The system he developed is now in use today, particularly by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).It uses a scale of 1-70 The numbers 1-59 are used for grading gold coins that had been circulated and the numbers 60-70 for gold coins classified as uncirculated.

Before the advent of the Sheldon scale coin grading consisted merely of three descriptions which were broad imprecise: 1) Good: Details visible but surface worn out; 2) Fine: Details less worn out and a bit of mint luster visible; and 3) Uncirculated: Details sharp, luster approaching state of the coin at mint.

The system developed by Sheldon eliminated the guesswork. The lowest grade is Poor-1 or P-1, for a coin that is badly damaged or worn out, the type barely discernable. The highest grade is AU-59 (Choice About Uncirculated), virtually uncirculated except for minor wear marks on high points. .

In between are grades like G-8 (Very Good) for a coin with full rim and clearly discernible devices but coin significantly worn. VF-20 (Very Fine) for a coin with clearly readable but lightly worn legends. XF-40 (Extremely Fine) for a coin whose legends are sharp, devices are clear with slight wear.AU-55 (Good About Uncirculated) for a coin with sharp legends that show only a hint of wear on the high points.

For the uncirculated coins the grades from MS-60 to MS-70 (Mint State coins), as well as the proof designations, are all based primarily on eye appeal, quality of luster and/or toning, and the presence or absence of contact marks, hairlines, etc.

Franklin Gold

As early as February 2009, months before gold posted its record breaking price of $1104 in December, one respected industry leader fearlessly predicted that gold prices would quadruple in 2010 to $3500 from the then current price of $994. Also early in 2009, another industry leader made a more optimistic prediction — $5,000 per ounce by 2010. Many more had expressed optimism for gold in various, though in much sober, degrees in 2010.

The two-week advance of gold prices that accentuated the end of the first quarter of 2010 was accepted by some as a positive sign “…reflecting the general commodities tone, which is bullish.”

But many were of the opposite sentiment. True, the end of the first quarter ended higher but prices were still in the vicinity of the decade-ending number of $1100. They recalled that prices even dipped to a low $1073.85 in January, an indication of gold’s uneasy footing.

“I’m not bullish about these prices,” reacted an industry leader. “Gold is still trading within a narrow range and prices have been propped up by investor interest, not fundamentals…”

Will gold ever runs as predicted? Could it be that it is too early to make a judgment on gold? The year 2010 is an extension of the 2000-2009 bull run and could be just a brief respite before the run is resumed. It will be recalled that the bull run of the 1970s started slowly from $34.94, reached $50 only two years later before it finally settled at $594.92 in December 1980.
Franklin Gold

Gold fell as much as $14.96 to $1092.44 by 10:00am in on Monday, where gold found its footing and started to rally for most of the rest of trading day. In the end gold cut its losses to 0.7% and closed just above support at $1102.

The Gold price in Europe also declined to €812 an ounce.

The precious metal Silver followed a similar pattern and ended $0.313 off its midmorning low of $16.597 with a loss of 0.5%.

Platinum lost $11.50 to $1598, and copper remained at about $3.38.

Gold Mining and silver equities fell over 2% at the open, but they then rallied back to about unchanged by early afternoon and ended mixed.

Treasuries rose a bit ahead of this week’s $118 billion worth of note auctions that begin tomorrow with $44 billion in 2-year notes.

The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P followed select health care companies higher after Sunday night’s House approval of the health care bill.

There were no major US economic reports today. Tuesday at 10:00 EST brings Existing Home Sales for February (expected at 4,990,000) and the FHFA Home Price Index for January, expected down 0.9%. This report is not considered of high importance in regards to its affect on the Precious metals commodities.

Wednesday does bring about the US durable goods release, however; and this could start to show signs of where the US Currency and thus precious metals will trend.

Franklin Gold

Gold and other precious metals have often provided stability in difficult economic climates, and are often used as a hedge to protect other investment positions. Diversifying your portfolio seems to be the prudent trend recently; having a precious metal IRA or including this type of investment in an IRA can help to protect your retirement savings. Historically precious metals, particularly gold, often retain their value when stocks decline—and may even appreciate. When opening an IRA for precious metals, you can roll over cash from other IRAs and then use it to purchase bars or investment coins. You can also do this with funds from a 401(k) account, although in some cases you will only be able to do this if you leave the employer where you have the account.

Most individuals saving for retirement qualify for a precious metal 401k, or IRA; however, very few know this option exists. Transferring you r 401k or IRA is relatively simple, and precious metals. Org can assist you every step of the way. Before you decide to make precious metals a part of an IRA, make sure you know the risks and the IRS rules governing this type of investment. If you have questions simply contact one of our friendly precious-metals IRA experts for assistance.

Franklin Gold

During times like this, when economic uncertainty threatens the very future of our nation’s currency, precious metals values carry much greater emphasis, as currency-based commodities like oil, sugar, cotton, flour, and gold, all appreciate in value. Meanwhile, the value of printed currency is forced to adjust through multiple interest rate hikes, and ever-rising consumer prices.

Gold generally claims the abundance of the attention on precious metal values, as the wealth of entire nations is often times reflected in their gold holdings. Nations like the United States, Russia, South Africa, Australia, China, and Tanzania have their own gold recourses to draw from, but nations like India have no domestic gold production, and therefore must acquire their bullion through the IMF, which is the International Monetary Fund.

Prospective buyers with unanswered questions about precious metals investing are encouraged to contact one of our friendly specialists, who offer institutional discounts on bullion, and certified rare gold coin to household investors like you.

Franklin Gold

Most analysts believe that our economy will most likely become worse before it gets better, as our Federal Reserve continues to drag it’s collective feet on committing to any sort of feasible recovery plan. Anxious U.S. consumers eagerly await word of inevitable interest rate hikes, and the subsequent inflation that typically follows, and more and more investors are coming to terms with the fact that the economy is a critical state of disrepair. Precious metal hedges make a great deal of sense to multitudes of pragmatic investors, because they can be held for both long-term financial protection, as well as for short-term liquidations that may be needed in the event of a cash flow crisis.

Investors who have completed their research are encouraged to contact one of our friendly specialists, who can answer your precious metal investment questions, as well as offer you institutional discounts on gold and silver bullion, and certified rare gold coin.

Franklin Gold

Gold went as low as $1062 last month, and over the last few days gold has been evasive about which side of $1100 it can gain the most support. Gold is still on most economists’ “watch-lists” right now because the majority of mainstream projections place gold between $1350 and $1600 by the end of the year, which would be a demonstrative shattering of the current $1226 record.

The dollar is expected to lose 9-14% of its’ value this year, and the inverse relationship that many commodities have with the dollar applies to gold as well. Precious metals like gold and silver also benefit from a declining US dollar, although it doesn’t appear likely that silver or platinum could surpass their respective historic highs in 2010.

Platinum climbed to over $2200 in 2008, before the automotive industry took a dive and eliminated the need for many platinum-infused carburetors. Abundance of production silver, and profit taking have repressed silver prices as of late, and these two identical looking white metals are presently valued at $1509 and $16.18 per ounce, respectively.

While recent forecasts confirm prior predictions of higher prices across the board for gold, silver, and platinum, it looks like record-breaking precious metals prices could be limited to gold in 2010, as silver is $40 below its’ historical high, and platinum is over $600 beneath its’ record-high mark. If you wish to buy or sell precious metals, or if you simply need more information on a particular topic, our customer service experts will be glad to assist you.

Franklin Gold

Even though neither India, nor China has actually purchased the available IMF bullion, mere rumors of such significant precious metal transactions have been enough to influence the gold spot price dramatically. Just since Thursday, the spot price reached depths of below $1090 per troy-ounce levels, and since then, flimsy rumors have managed to help propel the spot price to renewed heights of near $1120 per ounce levels.

Our U.S. dollar continues to compete with the euro for superiority, but even though the greenback is at around 80 on the Index, this in no way reflects as a legitimate indication that our nation’s economy is recovering. Unemployment levels are still around ten percent, yet the media’s attention has been redirected toward Greece’s outstanding debt these past few days.

Trend savvy investors who seek long-term financial safety are encouraged to contact one of our friendly specialists, who can answer your questions about your own physical gold purchase, and offer you institutional discounts on bullion, and certified rare gold coin.

Franklin Gold

Gold has been quietly been climbing the charts over the past two weeks, ultimately reaching $1122 late last week. The market experienced a pullback this week after the Federal Reserve revealed plans to hold interest rates at zero, although most economists believe that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will have no choice but to boost interest rates soon, due to the growing threat of inflation.

February’s precious metal market has shown some negative movement in response to the news that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is looking to gradually unload another 200 tons of gold onto the open market. The last time the IMF did this the gold was already earmarked for India’s central bank, without private investors getting a chance to bid. The way the IMF gold sale plays out should also have a bearing on the precious metal market as a whole, and whether the sale occurs in February, March, or December, you could expect to see volatile silver and platinum prices that same day, as was the case during India’s large buy last year.

Precious metals are traditional hedges against devaluing currency, and our US dollar definitely fits that description. If you want protection from the collapse of the dollar then give our advisors a call to inquire about setting up a hedge for physical delivery, as well as for qualified retirement accounts.

Jonathan Monroe

Plenty of people share the opinion that Olympic medals should be pure, solid precious, or semi-precious medals, believing that the award should truly match the accomplishment. The International Olympic Committee, who has always maintained that the honor of competing, excelling, and winning is prestigious enough, however, does not share this opinion. In ancient Olympic games, medals weren’t awarded at all. Rather, an olive wreath was placed on the victor’s head, representing god-like qualities to honor victorious mortals here on Earth. The modern Olympic Charter was originally drawn up in 1896, and specifies the following criteria for modern Olympic medal awards:

Each medal must also mention the name of the sport, and the individual event that was held, and must come with a detachable chain or ribbon to be placed around the athlete’s neck upon awarding.

Those with questions about precious metals investing are encouraged to contact one of the Precious-Metal.org specialists for answers and a free copy of our award-winning investment tutorial. Go USA!

Franklin Gold