Peter's Blog

Inflation has taken the shine out of every form of investment other than physical assets and entrepreneurship. The dramatic increases in the cost of housing, living, and relatively slow increase of standard wages have created a liquidity-constrained situation for retail investors, and also made the stores of that liquidity continually less appealing. When adjusting for […]

When a $20 Gold Coin Became Worth Thousands of Dollars Imagine finding a $20 coin in your grandfather’s collection. Not a twenty-dollar bill. An actual gold coin, stamped with the words “Twenty Dollars” and issued by the United States government. You might assume it’s worth a little more than $20 because it’s old. That would […]

If you walked into a Rolex dealer in 2024 and tried on a white-gold Daytona, you’d have been looking at a watch that cost considerably less than it does today. The same watch now retails for roughly $59,100, about 33% more than it did two years ago. In June alone, Rolex raised prices on its […]

Costco will sell you just about anything: a 48-pack of toilet paper, a five-pound bag of shredded cheese, a $1.50 hot dog.  And, apparently, a bar of gold. The same warehouse club that built its reputation on selling everyday necessities in bulk has become a serious player in the precious metals business. In 2024, Wells […]

You Bought Gold. Now Where Are You Supposed to Put It? You’ve done your research, compared premiums, and finally bought your first ounce of gold. Now what? Put it in a sock drawer? Buy a safe? Rent a bank safe-deposit box? Buying gold is relatively straightforward. Figuring out where to keep it is where things […]

Americans own far less gold than they should. Less than .5% of American consumer portfolios are gold. Although gold provides countercyclical safety to the market and has grown consistently in relation to the dollar and performed not dramatically differently from the S&P over the last 25 years, Americans still only allocate a tiny portion of […]

The CME Comex is the Exchange where futures are traded for gold, silver, and other commodities. The CME also allows futures buyers to turn their contracts into physical metal through delivery. You can find more detail on the CME here (e.g., vault types, major/minor months, delivery explanation, historical data, etc.). The data below looks at […]

The CME Comex is the Exchange where futures are traded for gold, silver, and other commodities. The CME also allows futures buyers to turn their contracts into physical metal through delivery. You can find more detail on the CME here (e.g., vault types, major/minor months, delivery explanation, historical data, etc.). The data below looks at […]

International gold prices climbed 9% in the first two weeks of August, according to the World Gold Council’s latest India market update. Domestic Indian prices followed suit, gaining nearly 7% over the same period, though the rupee’s appreciation against the US dollar softened the impact for Indian buyers. The move marks a recovery from June’s […]

The CME Comex is the Exchange where futures are traded for gold, silver, and other commodities. The CME also allows futures buyers to turn their contracts into physical metal through delivery. You can find more detail on the CME here (e.g., vault types, major/minor months, delivery explanation, historical data, etc.). The data below looks at […]