Caution Urged For Those Seeking Gold Bargains

posted in: Opinion | 0

Barrons, 10/27/2014: Once dismissed as a “barbarous relic” by John Maynard Keynes, gold has been on the receiving end of some market barbarity in recent months.

The gold price has fallen nearly 11% from its March high of US$1,379 an ounce as expectations of gathering momentum in the US economic recovery and, more importantly, further gains in the US dollar have erased the luster from the precious metal that notched up an impressive 12 consecutive years of gains up until 2012.

The greenback has been the metal’s bête noire. Gold prices and the US dollar have historically moved in opposite directions, so it should come as no surprise that the rise in the US Dollar Index to its highest level since 2010 has been accompanied by a slide in the price of the yellow metal to a one-year low earlier this month. Analysts argue the US dollar may move higher as the world’s largest economy recovers and the US Federal Reserve begins to unwind its ultra-loose monetary policy…MORE (Barrons.com)

Switzerland Gold Referendum A Healthy Conversation — Ron Paul

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Ron Paul S/Cap Cspan (Kitco News) – Although it is unlikely Switzerland’s gold referendum will pass, one U.S. politician said the country is embarking on a “healthy conversation” regarding the role of its national bank.

Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who is a strong proponent of gold-backed currencies, said in an exclusive interview with Kitco News the fact a referendum on gold reserves was triggered in Switzerland demonstrates that people around the globe are starting to question the reliability of fiat currencies.

On Nov. 30 Swiss voters will vote on three initiatives as part of the gold referendum: whether or not the Swiss National Bank should increase its gold reserves to 20%, that the central bank should stop selling its precious metals and that all its gold should be held within the country…MORE (Forbes.com)

Henry Rollins: “10 Things You Don’t Know About the Gold Rush”- watch full show free

posted in: History | 0
Henry Rollins- 10 things you don't know about the Gold Rush
The Gold Rush was the largest mass migration in American History with hundreds of thousands of fortune seekers eager to stake their claim to the billions buried beneath California. Henry Rollins mines for little-known nuggets of truth about untold greed, vigilante justice, dangerous and destructive practices…. even secret societies still in existence today. Click here to watch “10 things you don’t know about the Gold Rush” Free! on History.com

Giant gold ‘Butte Nugget’ sells to secret Bay Area buyer for ~$400k

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Giant gold 'Butte Nugget’ sells to secret Bay Area buyer

Kevin Fagan  October 25, 2014: “The new owner wants to be secretive, so we can’t name him,” said Don Kagin of Tiburon, the coin dealer who acted as middle-man between the buyer and the prospector who found the 6.07-pound gold lump — the biggest nugget of its kind found in modern times in Gold Rush country.

“Let’s just say it’s a win-win for everybody,” Kagin said. The seller also asked that the price be kept secret, he said. But he added: “We were asking for $400,000 and it obviously wasn’t far from that.”

David McCarthy, Kagin’s chief numismatist, said he could only reveal that the buyer is “a prominent bay area collector” who specializes in historical items…MORE (SF Gate.com)

Australia: Mysterious young father hits the jackpot after finding two giant gold nuggets worth almost $200,000

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65 ounce nugget of Tarnagulla gold-photo: Bendingo Prospecting CLub

Nelson Groom: A young father has hit the jackpot after digging up two giant gold nuggets worth nearly $200,000.

The natural pieces of treasure were discovered on a private property in Tarnagulla, near Bendigo, north of Melbourne and have a combined weight of nearly 140 ounces.

Ray Swinnerton, Vice President of the Bendigo Prospecting Club, said he had met the lucky prospector, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, and not surprisingly was ‘overjoyed’.

‘He was thrilled when he found it, as you can imagine. He makes a living from this stuff, so a find like that is very exciting,’ Mr Swinnerton said.

‘He didn’t want to be named until he had sold them off. He’s fairly young and it’s obviously a fair bit of money we’re talking about…MORE (DailyMail.com)

Treasure hunter uncovers Bronze Age settlement using Google Earth

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Howard Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Archaeology

Dean Rousewell October 22, 2014 –A treasure hunter has stunned archaeologists by locating an historic Bronze Age settlement – using just Google Earth.

Canny Howard Jones shunned his usual methods of finding ancient communities – and simply used the internet instead. He trawled satellite images for the sort of terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter for a prehistoric settlement.

Howard used Google’s overheard mapping site to zoom in on fields and farmland before pinpointing a spot in South Hams, Devon. The former Royal Marine then sought permission from the local landowner before heading down there to scour for remains.

To his amazement he soon unearthed old flint tools, pottery shards and scraps of metal thought to date back 5,000 years…MORE (Mirror.co.uk)

Why aren’t ‘the Dakota Boys’ on ‘Gold Rush’ Season 5?

posted in: Discovery Gold Rush | 0

Kristi Turnquist October 22, 2014: It showed up as a polite-sounding query in my work email box after I wrote about Friday’s Season 5 premiere of “Gold Rush.” Clicking on the subject line, “question about gold rush,” I found this, from a reader who goes by “Ricki”:

“WHERE ARE DUSTIN AND FRED THIS YEAR?”

Well, Ricki, that’s a good question. Why has this season of the Discovery Channel hit begun with no mention of what happened to Fred Hurt and his son, Dustin Hurt, aka “The Dakota Boys”?

They’re conspicuously missing from the “Gold Rush” website list of miners’ bios. Even Blue the dog, Jack Hoffman’s pet, gets a bio. But nothing about Fred or Dustin Hurt appears.

Our friend, the Internet, has some info. On his Facebook page, Fred Hurt posted about the father and son team’s absence from the show, which follows miners — including Oregonians Todd Hoffman and Dave Turin — searching for gold…MORE (OregonLive.com)