The tale of counterfeiting gold and silver is probably as old as the metals themselves. Paint over a nickel and hey presto, you've got yourself a sovereign! (In low light, at least.) In the case of counterfeit paper money, lol, what's the difference? Paper is paper, anyways. A decade from now, that piece of government-issued...

Today, I regret to inform you that Her Majesty Elizabeth II (by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith) has passed away at the age of 96. She reigned for 70 years,...

If you had to guess, how do you think we picked the contents of our gold investor bundle and silver starter kit? Affordability? Beauty (or, as Steve would say, “eye-catchiness”)? Stock levels, or stuff we wanted to empty out of the vault? Actually, the answer is much better than that. Our gold investor bundle and...

Fixing the economy isn't that hard, after all. According to Nobel Prize-winning economist Edmund S. Phelps, all it will take is a return to economic growth. Now, I know what you’re thinking – that’s sort of like saying, in order to get out of debt you need to spend less money. That’s equally true! Though...

Everyone with an interest in gold coins knows they come in multiple denominations. Gold Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic... They all have the "standard" 1oz weights and so-called “fractional” gold coins. The lighter a coin gets, the more deserving it is of the incremental label – and yes, they do get very, very small!...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com First-time precious metals buyers almost always start by buying silver. It’s a no-brainer. Of the big four precious metals, silver has the lowest price per ounce (by FAR). Still, silver has a centuries-long track record as a form of money, a store of value and a sign of wealth and...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com We know that the American gold buffalo is probably the second-most popular U.S. Mint gold coin by a wide margin, trailing the iconic American eagle. It’s not really a fair comparison, though, as gold American eagles are available in fractional weights as well as the standard 1 oz weight. Less...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com I might joke a little in these articles, but when it comes to our inventory, I like to keep things serious. Silver American eagle coins, gold buffalos, that kind of thing. The gold and silver that hardcore bullion buyers look for. Precious metals essentials made easy, we said. When we...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com A privy mark, often confused with a mint mark, is a special symbol used by modern mints to commemorate events or communicate other information about the coin’s origin. First, let’s clarify the difference between privy marks and mint marks: Mint mark: A mint mark is intended to identify the specific...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com Gift-giving is one of those skills not many of us have mastered. All too often, we feel stuck at the beginning. What to buy for the recipient? It has to be thoughtful and considerate, ideally something of value – and best of all if its perceived value is greater than...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com As this Forbes analysis tells us, there are two main reasons to invest in commodities: inflation and portfolio diversification. What do we know about gold? It's the best hedge available, probably the asset most uncorrelated to any other. We also know that gold hasn’t been performing well so far this...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com This analysis by Verdad, a data-driven global asset management firm, is extremely interesting for several reasons. (Not the least of which is what transpired in the meantime.) I first read this in early May. To shorten a fairly lengthy analytic take, here's the situation: The Federal Reserve waited too long...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com Let’s start with a definition... sov·er·eign(/ˈsäv(ə)rən/): Adjective: Possessing supreme or ultimate power. Noun: 1. A supreme ruler, especially a monarch. 2. A British gold coin worth one pound sterling, now only minted for commemorative purposes. So, a British sovereign could be Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (or King George III,...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com We've spoken a fair bit about the competition between different sovereign mints. Undoubtedly, it's a no-holds-barred, chairs allowed battle between the U.S. Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) and the Perth Mint. Geography and all, the Perth Mint feels like the most distant of the Big Three sovereign mints. If...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com Last week, we learned that our dollars buy 8.6% less, on average, than they did one year ago. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: Prices for all items rose 8.6% Food (at home) went up 11.9% Gas is 48.7% more expensive So as long as you don’t eat or...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com Back on May 15, silver stackers across the nation staged a silver raid, buying up millions of ounces of silver from dealers like BullionMax. Here’s a brief incident report where we break down the most popular products the raiders chose when they went out to buy silver bullion. What is...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com Jamie Dimon is worried again. And this time, he might have a good reason to be. Speaking at a financial conference in New York, the JPMorgan Chase CEO said that what he perceived to be storm clouds have turned into a hurricane: You know, I said there’s storm clouds but...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com Perhaps because America has so many beautiful landmarks, or because Congress takes them so seriously, the 5 oz America the Beautiful silver coins turned out to be one of the U.S. Mint's biggest challenges to date. Commissioned by the America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 and...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com I have to admit one thing – our BullionMax customers are loyal. Month after month, they refuse to settle for something they don’t want (even if it’s a better price!) and instead just keep on buying their favorite gold coins. Now, we believe in the wisdom of crowds. We know...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com Any time the cryptocurrency market goes into correction, seems like everybody who doesn’t own any crypto starts gloating. Look, I’m no bitcoin maximalist, but even I can see the bias. CNN had the nerve to title an article "Sorry, crypto investors." What a bunch of jerks! We have no interest...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com For all the modernization that mints have seen, the production of gold coins remains fairly similar to the processes used a century ago. This is one of the reasons why gold coins are usually sold at higher premiums over spot compared to gold bars, but certainly not the only one....

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com We've heard more talk of a gold standard in the last few years than the last decade or two. Once again, and to nobody's surprise, the Federal Reserve went back to money manipulation to try and save the U.S. economy. But at what cost? After trillions of newly-printed dollars flooded...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com The decision by the U.S. Mint to remove silver from all circulating coins in 1965 and 1970 tells us a few things. Silver was getting rarer and more expensive, and the U.S. Mint was quick to adapt. We were already moving away from real money, and the dollar was all...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com Physical gold is easy to sell. That much we know. If you're talking gold coins, all the better. Gold coins generally are much easier to recognize (and much harder to counterfeit) than gold bullion bars. Lots of places will buy them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:...

By Paul Vanguard, for BullionMax.com We've covered fairly extensively how sovereign mints have had their hands full over the last few years. Mishandled product launches, delayed deliveries, questions over ore supply, sold-out inventories, websites crashed by “bots,” facilities running at half-speed thanks to Covid... And, of course, record sales. The U.S. Mint’s best first quarter...