Rush for Gold Causes U.S. to Hault Sales of Gold Coins

[garybeck]

Gold coin sales halted after retail rush
By Javier Blas in London

Published: September 25 2008 23:03 | Last updated: September 25 2008 23:03

The rush by retail investors into gold on Thursday forced the US government to “temporarily” suspend the sales of the popular American Buffalo one-ounce bullion coin after depleting its inventories.

The shortage of gold coins is the latest sign of investors seeking a safe haven into bullion amid Wall Street woes. Gold prices this week surged above $900 an ounce, up about 20 per cent from its level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Safe-haven buying spurred by a weakening dollar and rising inflation on the back of high commodity prices have also benefited gold sales, analyst said.

The US Mint said in a memorandum that “demand has exceeded supply” and, therefore, it was “temporarily suspending sales of these coins”. “We are working ­diligently to build up our inventory and hope to resume sales shortly,” it added.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e8bc3d72-8b40-11dd-b634-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1

Also of note..... Kitco, one of the leading dealers of gold coins has issued this statement on their website:

"The following products have been temporarily removed from our Precious Metal Store until further notice due to production and delivery delays that retailers are currently facing; 1 oz Gold bars, 1 oz Kitco Gold bars, 10 oz Gold bars, 1 oz Silver Eagles, 1 oz Silver Maples, 1 oz Silver Philharmonic coins, 1 oz Olympic Silver Maples, 100 oz Silver bars and 1 oz Palladium Maples."

[John Caelan]

1. Gold prices artificially held down

And yet, in complete defiance of supply-demand logic, the price is still at a ridiculous low, especially when inflation is considered. Silver, which is historically a 15-1 ratio with gold, is the thing to keep. It is tradeable, even if it is not a currency metal anymore. The gold will get confiscated. The prices are being held down on paper, in the futures market.

[garybeck]

2. can't get silver either

i can only get "junk" silver which I think is 90%. when I ask for .999 everyone's out.

i'm thinking about getting a Pool account at Kitco. I can buy and sell anytime without holding coins. They're big, they're in canada, so I think they're trustworthy. I'm on hold on the phone with their customer service right now.

[SlowDownFast]

3. Nothing wrong with 90%.

I have been buying .999 and 90%.

90% is widely recognized.

[SlowDownFast]

4. dupe.