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Rare coin could get more than $2M at an auction

2009-04-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

CINCINNATI – The coin world is abuzz over the auction of a rare silver dollar, one of the most valuable in the world and one of only 15 known to exist from a never-circulated group made for the likes of the King of Siam and the Sultan of Muscat.

The 1804 Adams-Carter silver dollar fetched more than $2 million in a private sale two years ago and is expected to top that again this week. The coin has been owned by a Boston banker, a Texas publishing mogul and by a collector who sold everything to help build a church school in Ohio.

The auction is a major happening for collectors — even ones who can't afford the expected price tag — partly because it will be a rare opportunity to see the coin. It's the highlight of the Central States Numismatic Society Convention that runs Wednesday through Saturday in Cincinnati. Anyone registered to bid on any item in the auction may view the coin, and that could number in the thousands, said Todd Imhof of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas.

Joe Barrett, co-owner of three Rare Coin Gallery shops in the Cincinnati area, compared the convention to a movie buff's visit to a film museum, with Kevin Costner as tour guide.

"For coin people, it doesn't get any better than this," Barrett said. "For young collectors, this is an opportunity to see things they wouldn't get a chance to see otherwise."

Beth Deisher, editor of Coin World magazine, suggested the valuable coin may not be seen in public for another 50 years.

"It's a rare coin that has a great story," she said.

Coin Values magazine rates the 1804 Adams-Carter silver dollar as the seventh most valuable coin in the world. The most valuable is a 1933 $20 double eagle that sold for $7.6 million in 2002.

Only 15 of the 1804 silver dollars are known to have been struck, and coin aficionados can account for every one of them. Six are held by museums.

The coins were never circulated and weren't actually struck in 1804 — the date refers to the year after the US Mint stopped making silver dollars. The front of the coin shows a bust of Lady Liberty in profile, the reverse a version of the Great Seal of the United States.

Coin Facts says eight of the coins were ordered struck by the US Department of State in 1834 to be given to foreign heads of state, including the King of Siam and the Sultan of Muscat. One specimen was made in 1857. The other six, including the Adams-Carter dollar, were made sometime after that — possibly illegally by a mint employee.

The one being auctioned Thursday is named for 19th century collector Phineas Adams, an early owner, and Amon Carter Sr., a later owner, Texas oilman, entrepreneur and publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In November 2001, Phillip Flannagan donated the coin to raise money for the building fund at Middletown Christian School, north of Cincinnati. It brought $874,000 at auction. The rest of Flannagan's collection, totaling some $2 million, went to Grace Baptist Church, which operates the school.

The name of the current owner is closely guarded. Heritage Auction Galleries identifies him only as an East Coast collector. The buyer mostly likely will bid through an agent.

Internet bidding will continue until two hours before Thursday night's auction, Imhof said. The high bid on Tuesday had reached $1.7 million. The live auction, expected about 9:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, will be streamed on Heritage's Web site, Imhof said. - AP

Bangko Sentral defends special deposit accounts

2009-03-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) defended its decision to keep special deposit accounts (SDA), saying it will continue paying high interest to institutional investors as long as there was demand.

This was announced on Monday by BSP deputy governor Diwa C. Guinigundo, who attempted to defuse criticism that the SDAs were making less funds available for companies.

By paying investors high interest rates, SDAs – as a monetary tool –siphoned off cash from the financial system, reducing liquidity and thereby cutting inflation risks.

There were no indications that the need for SDA facilities were on the wane, Guinigundo said.

Shuttering the SDA facility would be equivalent to a major reduction in interest rates, a move that would release more funds into the system that has already been awash in liquidity ever since the BSP cut rates in December.

Some P500 billion in liquidity has already been made available for companies and borrowers especially after the BSP imposed consecutive rate reductions and eased deposit reserve requirements.

Treasury bills have been lower than the BSP’s overnight rates, making the SDA more attractive to investors.

While T-bills – especially the benchmark 91-day debt paper – helps government raise cash for its short-term needs, investors prefer putting their money in SDAs whose interest is government guaranteed.

The BSP’s policies covering the SDA would be market-driven, depending on demand, Guinigundo said.

“If there is demand for more liquidity, banks would naturally pull out their funds from the SDA," Guinigundo pointed out. “We believe that the market continues to work as a signaling device so we keep an eye on that before moving anything."

For his part, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said that releasing funds into the system makes cheap money available, allowing economic activities in the country to continue. - GMANews.TV

Bangko Sentral aims to improve local fiscal policies

2009-03-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued landmark guidelines formalizing electronic money transactions, reportedly the first of its kind of electronic innovation in the world.

The new rules set a maximum monthly load limit of P100,000 ($2,068) on any e-money instrument such as cash cards, e-wallets and similar products.

The Anti-Money Laundering Law will also cover e-money transactions.

Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas otherwise hosted the National Course on Macroeconomic Management and Financial Sector Issues, conducted by International Monetary Fund-Singapore Regional Training Institute (IMF-STI), for executives from NEDA, Dept. of Budget and Management, Bureau of Treasury, Dept. of Finance, and the BSP. The annual program sponsored by the governments of Japan and Singapore cascades real-world issues to government officials to support efficient implementation of macroeconomic and financial policies.

Such program aims at strengthening of our fiscal policies amid the impact of the global financial crisis.

BSP- SM Partnership Boosts Coin Recirculation & Support for Public Schools

2009-03-25T06:10:00.000-07:00

SM Prime Holdings Inc., the largest shopping mall operator in the Philippines, is one of the partners of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in promoting the regular use of coins and the “Tulong Barya Para sa Eskwela,” the joint BSP-DepEd coin collection campaign for the benefit of public elementary schools.

At SM’s Mall of Asia, the program was launched by (from left) SM Supermalls President Annie Garcia, SM Prime Holdings SVP for Retail Operations Jorge Mendiola, Monetary Board Member Juanita Amatong, and BSP Corporate Affairs Director Fe de la Cruz. The Bangko Sentral has issued roughly 14 billion pieces of coins worth P14 billion. However, the habit of many consumers to leave coins in their homes and offices have reduced the number of coins in circulation. By supporting “Tulong Barya,” coins are recirculated, stores are able to provide exact change to consumers, and funds are raised for public elementary schools. “Tulong Barya” coin cans are at cashier counters of SM Department Stores.- BSP

Speculators forecast Gold May Rise on Demand for Dollar Alternative

2009-03-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Gold may extend its rally for a second straight week as the slumping dollar boosts demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Twenty-one of 28 traders, investors and analysts surveyed from Tokyo to Chicago on March 19 and March 20 advised buying gold, which rose 2.8 percent last week to $956.20 an ounce in New York. Five said to sell, and two were neutral.

Last week, the dollar dropped 4.8 percent against the euro, the most since December. Investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, has jumped 41 percent this year to a record.

Most traders surveyed on March 12 and March 13 have expected gold’s gain last week. The survey has forecast prices accurately in 151 of 254 weeks, or 59 percent of the time.

Platinum already broke $1100 level while Silver is steady at the $13 mark for the meantime. Precious metal prices have been volatile for these past weeks, even though investors ascertained that still, these are the safest investments in the time of depression.

Rumors are spreading that the dollar is beginning to exhibit weakness amid peculation that it may no longer claim the title as the world's top reserve currency.

The returning gold barter

2009-03-19T02:35:00.000-07:00

After posing as one of the most wealthy and promising African nations, Zimbabwe fell to its knees brought by massive inflation, civil and political unrest, and dictatorship.

Recently, the country made records by the issuance of denominations only equivalent with that of the Weimar Republic when Germany itself once succumbed with the crippling inflation. Zimbabwe's currency crisis held the country's literally chaotic that even computers and automated teller machines (ATM) where rendered useless by digits added on a daily basis.

Inflation is on a massive scale that the government issues new denominations every now and then.

Now, the current situation made the people abandon the fiat currency and returned to gold barter. People are piling-up on river banks to pan for gold in exchange for food and other basic commodities.

"A 0.1 gram of gold can buy a tin can of rice, enough to feed an entire family for a meal. Everything is price in gold." one local claimed.

"A family need 0.3 gram of gold to survive." he added.

"The Global Financial crisis brought one of the unpredictable move on the paper market but the value of precious metal will continue to rise as people began to realize the flaw and start to lose trust the financial system.

NBI seized fake bills

2009-03-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday confiscated P1 million worth of fake bills in Pasay City that would have been part of a campaign fund for the 2010 polls.

Radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo said NBI agents arrested two men – identified as Armando Baluyot Tiangson and Fulgencio Badabas – after being caught in possession of fake P1,000 and P500 bills in an establishment along F.B. Harrison Street.

The report quoted NBI director Nestor Mantaring as saying his agents had already seized the machines that the suspects used in churning out the counterfeit money.

Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas officials who came along with the NBI agents said the fake bills were "almost genuine." The bank officials however noted how the fake money had a slightly smoother paper than genuine bills.

Another radio report said the arrested suspects claimed they were commissioned by one Ben Zaldos to produce a total of P2 million in fake bills that would allegedly be used by an unnamed politician from the Visayas region

NBI later invited the politician for explanation but he vehemently denied that the allegation has basis and challenge the authorities to seek further investigation.

“It would be better if they name names because that is a very serious offense and it's for the best interest of everybody," according to the politician. ---excerpts from gmanews.tv

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Gold rose, Silver back on the $13 level

2009-03-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

After brief and swift dives, Gold, Silver, and Platinum are up for a third straight day on speculation the recession will deepen, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as a store of value. Silver is back on the $13 level.

Even the Dow surge to the 7000 mark as bank stocks like HSBC (HongKong & Shanghai Banking Corporation) concluded the week with a better outcome.

“Gold continues to resist any sustained decline, bouncing back quickly from any minor sell off,” said Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day’s Asset Management in Annapolis, Maryland. “The fly in the ointment could be a sustained and strong, broad global stock-market rally which would calm some investors’ fears. There is little prospect of this on more than a short-term basis in my view, so we continue to be buyers on any dips.”

Gold futures for April delivery rose $6.10, or 0.7 percent, to $930.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price rose 3.1 percent in the previous two sessions. The metal is still down 1.3 percent this week.

Silver futures for May delivery climbed 27.2 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $13.215 an ounce. While the price fell 0.9 percent this week, it is still up 17 percent this year.

Gold’s gains were limited as the S&P headed for the biggest weekly increase since November, curbing investor demand for alternatives to owning equities. Earlier, the price slipped as low as $919.60.

The decline was a buying opportunity for investors who has been purchasing gold this week as the metal dropped to a one-month low $891.10 on March 10.

Gold may also benefit as an alternative to currencies. The Swiss National Bank said yesterday it was selling the franc, undermining the currency’s haven status.

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said he is “worried” about his country’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries and wants assurances that the investment is safe. China is the biggest holder of U.S. debt.

“Should China or some other significant buyer of U.S. debt announce that they will no longer buy U.S. debt unless denominated in a non-U.S. dollar currency, gold is going to the moon,” said Tom Winmill, president of New York-based Midas Management Corp.

In 2008, Treasuries returned 14 percent while gold gained 5.5 percent as investors sought a haven from financial turmoil. Treasuries slumped 2.9 percent this year through yesterday. (quotes from Bloomberg)

MILF Official urged Goverment to cease mining permit issuance

2009-03-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

A high official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) demanded that Malacañang should stop issuing mining permits in any area under the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) pending the outcome of the peace talks.

The MILF proposes the BJE to be the governing body consolidating the areas which the government and MILF peace panels may agree to unify together as a sole recognized Muslim homeland in the South.

Peace talks between the government and the MILF began on Jan. 7, 1997, but gained headway only in 2003 with the help of Malaysia as mediator.

In a statement, Datu Jun Mantawil, secretariat chief of the MILF peace panel, urged President Arroyo and Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza to freeze all applications for mining permits in areas inside the proposed BJE.

Mantawil commented that any positive action from Mrs. Arroyo and Atienza will help restore the credibility of the 10-year-old peace process, often shaken by misunderstandings on how both sides are to establish a Muslim homeland which the MILF wants to govern.

Mantawil said indiscriminate mining operations in the South may just leave the BJE with nothing to wisely exploit as source of income to sustain a strong, economically sound Moro community.

"What will happen to BJE if all the gold, silver, copper and other natural resources are consumed?" he asked.

Many areas in the proposed BJE, including the provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, are known to have vast deposits of precious stones, metals, minerals and natural gas.

Mantawil said one of the areas that the MILF wants protected from encroachment by big mining firms is the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Marsh, a vast delta surrounded by the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan and North Cotabato.

The Liguasan Marsh is renowned for its scientifically surveyed oil and natural gas deposits.

"Spare the remaining natural resources for the sake of our people and not those of the huge multinational companies and their local contacts whose interests do not necessarily jibe with the interest of the masses," Mantawil said.

He did not say whether the MILF would work for the removal of existing mining ventures in the region.

The La Bella Filipina Token & The Manila Carnival

2009-03-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

The Philippines has been one of the patrons of beauty contests since the United States forces arrived on the archipelago. Fiestas or town festivities were usually celebrated at the beginning of summer and before the rainy season to thank the bountiful harvests. During the "Peace Time" or the era between the birth of American governance and the invasion of Japanese Imperial Army, one particular event embodied the whole period. It was the famous "Manila Carnival".

The carnivals have been held at the old Wallace Field or Bagumabayan(now known as the Luneta). It would last for two weeks and culminates with the coronation of the “Queen” just before Ash Wednesday. The Manila Carnivals are actually intended to showcase the agricultural and industrial potential of the Philippines under American occupation. People gather to the event dressed in different costumes in line with a theme every year. Fluvial parades are also being staged during the two weeks; various floats represent regions showing their top produce. This period of pre-war beauty pageants is fondly recalled as the “Carnival era.”

The election of a carnival queen often begins at the provincial level. The young lady who takes center stage will be that year’s Miss Batanes, Miss Laguna, Miss Cavite, etc. The rest of the provincial beauties would be given runner-up titles, like Miss Luzon, Miss Visayas or Miss Mindanao and then made part of the queen’s entourage.

The method of choosing the queen varies each year: either by a panel of judges from the highest echelons in society, or done through ballots published by sponsoring newspapers. The queen, usually, is a daughter from a family of “impeccable credentials”—someone beautiful beyond comparison—clued-up in fine points of comportment and etiquette, so that her parents, siblings, relatives as well as her countrymen could look on her with pride.

At the coronation night, people look forward to the pomp and pageantry: These ladies are the center of it all. They’re adorned with lavish costumes—from the Filipiniana, Egyptian, Thai, to the Arabian nights. There are even instances that security men are hired to guard the expensive sets of jewelry that prettify the winners.

This era lasted for 31 years, from 1908—nine years after the American armada sailed into Manila Bay—to 1939, two years before the Japanese soldiers hit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and Nichols Field in Manila. It produced 29 queens. There were no contests in 1910, 1911, 1919 and 1928. In some years, meanwhile, two queens shared the spotlight: the “Queen of the Orient” representing the Philippines, and the “Queen of the Occident” standing for the United States.

Aldo Basso first mentioned "La Bella Filipina" token on his book, to commemorate the yearly celebration of the carnival. The token depicts a head of a Filipina similar to that of Queen Isabella coins but as sharp as the Liberty's head of the U.S five cents, or seems more of a combination of both.

A similar music of the same title was exclusively composed to serenade the Queen of the night, that up to now can be occasionally heard being played by brass bands on local fiestas.

The Disappearing "10 - Piso" Coin

2009-03-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

Recently, reports of disappearing coins have been circulating publicly at the height of the local celebration of Valentines Day. The relationship seem to be unrelated yet, because of a tip from a reliable source I have decided to try and see if the story is true and as expected, I was not disappointed.

The Bangko Sentral officials claimed that there is no need for the public to hoard the P10 coin since the gossip about its intrinsic value, about it being alloyed with gold according to some, is not true. For fear that such act would escalate inflation, officials have officially declared that hoarding coins would have a negative impact to the local economy.

After receiving a tip from a local source, I headed for a local goldsmith and see if what he said was true. Arriving at the scene, I found several customers flocking at the shop's front holding some P10 coins. In one of the store's corner, I also found several stacks of P10 coins waiting for their turn to be melted.

That goldsmith was busy making some P10 coins into engagement rings or wedding rings for sweethearts who would like to have rings before they make vows to each other . The P10 coin's core will be removed from the coin and heated by torch to smoothen and flatten its surface. After a couple of minutes, a pair of rings has been made from a single core.

According to the shop's owner, the month of February was the peak of their business since that was the time when couples celebrate or make proposals of love. "Marami kaming order nun, basta di nawawala sa 50-100 kada araw ang gawa" (We always had between 50-100 orders last month) .

I asked when this craze started and the owner told me that it has been happening since a gold alloy had been discovered with the core of P10 coin dated 2000. It was an instant hit because, a pair of gold ring can be made for 10 pesos only. Although the gold content is not pure about 10 to 12 carat, the important thing is the metal never fade and maintain its luster even if used on a daily basis which is very ideal for couples.

The shop owner added that since the year 2000 was a very scarce coin, customers would prefer to have 2001 or 2003 P10 coins as rings other than any dates because of their seemingly gold like appearance when finished. "You can even wear it even if you are washing your clothes, washing the dishes, or doing any other household chores. The ring would still be brilliant and lustrous."

"For couples who cannot afford even the cheapest silver rings, that would mean a lot to them since no jewelry nor pawnshop can beat P10." he commented

Foreign reserves up on higher gold prices, govt loans

2009-03-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

The recent climb of gold and the national government’s dollar loan proceeds increased the Philippines’ foreign exchange reserves last month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

The Bangko Sentral recently reported through their website that the Philippines gross international reserves (GIR) went up by 0.26 percent to $39.3 billion as of end- February from $39.2 billion the previous month.

The current dollar reserves are enough to to cover 5.9 months of imports of goods and payments of services and income.

The increase was the result of the national government’s deposits of loan proceeds from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and higher prices of BSP gold holdings, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco said.

Inflows from the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations aside from revaluation gains in the gold holdings on higher gold prices in the international market in February helped beef up GIR.

"These inflows were partly offset by payments of maturing foreign exchange obligations of the NG and the BSP," Tetangco added.

Net international reserves (NIR) – which is the difference between the BSP’s GIR and total short-term liabilities – is up by 1.59 percent month-on-month to $38.3 billion from $37.7 billion. NIR includes revaluation of reserve assets and reserve-related liabilities.

Gold & Other Precious Metals climb on Opening Day Trading

2009-03-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

After some setbacks last week Gold, Silver, & Platinum are again at a bullish move on the opening day trading. Gold climb almost $10 at the first hour amid reports that financial giant AIG is about to receive another $30 billion stimulus from the Obama administration.

'I'm not affected by the sudden shift on the news, I still prefer gold over other investments." one investor said.

In local news, Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas filed with the Department of Justice charges of syndicated estafa involving P1 billion (one billion pesos) against Celso G. delos Angeles, Jr., and other officers of the Legacy Group and affiliated companies. Named as respondents for syndicated estafa defined and penalized under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Presidential Decree No. 1689 are the following:

Mr. Celso delos Angeles, Jr. (CDA)
Mr. Alexis Petralba, Consultant of Mr. Celso delos Angeles
Ms. Namnama Pasetes, Chief Finance Officer of Legacy Consolidated Plan, Inc. (LCPI)
Ms. Carolina Hinola, Chief Executive Officer of LCPI
Mr. Roy Hilario, President of Fusion Capital Corporation
Mr. Bruce Rafanan,Mr. Hilario’s assistant
Mr. Virgilio Odejar, President of Rural Bank of Paranaque
“John Doe’s and Jane Doe’s ”

The BSP also requested the DOJ that the respondents be included in the watchlist of the Bureau of Immigration.

The criminal schemes conceived and hatched by Mr. delos Angeles himself were used to swindle the public and to siphon funds from the Rural Bank of DARBCI, a rural bank with offices in General Santos City and Cebu City. The BSP said that while records as of 30 September 2008 indicate that RB DARBCI had P830 million in deposits raised from the public, its cash position was less than P1 million as of the same date.

The cases were filed as BSP’s investigations uncovered massive diversion of funds by said banks using fictitious loans. During the validation process, many of the bank’s borrowers denied having obtained loans from the closed banks while others admitted having signed blank documents in consideration of commission fees ranging from P10,000 to P15,000 for supposed loans amounting to millions of pesos. The BSP also discovered that falsified documents were used to support alleged loans. Public documents falsified included Mayor’s Permits and Department of Trade & Industry Registration Certificates. In effect, the fictitious loans were used to siphon money from the banks.

Meanwhile, authorities are on a lookout for a stolen monstrance made of silver and gold from the altar of the San Juan Bautista in Tiling village in Cauayan town in Negros Occidental. Local antique dealers are encouraged to report to authorities in case similar religious relics are being offered for sale.

Despite Gold's setback, Local Pawnshops flourish

2009-02-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

The setback in the price of precious metals have suddenly caused some analysts to wonder about the real trend. As soon as Jim Kramer, the host of CNBC's Mad Money made a recommendation about buying and investing in gold, and after Rick Santelli made a bullish statement about the metal's future, gold and other precious metals have started declining.

"If Kramer has predicted it, I'll do the opposite! I think the price of gold and other precious metals will eventually return to its upward trend after some minor corrections. Even so, I consider this setback as an opportunity to stack-up some more." one bullion trader commented.

Meanwhile, local pawnshops are flourishing amid the global financial crisis due to the rise on the number of borrowers desperate to raise needed cash for their daily needs. Pawnshop owners and lenders have reported that the increase of customers was due the rising unemployment and deteriorating economic conditions due to the rise of cost of living.

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Local authorities have again warned the public that smaller denominations such as 10 and 5 centavo coins should be spent and accepted by the local communities in order to avoid further inflation. "Hoarding or disregarding these coins means further lost to the current purchasing power of the peso and to productivity since our government allocate funds for the production and circulation of these coins." a BSP official explained.

The Banknote Errors of 2003

2009-02-25T04:02:00.000-08:00

In the year of 2003, a rare printing error occurred in the Bangko Sentral facility where banknotes were being printed. This affected the production of the 20 peso bill which resulted to some 20 pesos note's reverses to either exhibit light printing or totally lost the whole design itself which should have resulted to a uniface 20 peso bill.

Other special errors were recently sold via Ebay, belonging to the same batch but one apparent error I have managed to save the images was a unique 20 peso note where a second printing of obverse occurred on the note's reverse which therefore resulted to overlapping images.

Modern error notes rarely surface since the Mint are very strict and to stumble upon such kind of error is like winning a lottery.

The reason why I became particular with this date is because several collectors also cited the same abnormalities on the 20 peso notes dated 2003. Some notes exhibited lightly printed reverse which were particularly obvious only with this date and denomination. Click this link to view more...

Apparently, uniface note is one of the toughest type of errors in collecting notes since Mint employees should have easily recognized the oddity and apparently destroyed it after being isolated.

Luckily this note escaped scrutiny and now belongs to the exclusive collection of this site.

Gold, Silver, & Platinum fell despite Investor's confidence

2009-02-25T03:33:00.000-08:00

Gold fell to $900 level after President Obama and FED Chairman made statements that the United States recovery will already be realized within the year of 2009. Despite the confidence of Obama in his speech before the officials, cabinet members, and legislators in Washington, several analyst are in doubt whether the stimulus package can revive the ailing American economy.

Silver and Platinum also dropped, yet Silver remained constantly closed to the $14 level as market confidence sunk to one of lowest level in years.

Meanwhile local mining companies are bullish on shifting to gold production, Philex Mining Corp., the Philippines’ largest mining company, is now more focused on producing Gold than copper as the precious metal hits $1,000 per ounce.

With gold prices prices recovering from slump and copper costs falling to record lows – owing to “declining demand in the US and European housing and automobile industries," values of the company’s concentrate shipments have recently reversed.

“The company’s latest export now indicate that gold accounts for 72 percent of the concentrates’ value while copper accounts for only 28 percent," Philex said in a statement.

Gold values in Philex’s concentrate shipments have consistently outstripped copper values since the last quarter of last year, the company said.

“This trend is expected to remain as the world recession continues to hit the entire developed world and has begun to spill over into the developing world," the company said.

Besides being considered as a safe investment haven, gold is also considered as hedge against inflation, a commodity whose prices rise as major currencies fall. The precious metal “has been testing new price highs while copper, which is very dependent on housing and automobile markets have seen prices decline by more than half since its highs in 2008," the company said.

“Thus, Philex is a good “natural hedge" against base metal prices because gold prices are expected to stay up during this financial crisis and as the financial crisis subsides, gold prices are expected to soften while copper prices will firm up as the world recovers from depression," the company added.

Currently, the company is drilling and developing only gold properties and copper deposits with gold values (in dollars per ton of ore) higher than the dollar value of the copper in the ore. These gold/copper projects take at least three years to develop.

The company’s board recently declared a stock dividend of 25 percent to be presented for shareholders’ approval at the special meeting to be held on April 21, 2009.

Shares of Philex fell P0.30 to P5.10 during Wednesday’s trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Gold Rally Paused, US Mint Sales Up

2009-02-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

When it seems that Gold is on the track for a bullish run, the move has become apparently stagnant as terrible financial news cloud the market. Rumors about bank nationalization has been circulating in Wall Street amid the decline of stocks of financial giants Citigroup & Bank of America.

Newly elected president Obama admitted on his speech that the previous government of president Bush left the current administration with $1.3 Trillion dollar deficit. The news immediately struck the charts of Wall Street which send the Dow Jones plunging more than 250 points.

Silver has the modest gain among the precious metals registering 44 cents increase in a single day trading and almost touching the $15 mark. While trading in the precious metal sector seem showing the sign of volatility, experts believe that it is because of the intervention by bankers which caused the temporary pause of gold. However, most of them agree that gold has finally lose grip from the financial and is now moving independently.

Meanwhile, U.S mint reported sales on bullion coins skyrocketed to 92,000 ounces four times more than the sale from the previous year.

Investors are purchasing record amounts of gold bars and coins, shunning risky assets for the relative safety of bullion amid renewed fears about the health of the global financial system.

Commentary: The Global Financial Crisis

2009-02-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Most people would have agreed that saving is the noblest of act in this time of crisis but if bank failures and the whole financial system on the brink of collapse how can we recommend saving to an ordinary man?

The crisis that we have right now is far from the common person’s understanding since the jargon that are being used by economist and bankers are complicatedly designed to keep the ordinary man blank of the events and deprived of facts.

If a common person would have asked the most reputable and highly respected financial consultants that we have today, they would always recommend everybody to do the cliche and naïve advice that is “to go to the bank and deposit their money as savings.”

Certainly that would have made everybody agreed that it is the rightful thing to do but of course, would you deposit your money in a bank that is on edge of bankruptcy?

To understand money, we have to trace its history, evolution, and significant changes in order to keep track of its meaning and intention. Basically, money as we understand it is, is not the same money that we have today contrary to what the experts have been explaining to us.

History narrates that money evolved through trade and the necessity of convenience. Before money become tangible enough to be held by a single hand it took several forms such as wheel curve out of a rock, that should have made an ordinary market day a feat for a common man.

That suggested the theory that the cumbersome nature of the stone age money made man seek other medium until they found Gold. Gold has been the modern man's money since ancient times due to its aesthetic appeal, scarcity, and convenience.

Aside from Gold's aesthetic value, the recent industrial revolution and technological innovations increase the value of Gold into several more folds, and together with that it pulled other precious metals such as Silver & Platinum, and metals such as Copper & Nickel to join the trend as man's way of life become dependent to technology.

Unknown to many, Gold, Silver, and Platinum are so useful that majority of their household appliances, gadgets, vehicles, power supplies, and devices cannot function without these.

Intrinsically, these metals have proven their worth to the modern man as more and more advancement in science and technology will be expected, demand for more of these metals will definitely increase.

Until 1964, currency and coins are either redeemable in Silver or made out of Silver, and in 1931, either redeemable in Gold or made out of Gold. Gold and Silver were used as reserves to back-up all the notes printed by the government so they can become legal tender.

Technically, even though in the form of paper, they represent Gold & Silver value which you could notice written on notes printed in the early up to the mid 1900 the caption "Gold Certificate" or "Silver Certificate" together with "redeemable in silver or gold coin" written on the notes front.

After the Gold standard was abolished, the financial system moved to a seemingly attractive but very unstable period of Fiat currency.

In a Fiat monetary system, there is no restrain on the amount of money that can be created. This allows unlimited credit creation. Initially, a rapid growth in the availability of credit is often mistaken for economic growth, as spending and business profits grow and frequently there is a rapid growth in equity prices. In the long run, however, the economy tends to suffer much more by the following contraction than it gained from the expansion in credit.

The inflationary & magical characteristic of the Fiat monetary system is vulnerable to predation, usury, greed, corruption, speculation, manipulation, and of course, magic!

Sounds funny, but "magic" is literally inherent in today's monetary system. For a common man who have been bombarded by deceptions and the constant lies by the false economic experts such statement would have been automatically discredited or perhaps the person making such statement would have been maliciously ridiculed.

Unknown to many, the collapse of the entire financial system is caused not by an accident or by a temporary but normal cyclical glitch in the system itself but because of the unregulated power of credit which should be expected of that of the current Fiat monetary system.

The Modern Money Mechanics explain that banks have the power to create 90% money out of the 10% reserve that they have which enable them to facilitate loans at speed and without much effort.

However, the creation of money that is needed by the public can only be accomplished by way of loans, and loans as we know require attachment of property or properties as guaranty for repayment. Therefore, enabling the banks to hold a person's property in exchange of a loan from the 90% they created on top the 10% money reserve they have in their books.

Of course, the money that is 90% money created from the 10% reserve money that a certain bank possesses which has been collected by the borrower shall be deposited to another bank which would again become part of the reserve money of that bank, and so the process repeats itself up to infinity.

And of course, after all these, the bank's "INTEREST" has not yet been discussed which when equated to the whole process would have produced a catastrophic financial blackhole, which by the way, is the current crisis that we have right now.

Since banks are the only entities allowed to issue and print money, it is impossible for the public to pay its debt literally because even the banks themselves don't have the capacity to meet the obligations they themselves issued. As a consequence, future generations will be drowned in debt hundred of years before they will even be conceived.

The funny thing is, after all these, bankers are still the one being consulted regarding "savings" and other important financial matters. Its like putting a sticker saying "smoking is dangerous to your health" on the side of a cigarette pack as part of a campaign against the increase of cases of lung cancer.

I have heard and read recently advices concerning on how to adapt to the current financial crisis and all of them are in a chorus. For a very short term solution, that can become fairly effective but if you would like to be in the safe side, change should come in the form of inner discipline and not about the tautology of what has already been proven wrong for so many times.

The influence of the United States has aggravated the effects of the crisis. Basically,their transformation from a producing country to a service industry have destroyed their capacity of self-sufficiency which has otherwise become the role model for other emerging and industrialized countries.

Another factor that should be considered is the public's perception of wealth which is inclined toward over consumption and materialism. Since the Earth's resources is limited, our attitude and consumption should correspond to what is available and what can only be provided. It is dangerous to believe that we are on top of the situation.

Saving should not be in the form of money but conservation. Remember, money has no intrinsic value. You can't save something that can either be declared demonetized in a snap of finger or losing value on a daily basis.

For those who would like to preserve their wealth; Gold, Silver, and other precious metals are highly recommended safehavens. In this time of crisis, the most effective & advisable strategy that I can recommend is for you not getting poorer by hedging your wealth against inflationary moves.

And of course, one should become less dependent with the system and that is, as much as possible, your capacity of providing your own basic needs. Learning some fundamental and survival skills should do the trick.

Finally, keep your life simple. Life has no other purpose except "LIVING", and the only way you could appreciate and fulfill your life is if you still have it.

Gold passed $1000 on More Bad Financial News

2009-02-20T15:39:00.000-08:00

Gold surpassed $1,000 an ounce while Platinum jumped almost $100 in New York for the first time in almost a year as investors, hurt by plunging stocks and a deepening recession, sought to protect their wealth.

Banks are the worst performers on this trading day as banking giants such as Citigroup and Bank of America topped the list of companies posting losses amid the plunge of the stock market worldwide.

The financial situation remains extremely fragile and precious metals seems to be the only safe haven. Currencies are losing value and holders of currencies are losing confidence. Gold may break through $1,000 and silver may climb up to $20 as the global financial crisis wreck havoc to the global financial system.

Gold above $1,000 may attract more investors seeking to take advantage of the longest streak of annual advances in the metal’s price in 60 years. Assets in some of the industry’s largest exchange-traded funds are at all-time highs.

Silver futures for March delivery climbed 55.5 cents, or 4 percent, to $14.49 an ounce in New York. The metal has surged 28 percent this year, the best performance among the 26 contracts on the Maturity Commodity Index. The metal lost 24 percent from its peak in 2008.

"The downward momentum of the stocks is the opposite in the precious metal index, it seems that these commodities have already separated bottomed out of the deflation and its now its way up. These past weeks have been obvious because precious metals have been gaining faster than we expected." one investor commented.

Local numismatic club members are even cautious about selling their silver crowns because they don't want to end up as losers if the metal regain its former glory in the coming months. "I think I'll just have to wait for four more months before I could start thinking of going back to selling some of my stuff (coins). Meanwhile, I'm on a buying mode right now." a club member commented.

Local coin dealers have been busy lately looking for supplies as their inventories started dwindling. Some are even doing their homework to trace some old timer's hoard before they become short of stocks.

Gold Mining Village under threat of Landslide

2009-02-19T15:50:00.001-08:00

Mount Diwalwal has been a home for so many residents now where rags-to-riches stories were made and gold struck tales were as common as the people's lives. In fact, the whole community itself sit on top of the gold mine, and the whole village ground as the mine itself.

Several years ago, Mt. Diwalwal was a no man's land and was known as the "Wild West" until recently when the villagers started organizing themselves, Peace settles in the community.

Students there were even given with medals literally made out of Gold which were donations by residents to encourage and uplift the literacy rate of the community, since most residence are illiterate themselves.

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Now, due to landslide hazards, Mount Diwalwal (Mt. Diwata) in the southern province of Compostela Valley has been declared a no-man's land, not fit for human habitation, an online news site reported.

Poor environmental practices and lack of precautions among the miners themselves who have literally made crisscrossed underground tunnels under the village loosened the soil. Cracks have developed in three areas amid heavy rains that pounded Diwalwal.

The crisis committee formed after the threat was discovered announced that the place is not safe and villagers should be moved to safer ground.

Local Coin Dealers Update Prices as Precious Metals move Upward

2009-02-18T15:11:00.000-08:00

Local coin dealers have been struggling to fill the demand in the rise of silver and gold coin buyers as the recent jump in the prices of precious metals suggests that the world economy is in a deeper recession. Silver has been trading well lately indicated by the daily climb in the chart this week.

Lately, local dealers have been cautious about selling their silver coin inventories as trend indicates that a major opportunity is coming.

Catching-up the sudden increase of price made some coin shops in Manila to temporarily halt their sale in order to update the price of their coins, and even required orders be placed in advance.

Local clubs are even short of silver and gold coins for their auctions and most that were put on in the floor were numismatic coins and smaller denominations.

"If the current trend will continue, we could still conduct our auctions but a little bit short of crown size silver coins and gold coins." a local numismatic club officer commented.

Meanwhile, authorities are giving warning to the public to carefully check larger paper bill denominations before accepting it as a precaution against the proliferation of counterfeit money.

An alleged syndicate member's operation has been foiled by authorities when a vendor filed a complaint against her after she identified that the money she accepted was fake.

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Philippine Bullion Report: Platinum, Gold, & Silver Rise ( Update )

2009-02-17T04:13:00.000-08:00

Precious metals have made a surprising comeback from its previous lowest levels last November of 2008. Platinum, Gold, Silver have been bullish recently after several bad financial news rocked Japan and Europe during the past few days. Today Silver peaked at $13.92 while Gold climbed more than $20 surpassing its record last week since it bottomed out. Platinum meanwhile is gaining momentum leaving behind one of its previous worse performance when it went down at the price level of Gold.

News about investors rushing to buy precious metals have been reported in Tokyo as the financial crisis in Japan deepens.

Tokyo bullion dealers are reporting an unprecedented drought of platinum ingots and coins, blaming the economic downturn and dwindling faith in the Government for a rush by middle-class Japanese families to buy precious metal.

With dealers turning away would-be platinum customers for lack of stock, retail investment interest is turning towards the even rarer Canadian Maple Leaf palladium coin.

Some dealers are predicting volatile palladium prices as Japanese investors compete with the car industry, palladium's main industrial buyer.

A government think tank is predicting that Japan's economy shrank by an annualised 10.59 per cent in the final quarter of 2008 - rather than the 5.14 per cent contraction they were predicting four weeks ago.

As if this was not enough for concern, there is a growing sense that the Japanese Government is not responding adequately to the economic crisis.

Jonathan Allum, chief Japan strategist at KBC Securities, is among a number of analysts with deep scepticism over the plans laid out by Kaoru Yosano, the Economics Minister.

“Some of Mr Yosano's previously expressed views do not wholly inspire confidence. This is a man who said on January 28 that a rise in the consumption tax could ‘lay the foundations for increased consumption',” he said in a note to investors yesterday.

Although precious metals dealers are thriving, Tiffany's said yesterday that it would cut prices in its Japanese stores by 9 per cent - a reflection of the stronger yen and dire times for the mainstream jewellery industry.

Platinum sales at Tanaka Kikinzoku, the largest Japanese bullion dealer, have soared by 430 per cent over the past 12 months.

The World Gold Council's latest figures suggest that total Japanese gold bullion sales for investment purposes soared by 61 per cent last year. Platinum is popular because the price is about 50 per cent lower than it was this time last year. -TIMESONLINE

Meanwhile, the local economy is still clueless at the current situation in the global market as seen by the lax defenses and preparation of the current government against the onslaught of the global financial crisis.

Despite several worrisome reports regarding the situation of the Pre-need industry and bank mergers, local coin dealers have not prepared with their current inventories as supply of bullion coins dries up due to the jump in demand.

More and more investors now seek to convert their paper investments into tangible investments as prediction on the rise of precious metals is now materializing. "This is really amazing, I never thought that this rise would happen. I should have bought them (bullion coins) when they were cheaper. Now its too late, bad news already plague the market." one investor commented.

Philippine Bullion Report: Platinum, Gold, & Silver remain Steady

2009-02-16T04:12:00.000-08:00

Platinum, Gold, and Silver remain steady this week despite the seemingly endless downward trend in the world market for industrial, automotive, and logistics industry. The sudden rise in the price of oil opened the week with an announcement from an independent oil company to hike the price of its gasoline and diesel between 20 to 50 centavos per liter while commuters demand that fare should be lowered by 1-peso due to the ample reduction in the prices of fuel.

The local financial market is in a somber mood after some still unnamed preneed firms were disclosed by the Securities in Exchange Commission (SEC) to suffer the same fate as the defunct Legacy Plans.

Preneed firm Pryce Plans Inc. remains solvent and liquid though it is barely able to pay planholders in cash owing to trust fund illiquidity, data from the Securities and Exchange Commission showed.

In a letter to Sentaor Mar Roxas, Jose Aquino, SEC director for Non-Traditional Securities and Instruments department, said Pryce Plans trustees ChinaBank and Asiatrust Bank informed the SEC of the trust funds’ illiquidity.

The SEC also noted that Pryce Plans has a trust fund deficiency of P56.17 million since it only has reserves of P113.23 million consisting of listed equities and a little cash as against the required 20 percent reserve of P168.4 million.

Aquino noted that the firm has chosen to deal with its maturing obligations to holders and surrendered plans by giving them the option to avail of the cash settlement or dacion en pago, provided the consent of the availing planholder is secured.

The dacion is by way of liquefied petroleum gas from sister company Pryce Gases Inc., medicine from another sister company Pryce Pharmaceuticals Inc., and memorial lots provided by other Pryce companies.

For those availing the swapping option, their maturity benefits are in effect converted into capital for dealership of liquefied petroleum gas or medicines which are given immediately to them upon signification of their assent.

However, for those availing the settlement mode by way of cash, the SEC said Pryce Plans is implementing a queuing program due to the illiquidity of the assets of its trust fund.

Pryce Plans has assets of P1.28 billion as of the end of 2008 as against total liabilities of P974.56 million. The firms assets have dwindled by 31.7 percent from 2004 when its total assets amounted to P1.87 billion.

As of the end of 2008, Pryce Plans trustee banks reported a total trust fund equity of P846.99 million, of which P590.73 million is for educational plans while P256.26 million is for Pension plans.

However, the cash portion of these trust funds amounted to only P106,839.00 or a mere 0.01 percent of total trust fund.

This is because the bulk of these trust funds have been invested in real estate, primarily condominium units (P518.45 million), and memorial lots (P216.84 million) as well as some in listed equities (P113.12 million).

The company has stopped selling new plans since 2006 and has since continued to service planholders only. GMANews.TV

Meanwhile, local coin dealers are experiencing the pressure from the rising demand of bullion coins as the price of precious metals became apparently toward the upward trend. Mostly sought after, are crown size coins like the United States and Philippine Peso and the Spanish 8 Reales.

Recently, the price of the small peso bullion climbed to P350 from its previous worth of P220 to P250 last month.

The 1884 Alfonso VII 10 Centavos Mated Pair Capped Dies

2009-02-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

Error coins from the Spanish period are hard to come by and most of those that survived times are not in better condition. One collector explained to me that after he discovered a hoard of Spanish-Philippine coins, he noticed that there were varieties of 1880 Fifty Centavos of the Alfonso VII reign. He uncovered a specimen which has a different design on the reverse, particularly the crown’s pearls and the columns on its sides. “At the same time, those were the first time we saw varieties such as double dates like 1885 over 3, 1880 over 1, and errors such as die rotation is some denomination particularly the 50 and 20 centavos.” He added.

In the past, several 1880 Fifty Centavos Pattern have surfaced in the market and were even sold at online auctions such as Ebay. The coin which is struck in brass and has a plain edge bears a slightly different design compared to the regular 1880 Fifty Centavos coin. The coin has a mintage of 127, 050 and belongs to the list of most sought after coin in the field of Philippine numismatic however, only a few number of collectors are aware of the existence of the pattern until recently through the help of the Internet. Pieces were sold at lesser value compared the regular struck coin because most collectors were doubtful of the coin's origin due to the coin's obvious inconsistency with the regular struck coin.

One considerable factor that have affected the suspicion of collectors with the existence of Alfonso VII pattern were the sudden introduction of counterfeits which have mysteriously appeared that same period.

Of all the set of coins from the Alfonso VII reign, the 1884 is unanimously considered as the rarest among the sets, from the smallest 10 centavos to the still unconfirmed 4-peso gold. Unlike the coinage from Isabel II, there were no 1-peso and 2-peso denomination minted for the series and the coins were fewer and tougher to complete due to the events that had affected not only the Philippines as a colony of Spain, but Spain itself under a crisis of its own.

The sophisticated errors yet documented by some collectors were specie of rotated dies, defective planchet, die-cracks and over dates. However complicated errors such as off-centers, double denominations, and others have not surfaced until today which reflect how strict the Mint's employees when it comes to the immediate destruction of error coins.

Still, among the types of errors, the mated pair die cap where the obverse and reverse of a coin are capped and mated is considered as one of the rarest impossibilities in the world of coin errors. However, recently a rare error from the Alfonso VII series was discovered.

The coin, an 1884 Alfonso VII 10 centavos is considered to be among one of the rarest Philippine coins. Seeing an error such as mated pair capped dies happening in a coin as rare as the 1884 Alfonso VII 10 centavos is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors of Philippine numismatic materials.

A die cap is caused when a struck coin sticks to the upper hammer die. Once the coin is stuck to the die face, the reverse of the struck coin becomes the new die face. The coin's weight just under 2 grams and an edge thinner than a human hair is a product of two capped dies from the 10 centavos which is obviously indicated by the overlap in the coin's obverse and reverse and the absence of the planchet's edge.

The coin's obverse and reverse seem to be shaped like of a nimble which is manifested by the slightly bulging and stretched legends. The supposed to be flat edge of the coin was instead comparable to a knife's edge due to nimble shaped obverse and reverse.

While the coin's mintage of 10, 045 is enough to declare it as among the rarest. The fact that no similar error have been reported with any Philippine coins make this coin as one of its kind in the rarest coin of Philippine numismatic.

Amazingly, despite the torture of time and human handling, this very small coin survived to tell its story.

Public warned on "Gold Bar" Scam

2009-02-12T15:11:00.000-08:00

The slowing demand in electronics and automobiles have reached the Philippine shore as Berong Nickel Mining Corp. announced that it would slash its manpower by 600 as a countermeasure against the declining price of Nickel in the world market. Nissan Philippines, a Japanese automaker production unit in Laguna will also be affected by the worldwide cuts by Nissan Corp. which recently announced that 20,000 employees will be laid off this year.

Nissan Philippines also added that it would cut its working hours from 6-days to 5-days and eliminate overtime pays to save other employees from being laid-off.

Meanwhile, a recent "gold-bar" scam was foiled by authorities in Cebu, as more and more people seek this metal on this time of uncertainty.

A suspect selling a fake gold bar was arrested by members of Philippine National Police following a transaction inside a small inn in Cebu City, Tuesday evening.

Felix Lahinaw, 59 years old and from Barangay Guizo in Mandaue City, told ABS-CBN News that he knew the gold bar was fake but still tried to sell it.

His victims were from Zamboanga City.

Lahinaw added that he got the gold bar from a certain Ramon Tornado of Bogo town in the northern part of Cebu province, for just P10,000.

Lahinaw sold the gold bar to the two victims from Zamboanga City for P1,000,000.

The victims from Zamboanga, who asked that their names be withheld, said they are suppliers of gold to various pawnshops in the country.

“Bong,” not his real name, said he knew the gold bar was fake when he weighed it.

Bong added real gold bars weigh in at 6.2 kg or more but the gold bar he bought from Lahinaw only weighed 3.9 kg.

"We are experts of this transaction, we've been to so many places, we never think we will be fooled here in Cebu," said Bong.

Senior Inspector Henry Binas, Talisay City police chief, said he immediately planned the arrest of Lahinaw with members of Carbon police after the victims asked for help.

"The victims called me because they knew a relative of mine, and told me that they will pay the suspect tonight so I coordinated with Carbon police, because the inn is in their area of responsibility," said Binas.

Police said they are now looking for Lahinaw's companions identified as Vilma Tornado and Pablo Tornado who reportedly got the P70,000 down payment of the victims.

Lahinaw is currently detained at Carbon Police Station. He is set to face swindling charges.--abs-cbnnews

The government debt stock is up by 12% to P4.236 Trillion as the country braces for more spending to stimulate the economy. Recent bad news from the overseas labor industry have been bothering local authorities as it braces to absorb more returning OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) out of work.

Recently, a proposal to tap the fund from the SSS (Social Security System) for government infrastructure projects has been questioned by members and the senate as a desperate attempt of the government to fill its deficit.

"That is a confiscation of private wealth. We need those fund for our own needs since it is our money in the first place!" a member commented.