to Look for in Reviews

    I will admit that there are some locations across the U.S that I have added to the directory that don’t have many reviews. Some are newer locations and there might be a beaming review by just a few people but that speaks volumes to some. Generally you want to look for positive feed back of course. When it comes to physical locations seeing more positive reviews is always a plus and helpful.

    Make sure to look for more recent reviews those are always helpful. Older reviews can be helpful too if it’s on a specific note that showcases experience or professionalism. Mentioning specific specialties in precious metals is always a plus but not very common unfortunately.

    Definitely look for keywords like “professional”, “excellent service”, or “knowledgeable” these will help you before calling or walking in. These keywords show that they are helpful and when seeing more of this will give you a more confident outlook before going in person.

    Customer meeting with reputable gold dealer

    Questions to Ask Before You Visit

    Every time you go somewhere I’m sure you’re expecting for someone to approach you and ask “Did you have any questions?” or “Is there anything I can help you with?” well when going into some of these shops you may or may not be greeted. That’s happened to me, no greet but once I walked up and spoke to the person behind the counter I started asking questions and he was very helpful.

    Some questions you might want to ask when going into a precious metals establishment may be:

    • Are you licensed and insured?
    • What’s your testing process?
    • How do you determine pricing?
    • What forms of payment do you accept?
    • How do I receive payment?
    • What are some types of metals or collections do you accept?
    • Do you do trades? (some do but don’t expect it)
    • Do you buy estates?

    I’m sure there are many more that you can think of but here are some questions that would benefit you. My most important question when I first walked in was “What is your percentage?”. I wanted to know if they go by spot price and take their percentage. Some are higher than others but you have to ask or they won’t tell you.

    Just ask as many questions that you need. Asking questions is key!

    How To Use This Directory

    This directory is fairly new but I have put lots of time into making sure that you are able to find a local gold dealer in you area. I have gone through 19 states so far and counting! I am currently posting a new state every few weeks.

    When going through the directory, look for your state, when in your state there will be Gold Dealers in you area and Coin Dealers in your area. In some cases you will find a section with Refineries in certain states. Unfortunately not all states have refineries in the area.

    This directory will have physical shops ONLY. Anyone can look online and find gold and silver dealers and many will want to go that route. Here the goal is to help you find a location that’s not a pawn shop and specializes in coins, bullion, jewelry, banknotes, silver, gold, platinum, and more.

    You will find the names of these shops, location by map, phone number, hours, and rating. If you hover over the name of the shop it will link to their website (If Any).

    I am constantly trying to improve the user abilities of this directory. You can also find some other blog posts I created, like these:

    Conclusion

    Don’t be afraid of doing a little more research or calling around before walking into an establishment. Trust your instincts. Ask any questions you may have you’ll be surprised how knowledgeable reputable gold dealers are and how willing they are to educate customers.

    Ready to start your search? Browse this directory of verified gold and silver dealers across 28 states

    Good luck on your journey to finding your spot to purchase or sell your precious metals!

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    Gold bounces back after month long low

    Markets initially dropped after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted at fewer rate cuts next year, but quickly recovered as investors recognized this aligned with recent expectations, said StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell.

    “Gold sold off, showcasing once more that it is not an inflation hedge per se, but regained some lost ground on a threatened U.S. government shutdown,” said Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer.

    Source – Reuters https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-recovers-one-month-low-short-covering-2024-12-19/

    More!

    “Gold is reacting to a sharp rise in the U.S. dollar after a hawkish Fed cut,” said Michael Armbruster, co-founder and managing partner at Altavest. Source – Market Watch https://www.marketwatch.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-futures-rise-ahead-of-final-rate-decision-and-economic-forecast-of-the-year/card/gold-futures-decline-after-fed-announcement-WFThfHDv2mQxezfnO3an

    “Despite the pullback we’ve seen in gold prices following yesterday’s Fed statement, we believe gold’s positive momentum will continue in the short to medium term,” Manthey said by email. Source – CNBC https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/the-fed-s-hawkish-signal-sparked-gold-jitters-but-analysts-see-support-for-the-precious-metal-in-2025/ar-AA1wajju?ocid=socialshare

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    Auto shares dip, currencies fluctuate

    “We believe that he’s using (auto tariffs) as a trade negotiation. The markets are jittery because nobody really knows what’s going to happen and what will come out in future,” Nicolas Lin, chairman and interim CEO of Aether Holdings.

    European stocks fell, with weakness in shares of Europe’s top carmakers such as Volkswagen down nearly 2%, while BMW lost almost 3% and Mercedes-Benz slid more than 4%.

    The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.2% to 104.43, with the euro up 0.24% at $1.0777.

    The Mexican peso weakened 0.82% versus the dollar at 20.288 while the Canadian dollar weakened 0.39% versus the greenback to C$1.43 per dollar as both countries are expected to be heavily impacted by the tariffs.

    Source – Reuters

  • ‘No evidence’ man knew gold was stolen, jury told

    Follow up on Stolen Gold Toilet from art exhibit at Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire

    There is no evidence a man on trial in connection with the theft of a £4.8m golden toilet knew the gold he was dealing with was stolen, a jury has been told.

    The prosecution said the 41-year-old’s decision not to give evidence meant he failed to answer a number of questions, including what the gold looked like when it was delivered to his jewellers in Hatton Garden.

    “What clear evidence is there that Mr Guccuk did anything wrong or criminal?”

    Source – BBC