Comments on Michael J. Kosares' articles RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/author/michael-j-kosares/articles http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-422579 422579 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:26:55 -0400
Heck, I've even kept my gold fillings. Scrap Gold is still gold and I've been at it for 35 years.

However, the Bandwagon has never been lit up so brightly as it is now. This type of activity has almost always been accompanied by Scams and Scam artists.

I am preaching to the Choir, so to speak. But, I want people to be aware of from whom they buy.

Just because a site is on the Internet, doesn't mean that it is legitimate. There will be lookalikes galore.

Many people here feel that Gold will be confiscated, I want them to be aware of the pitfalls of buying everything on the Internet.

I care enough to ask questions which some do not appreciate. But hopefully some will listen.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-421897 421897 > > Buying off the Net has to be approached as a better alternative for > its security. > > 371? how does one identify the suppliers in any given geographical > area, Yellow Pages? I'm serious on this. > > ]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:24:24 -0400
As for security. How secure are your purchases if the gov't knows about them? How do you know what some nameless faceless click on a "BUY NOW" button will send you? How can you be secure knowing for certain you're getting what you paid for? I can't.

I've purchased gold coins all over the world. Often from merchants I haven't seen before or since. I have never been cheated. I have never purchased via the internet and have therefore never been cheated.

It also won't do you much good to buy gold for cash and then buy a large safe to store it in with a credit card. Also won't do you any good to store it in a bank "safety deposit" box.

An obvious question is, as you are unsure of your security owing bullion, what are you considerations for buying it? Once answered you will then have a new larger set of questions you may be uncomfortable giving voice to.


On Mar 11 12:21 AM paultaut wrote:

>
>
> Buying off the Net has to be approached as a better alternative for
> its security.
>
> 371? how does one identify the suppliers in any given geographical
> area, Yellow Pages? I'm serious on this.
>
> ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-421357 421357 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:01:41 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-421341 421341 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:21:58 -0400
Buying off the Net has to be approached as a better alternative for its security.

371? how does one identify the suppliers in any given geographical area, Yellow Pages? I'm serious on this.

321? the Fisch Instrument, can you apply it before you buy or does it require extensive testing which the dealer will not allow?

Will the dealer know what the device is?

Third Party: Gold mined in the US. Does anyone know how much Gold is actually produced in the US? Does Gold Coin demand in the US exceed available supplies?

The other thing in this ACT, "public demand"
Is the "public" confined to US citizens? And if it is, it may be that they are meeting US public demand but not worldwide demand.

Conjecture.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-421205 421205 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:44:57 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-421204 421204 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:44:29 -0400
From the latest Coinage Act
"...the Secretary shall mint and issue the gold coins described...of this section, in quantities sufficient to meet public demand..."
AND
"The Secretary shall acquire gold for the coins issued...of this title by purchase of gold mined from natural deposits in the United States, or in a territory or possession of the United States, within one year after the month in which the ore from which it is derived was mined. The Secretary shall pay not more than the average world price for the gold. In the absence of available supplies of such gold at the average world price, the Secretary may use gold from reserves held by the United States to mint the coins"]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-421063 421063 It is all very simple....as long as I hold my PM investments, the > price of gold will continue to fall. Should I give up and sell those > golden objects and > E-sheets of paper, then the price of gold will go to undreamed of > heights. It is heavy on my mind, the knowledge that I control the > whole precious metal market.....and know one knows that but me.]]> Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:24:45 -0400
G


On Mar 10 11:47 AM Beach Bubba wrote:

> It is all very simple....as long as I hold my PM investments, the
> price of gold will continue to fall. Should I give up and sell those
> golden objects and
> E-sheets of paper, then the price of gold will go to undreamed of
> heights. It is heavy on my mind, the knowledge that I control the
> whole precious metal market.....and know one knows that but me.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-421055 421055 User371: What you say is true, I should have mentioned it. > > Unfortunately, the average person goes onto Ebay or some online Bullion > or Coin shop, does their transactions electronically via credit/debit > cards or Checks. > > In fact if had bothered to look back into the commentary on Gold > or Gold/Silver Coins, you will find a slew of recommendations as > to what sites people can visit to buy them. > > The Opinion I gave stands. As far as I know, I am the first to give > a Caveat to online purchases of Gold/Silver Coins. > > Since you seem to be versed in circumventing Governmental scrutiny, > would you please make some other recommendations for those wishing > to buy coins. > > There have been quite a few comments regarding Coin Dealers in general, > the gist has been "be Careful, know the Dealer, etc". > > Just wandering into a Coin Dealership isn't enough. > > Just asking.]]> Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:18:50 -0400 www.fisch.co.za/). It’s a full proof mechanism to check the authenticity of the coin(s) in question. I just received my order from kitco today and ran them through the Fisch. I feel much better knowing I own actual bullion. I searched long and hard to find a “fake gold coin detector” on the internet and I can attest to its accuracy.


On Mar 10 02:18 PM paultaut wrote:

> User371: What you say is true, I should have mentioned it.
>
> Unfortunately, the average person goes onto Ebay or some online Bullion
> or Coin shop, does their transactions electronically via credit/debit
> cards or Checks.
>
> In fact if had bothered to look back into the commentary on Gold
> or Gold/Silver Coins, you will find a slew of recommendations as
> to what sites people can visit to buy them.
>
> The Opinion I gave stands. As far as I know, I am the first to give
> a Caveat to online purchases of Gold/Silver Coins.
>
> Since you seem to be versed in circumventing Governmental scrutiny,
> would you please make some other recommendations for those wishing
> to buy coins.
>
> There have been quite a few comments regarding Coin Dealers in general,
> the gist has been "be Careful, know the Dealer, etc".
>
> Just wandering into a Coin Dealership isn't enough.
>
> Just asking.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-421027 421027 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:49:03 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-420787 420787 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:38:08 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-420766 420766 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:18:02 -0400
Unfortunately, the average person goes onto Ebay or some online Bullion or Coin shop, does their transactions electronically via credit/debit cards or Checks.

In fact if had bothered to look back into the commentary on Gold or Gold/Silver Coins, you will find a slew of recommendations as to what sites people can visit to buy them.

The Opinion I gave stands. As far as I know, I am the first to give a Caveat to online purchases of Gold/Silver Coins.

Since you seem to be versed in circumventing Governmental scrutiny, would you please make some other recommendations for those wishing to buy coins.

There have been quite a few comments regarding Coin Dealers in general, the gist has been "be Careful, know the Dealer, etc".

Just wandering into a Coin Dealership isn't enough.

Just asking.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-420709 420709 > > The Fear of confiscation should include the Coins themselves. Each > purchase is identifiable as to purchaser. The Government has your > Names and addresses and knows exactly what you bought. > >]]> Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:33:31 -0400

On Mar 10 11:30 AM paultaut wrote:

>
>
> The Fear of confiscation should include the Coins themselves. Each
> purchase is identifiable as to purchaser. The Government has your
> Names and addresses and knows exactly what you bought.
>
>]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-420564 420564 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:10:27 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-420519 420519 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:47:35 -0400 E-sheets of paper, then the price of gold will go to undreamed of heights. It is heavy on my mind, the knowledge that I control the whole precious metal market.....and know one knows that but me.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-420493 420493 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:30:59 -0400
Buy ingots of varying weights if you want to hold gold.

The Fear of confiscation should include the Coins themselves. Each purchase is identifiable as to purchaser. The Government has your Names and addresses and knows exactly what you bought.

If Gold prices rise to the extent that the Government steps in, Gold will be well north of $2,000.

I have been and will continue to be a proponent of high grade gold Jewelry bought at a discount from retail of at least 50%.

You can do this now. Cash and Carry. Unidentifiable as to purchaser.

IMHO]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-420444 420444 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:04:11 -0400 It all smells a little bad to me. Only one supplier? Production down 70% in the face of booming demand? Is this yet another example of how a government entity is run? Maybe the purchasing manager is nearing retirement and can't make a few extra phone calls?

Those of you who have been around the markets for years can sense when a stock is being manipulated. It takes dramatic drops and then recovers quickly only to drop again. I believe that gold is the current sucker's bet over the short term. First, pile the average guy into gold, have Cramer recommend it, and then drop the floor out of the market. The new gold bugs will feel they were burned and then get out to put their money into treasuries, bonds, or, god forbid, stocks.

In the face of an unprecedented financial crisis, gold continues to perform in a lackluster manner. If everyone in the world is rushing to get into gold, why hasn't the price increased? Manipulation is my bet.

The question is, can the governments of the world hold the line against gold or will someone break and run to cover their shorts? Right now we are still in the throes of deflation. Let's see what happens when inflation starts to roar a few months down the road.

Disclosure: Long GLD, GDX. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125110-gold-coin-shortage-is-likely-to-become-chronic?source=feed#comment-420404 420404 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:38:05 -0400
There is always debate about the idea of gold once again becoming a currency. High premiums on coins only increases the likelihood of this, which is the reason for the law. (Granted that likelihood is still exceedingly low.)

The theoretical premium value in a coin is that it’s authenticity is either to verify on the spot by any lay person. That makes it possible to walk in somewhere and literally exchange it over the counter. The jump in premiums say that people want to hold physical gold, and that they want it to be as liquid as possible.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-284261 284261 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:28:27 -0400
Society(people) BUY what is good for them if a company is smart to find what people need rather than what they and government can fool them into accepting or fooling people to buy into.

Got it?
Diego
Hint: in southern California there is alot of sun all year long and we need energy.Divert government tax money in this direction and move corporations into this area by FORCE if needed. I do not need a CELL PHONE AND another stupid tv show about hollywierd.Along list of BS in our society can easily be formulated.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-283808 283808 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:55:37 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-283787 283787 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:35:39 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-283733 283733 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:01:27 -0400
Think we're not a nation that tolerates dishonesty? Go flip on the radio and listen to just about any advertisement, be it for weight loss powder or get rich quick schemes. We know this dishonesty and unprincipled behavior goes on constantly in almost every phase of life, but we tolerated it. We tolerated it because we thought if it made or saved us a little extra money it would be ok. And now it's not ok.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-283573 283573 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:26:16 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-283274 283274 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:41:49 -0400
Unfortunately, one of those "bad decisions" bred by living with the "saftey net" of government, civilization, the feared 'collectivist spirit', was the decision to attempt the utopian lunacy of the "free market" to regulate conduct in human society.

This (2nd) great experiment in "market fundamentalism" - the impossible belief that there ever was, is, or could be a "free market" and that such a construct should serve as the highest arbiter in the organization of society - inaugurated by Regan, Thatcher (and Deng), has collapsed of its own contradictions.

Just as the 1st great wave of market fundamentalist liberalization ended with the implosion of the international system, world wars and depression- leading the great economist Karl Polanyi to declare that humanity had forever learned the error of the utopian idea of the "free market"- so do some now claim that we have learned our lesson.

Yet the author is proof; for beleivers in the creed, only a more pure imposition of the system could have avoided the crisis; the madness of Austrians.

Profit cannot be the supreme value in social organization; governments that attempt to implant systems based on this premise merely sow the seeds of disaster. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-282887 282887 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:38:51 -0400
Don't mean to be cynical, but every time I think about our leadership - all makes and models included - the term GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) comes to mind. We are who we are, and we reap what we sow. The outcome is entirely expected.

But we still have our nukes. So when the world stops lending to us, we'll just have to start robbing them at gunpoint: what we can't pay for with our MasterCard's, we'll just have to pay in blood. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-282739 282739 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:14:33 -0400

So the periphery sitters have two choices, let the players build and grow their business (and make a lot of money) or get in the game (and take some of that business). It’s in the latter decision where the bubble gets created, logic is abandoned and a period unwarranted capital allocation proceeds. The periphery sitter doesn’t care if their involvement will create the bubble or if it will create a bubble, exacerbate a burgeoning bubble or if, in the long run, it will ultimately lead to capital destruction. No, the periphery sitter only looks at its own survival and concludes if I don’t get in the game, new wealth may get concentrated in the hands of players that may seek to diversify their lucre into my business.


It is precisely when the periphery sitters enter the game when the bubble potential is heightened and most vulnerable. (The size of the bubble will be a function of the added production capacity the periphery sitters add to the market when they join.) Few industries can, effectively, double or triple their capacity and get the same returns as the players were getting when the capacity was much smaller; yet that is exactly what we see in each bubble. (Because Wall Street has virtually unlimited access to capital, it’s easy to see how their movement from periphery sitter to primary player can dramatically change the capacity for any industry they decide to throw capital at. The 2000 telecom bubble had the same problem. Tons and tons of new capacity were brought on line by Wall Street’s unchecked easy money policies towards telecom carriers that lacked the requisite demand to absorb the new capacity.)


So why does Wall Street, in the most hackneyed of clichés, throw good money after bad? Is it because they don’t understand the risks? Is it because they don’t understand the industries they’re investing in?


It seems unlikely that Wall Street doesn’t understand the businesses they invest in. After all, they hire the best and brightest from inside the industries they look to invest in supported by the best financial minds their money can buy.


The problem is more fundamental than that. It’s fear, jealousy and the expectation that when reality catches up to fantasy, everyone will fail. Blame will be evenly distributed among all players. Depending on the size of the bubble some companies will fail and in the case of the most recent bubble, even some Wall Street firms will fail. But in the end, since everyone is to blame, no one is to blame.


The aftermath is ugly, but the gun is already reloading for the next bubble.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99963-moral-hazard-the-real-culprit-of-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-282734 282734 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:09:36 -0400
Moral hazard is an enabling condition, perhaps, but the immediate culprit is the ratings agencies who had no skin in the game: having no risk to be insured, they had no moral hazard in their decision-making process.

But the immediate cuprit is usually just the weak link in a chain that has come under tension; the tension on the chain that is the "real cause" of the crisis. In our case, the tension was the trade deficit. The deficit made it necessary for us to provide a home for the dollars we spent on imports. Where else were they going to go to make them worth having? We had to borrow them, but Pres. Clinton balanced the budget, leaving the private market to supply the paper. The rest is history. Even the burgeoning Iraq-based deficit could not keep up with the inflow of money. Only by lying about the value of collateral could we accommodate the deluge of petrodollars. So we lied. What else could we do? Conserve energy? Use natgas or nuclear energy? C'mon, this is America!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98824-the-chickens-come-home-to-roost-but-have-we-really-learned-from-our-mistakes?source=feed#comment-276265 276265 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:27:10 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98824-the-chickens-come-home-to-roost-but-have-we-really-learned-from-our-mistakes?source=feed#comment-276112 276112 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:11:20 -0400
Allen is "dead on balls accurate." We live on an island 3000 miles from the Port Of Los Angeles. Stockpiling food and water (and air for you in metropolitan areas) is critical. Thankfully we can grow all year.

Taxation Without Representation. The grass roots movement which commenced in 1764 may have seemed a little radical at the time. And what does it tell you when members of Congress say 85% of their constituents told them to vote NO but they still voted YES. Who in the hell are they working for anyway?

It's the year 2008. And when 85% of the voters say NO to this scale of taxation and those that represent us say YES what other mantra rings true?

When I say "keep the powder dry" I mean it in its contemporary form (pundits on Wall Street) and its historical form (real patriots...the Minutemen.) And perhaps the impending revolution will be a peaceful one. The pension funds for many in law enforcement suffered the same fate.

Tar and feathers for the BOLD FACE LIARS is a remedy I'd sign on to.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98824-the-chickens-come-home-to-roost-but-have-we-really-learned-from-our-mistakes?source=feed#comment-276063 276063 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:13:04 -0400
Obviously you can't store it up for retirement, but a food storage plan should be part of anyone's hedging against the risk of inflation, job loss, and so on.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98824-the-chickens-come-home-to-roost-but-have-we-really-learned-from-our-mistakes?source=feed#comment-275838 275838 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:08:16 -0400