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Will QE2 affect rare coins?

bidaskbidask Posts: 14,029 ✭✭✭✭✭
With the dollar falling and other hard assets making big moves up seems rare coins should follow.

But they don't seem to be.....except for occasional pieces that have not been on the market for a long time and the appear at auction.

It seems more should be happening, for example, should we expect another wave of foregn buying of our rarest coins because of the exchange rate?

A prominent dealer told me that most of US proof gold is owned by the Japanese.

Or is the hobby of rare coin collecting really an outlier that cannot be compared to other bonafide hard asset investments affected by the dollar?

It seems if really rare coins were going to make a move....this is the time period to do so.

Your thoughts?
I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




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Comments

  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,313 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Recall that from the 1960's monetary inflation that coin prices didn't even take off until around 1972-1974....then stalled for over a yearl Then took off like crazy from 1977-1980. Metal prices lead that parade with silver and gold both making small advances in the 1962-1969 period (silver 62-67, gold 68-69 when the London gold pool tossed in their manipulative towel in 1968). Then both metals put in a second advance from around 1970-1974. I know it's not exactly the same this time around, and most here would say there is no inflation. So it's anyone's guess as to when rare coin prices jump. You need obvious inflation to push fresh money back into rare coins.

    Seems to me that if the stock market and PM's are headed higher together, and I think that's the case, then rare coins should follow....eventually. Right now I think many are just slowly accumulating great coins at much better prices than they were in 2007-2008.

    roadrunner
    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,800 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I don't get the QE2 reference.

    I generally view coins from the collector viewpoint and frankly have a hard time grappling with the investment angle, especially where coins are priced related to other goods and assets.
  • earlyAurumearlyAurum Posts: 750 ✭✭✭✭✭
    QE2 should affect liquid broad-based risk assets first then possible less liquid not so widely held risk assets. At least, that's the theory to make holding cash and cash like instruments less attractive. Rare coins might take off but it is such a specialty market you can't say for sure.
  • morgandollar1878morgandollar1878 Posts: 4,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Rare coins and other assets as you state IMO are not really connected to each other. They have more of a market of their own driven by collectors. Common date silver, gold, and platinum coins are more prone to this type of movement.
    Instagram: nomad_numismatics
  • ranshdowranshdow Posts: 1,442 ✭✭✭✭
    Japanese proof fiends aside, I suspect the majority of the US rare coin mkt participants are US inhabitants. If things are as rough out there (and getting rougher) as they seem to be, that might explain a lack of rising bids for some of this stuff.

    Others here have suggested as much. Global arbitrage of skilled labor leading to a gutting of the middle class, inability to relocate for new jobs due to underwater mortgages, yada yada.

    Hey look a penny!
  • I think it is going to kill the mid and low tier rare coin market. I think many common silver and gold issues may gain merely because of bullion value, and will sell at very modest premiums over generic issues.

    Collecting for the common man will go back to its humble roots of inexpensive examples taken from circulation that are placed in Whitman folders.

    But that's just my opinion, an opinion of a man watching his beloved country being destroyed before his eyes...
  • NapNap Posts: 1,755 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I don't get the QE2 reference. >>



    I didn't get it until I looked it up on Google. I thought maybe Her Highness the Queen was going to buy US rare coins. With the royal family's ridiculous wealth and stupid spending I would imagine that would probably indeed have an effect on rare coin prices.
  • bidaskbidask Posts: 14,029 ✭✭✭✭✭
    QE stands for quantitative easing whereby essentially the government prints money and buys back their own debt forcing interests down which has a negative impact on the dollar. The fed just announced yesterday they are going to buy back 600 billion dollars of treasuries over the next 6-8 months.

    I have often read that rare coins are characterized and categorized as similar to other hard assets as investments.

    Personally I mildly believe this.

    Hence my question, should that affect rare coins?

    I am really not sure but will be interesting to see.

    I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
    I give away money. I collect money.
    I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




  • derrybderryb Posts: 37,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    QE2 is a fancy name for "create more money," 600 billion more dollars in this case. Most Americans don't realize this, thus it was no big deal and we "got fooled again." It is your government's new way of funding it's out of control spending habit. Remember how in 2008 everything came crashing down because Americans were spending more than they actually had (cheap credit)? Now it's Washington's turn and the fallout will be far greater. More dollars in the economy means weaker buying power for each one, including the ones that were already there (your savings?). This destroys the dollar's purchasing power and carries the equivalent of what inflation does to prices. For any asset, including rare coins, to keep its "value," it has to be repriced higher in dollars to compensate for the lower value of dollars. I would expect all asset classes (except real estate which must first find its true bottom) to have a higher price tag as a result. Today's precious metals explosion is a perfect example.

    Yes, your rare coins will be worth more but the real question is "what can I buy with the extra dollars that I get for my rare coins?" Unfortunately the answer will probably be "less than you could before they created 600 billion more dollars" because QE2 is going to make everyone want more dollars for what they are selling.

    No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left

  • droopyddroopyd Posts: 5,381 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>I don't get the QE2 reference. >>



    I didn't get it until I looked it up on Google. I thought maybe Her Highness the Queen was going to buy US rare coins. >>



    No, but she did send me an email recently that there's some 16.5 million pounds in the Royal Treasury that she wants to give me.
    Me at the Springfield coin show:
    image
    60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
  • MrEurekaMrEureka Posts: 24,419 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The fed just announced yesterday they are going to buy back 600 billion dollars of treasuries over the next 6-8 months.

    What's the projected value of treasuries that will be issued in the next 6-8 months?
    Andy Lustig

    Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.

    Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
  • bidaskbidask Posts: 14,029 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The fed just announced yesterday they are going to buy back 600 billion dollars of treasuries over the next 6-8 months.

    What's the projected value of treasuries that will be issued in the next 6-8 months? >>

    I thought I read that does not include an additional 35 billion a month coming due each month over the same time frame...
    I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
    I give away money. I collect money.
    I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,800 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>QE stands for quantitative easing whereby essentially the government prints money and buys back their own debt forcing interests down which has a negative impact on the dollar. The fed just announced yesterday they are going to buy back 600 billion dollars of treasuries over the next 6-8 months.

    I have often read that rare coins are characterized and categorized as similar to other hard assets as investments.

    Personally I mildly believe this.

    Hence my question, should that affect rare coins?

    I am really not sure but will be interesting to see. >>



    I knew about the Fed action. I did not know the abbreviation and did not relish having to outbid the Windsors in coin auctions. image

    As for the $600B? It's a fart in a windstorm.
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 35,933 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The fed just announced yesterday they are going to buy back 600 billion dollars of treasuries over the next 6-8 months.

    What's the projected value of treasuries that will be issued in the next 6-8 months? >>



    The joke on CNBC was that the Fed is going to make public tons of details about what they will be purchasing before they purchase ("everything but the CUSIP number") and that "the trade" was to front run the Fed. image

    Anyway, you can't think of this as "why issue stuff and buy similar things?"

    See, QE2 is "quantitative easing 2".... the key word is "quantity" They will literally print more money and buy these securities AND also go out and ask people for loans (that is.... sell more treasuries.) (think running a counterfeiting scheme AND running a ponzi scheme)

    In the famous words from "In Living Color" :: Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money !!

    image
    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 35,933 ✭✭✭✭✭
    and I was going to post about the topic...

    image


    rare

    you said rare.

    rare coins aren't tied directly to the metals market. They are more closely tied to interest and in the money area... money. If people are rich and feeling rich, then we're good to go. Now, if the metals market is making people rich, one might find the wealth effect from that making more money available for rare coin collecting.

    But QE2 and rare coins? Right now, no connection at all. Where's the wealthy feeling? The market is up a few percent, but not many are feeling the glee. We need broader recovery. How about tying rare coins prices to "no longer needing any QE cause the economy is back on track" ?
    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,618 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sorta like what Daniel Carr did ? A lot more metal stressed for a lot less peace of mind.
  • WillieBoyd2WillieBoyd2 Posts: 5,272 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This gets an Award for most confusing / misleading topic title.

    To just about everyone "QE2" is Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

    image
    https://www.brianrxm.com
    The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
    Coins in Movies
    Coins on Television

  • bidaskbidask Posts: 14,029 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I don't know how many foreign coin collectors are out there buying US rare coins.

    But imagine for a moment you live in Australia, a country rich in minerals and mining.

    They are not printing money.....they are selling to the world.

    Take a look at this chart.

    currency comparison of us dollar and aussie dollar

    If you are an australian coin collector and you collect rare us coins, your purchasing power has increased 20% in the last 5 months.

    So a rare coin bringing 50k US can be bot for 40k thru currency exchange today.

    I am sure there are other examples of foreign currencies that have materially strengthened against our dollar. Those foregn coin collectors could be buying our us coins at a discount to what we pay.....likewise their coins should cost more as well.

    I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
    I give away money. I collect money.
    I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




  • mrpotatoheaddmrpotatoheadd Posts: 7,576 ✭✭✭


    << <i>QE2 is a fancy name for "create more money," 600 billion more dollars in this case. >>

    That's because the focus groups were unanimous in panning "Destroying the Value of the Dollars in Your Pocket" as the new fancy name for "creating money out of thin air".
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 35,933 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I am sure there are other examples of foreign currencies that have materially strengthened against our dollar. >>




    Lessee.... Canadian Dollar, Aussie Dollar, Yen, .... so many out there. pick one and look it up.

    We just need more foreign collectors of US coins.
    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • JustacommemanJustacommeman Posts: 22,852 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The Fed is trying to force folks out of cash and into riskier assets. They are taking care of Treasuries and the debt and the riskier stuff is on us. If their plan succeeds the last place you want to be is in US dollars/cash. I've learned early in my life not to fight the Fed. I've been buying stock lately while holding my nose. I'm down to 10% of my holdings in USD. It's taken seven years to get there. Basically, everything is going up except the dollar. The Fed is raising all boats expect for the dollar. The greenback is the sacrificial lamb..........As for coins, I think high value raities will get the biggest boot from QE2 . Bullion is still the best bet for the masses IMO.

    As for the 600 billion. Do you think it stops there? That's all that's been commited. About 75 Billion a month for six months or so and then it gets revisited. They are trying to steepen the yield curve and will be buying at the short end to achieve it. Again, the Fed wants the rest of us out of cash and will punish those that hold it. I was able to make a huge score by buying TBT prior to the Fed announcement and more at 2:16pm after the announcement on a Day Trade. Basically TBT a bearish long bond position. Again, it makes no sense to fight the Fed. If you can't fight them, join them. I do hope that our newly elected officially will at least slow them down.

    MJ
    Walker Proof Digital Album
    Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 35,933 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>As for coins, I think high value raities will get the biggest boot from QE2 . Bullion is still the best bet for the masses IMO. >>




    You think the recovery is already being well felt by the wealthy?
    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • sinin1sinin1 Posts: 7,500
    ? my thought was QE2 was a big boat ?
  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Methinks smoe of you guys have been to too many Tea Parties! LOL

    Soooo - let me get this straight:

    The government borrows money in the past and gives IOU's in the form of Treasury Bonds. The government then buys those IOU's back for current cash - and some say the government is borrowing more money? What am I missing here?

    All that's happening in my mind is illiquid assets are becoming liquid .... and we the taxpayers are saving huge amounts of interest in the meantime. What's not to like?
  • This content has been removed.
  • JustacommemanJustacommeman Posts: 22,852 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Methinks smoe of you guys have been to too many Tea Parties! LOL

    Soooo - let me get this straight:

    The government borrows money in the past and gives IOU's in the form of Treasury Bonds. The government then buys those IOU's back for current cash - and some say the government is borrowing more money? What am I missing here?

    All that's happening in my mind is illiquid assets are becoming liquid .... and we the taxpayers are saving huge amounts of interest in the meantime. What's not to like? >>




    Nah, not a TeaParty....... A Victory Party

    Me thinks smoe of you are jealous of all the victory parties we attended after Tuesday night. I'm personally inviting all to the next one in two years.

    1) The Fed is inflating all asset classes EXCEPT for cash savers by introduction of QE2. Cash is longer king. We saw day 1 yesterday. Cash savers will be punished. Smoe call it a money grab by the Fed. I concur

    2) When the stock market goes up folks and businesses feel more wealthy. Therefore they are more likely to spend or invest. The Fed is encouraging us to take risk and they provide the net. Jump in the pool or miss a good party. Good times.

    3) Q2E has nothing to do with interest rates. They are already at historic lows. Bernanke said they were likely to remain that way for an indefinate period of time. Our lifetimes? Perhaps. Prolonged low interest rates. Goggle Japan and lost decade(s). Savers will be punished unmercifully via a slow steady drip.

    4) Currently, a lot of balance sheets have a lot of debt and next to no equity. QE2 is nothing more then fresh cash to force those to deleverage. Make your balance sheet shinny and clean. It's impossible to get a loan if your balance sheet is all icky. As far as illiquid assets becoming liquid............What rug exactly do these illiquid assets get swept under? That must be some raunchy rug. Who's going to be the brave soul that eventually shakes it out?

    My advise is to jump on The USS FED for the time being. ALL Aboard. Pass the Grey Poupon please. Just make sure you have the Captain drop you off via his helicopter before the USS FED runs aground. There will be signs when to jump out of the pool..........Until then, party on Garth

    MJ

    edited for spelling

    Walker Proof Digital Album
    Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
  • OverdateOverdate Posts: 7,159 ✭✭✭✭✭
    << Will QE2 affect rare coins? >>

    I think quantitative easing will be a wealth destroyer for the middle and upper middle class. Combined with the weak economy, it will curtail buying of five-figure and six-figure coins, and may accelerate selling of these same coins as owners deplete their assets to survive financially. The ultra-high-end coins may not be affected, but the next tier down certainly looks vulnerable.

    My Adolph A. Weinman signature :)

  • derrybderryb Posts: 37,672 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Methinks smoe of you guys have been to too many Tea Parties! LOL

    Soooo - let me get this straight:

    The government borrows money in the past and gives IOU's in the form of Treasury Bonds. The government then buys those IOU's back for current cash - and some say the government is borrowing more money? What am I missing here?

    All that's happening in my mind is illiquid assets are becoming liquid .... and we the taxpayers are saving huge amounts of interest in the meantime. What's not to like? >>


    Me thinks that some of you put too much trust in those that ultimately determine your quality of life.

    QE2 is the equivalent of you transferring the balance of a credit card to a new credit card to avoid the payment. As you continue to do this each time the bill comes in, it eventually spirals out of control to where there is no way you will ever be able to pay off the balance. The difference here is that sooner or later the credit card companies will cut you off and quit giving you new credit cards. In the case of QE2, since our creditors (China and Japan) have cut us off by not loaning us more money (buying our treasury bonds), the Fed has become the credit card company and is indirectly buying the debt.

    The Fed is seeing to it that that this bill for the debt is being passed on to you and I. We will pay with devaluation of our dollar savings, price increases to compensate for the dollar devaluation, and a monster of an I.O.U. (the bonds themselves) that will be passed on to future generations. Keep in mind that there is always current interest due on the government's debt and all of this new debt is being created primarily to keep up with the interest payments. And they put Bernie Madoff in prison for this kind of behavior!

    Debt is the lifeblood of the financial industry. Loaning you and I, and now Washington, money is what puts money in their pockets. As an agent for the financial industry, the Fed's modern role is to assist in creating demand for credit. Their number one tool is low interest rates. Market bubbles (dot.com, real estate, commodities and now maybe even rare coins) are created with this demand as speculators have cheap money at their disposal. A market "bubble" is nothing more than an overpriced market that was fueled by careless speculation. Eventually the speculator realizes he was "had" and the rush to get out is even more dramatic than the rush to get in.

    Even with record low interest rates, the American people have gotten smarter. They have learned that the true fix is to get out of debt and to save. Realizing this, the Fed has engineered a way to force you out of your dollar savings. By destroying the value of your dollars (QE2) they are forcing savings to be converted into speculative investments in order to maintain their value. This drives up markets, including the value of rare coins, for the wrong reasons and creates the illusion that all is well. The Fed pretends to believe the fix to an economy that spent more than it had is to generate more spending funded by more credit. In reality they are just doing what they do best - creating demand for credit.

    It's a snowball heading down the mountain. How will all this end? Very, very badly for those that drink the kool aid or the tea and do not prepare for the consequences. Lifelong savings that are sitting in the bank will be destroyed. It has nothing to do with politicians and everything to do with those who control the politicians. Learn how bubbles are created, learn how to see them forming, get in on the ground floor and get out before the elevator reaches the top. Right now the elevator has already reached the "dollar" penthouse and is on it's way back down. The Fed wants you out of dollars and will make it unprofitable for you to remain in dollars. Learn to play the game and profit from your knowledge. It's the only thing you can do to protect your financial security.

    No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left

  • CommemDudeCommemDude Posts: 2,343 ✭✭✭✭✭
    We lay people really appreciate the lucid discussion here, it's great to hear from so many knowledgable forum members on this topic.

    I would ask this question: the cheapened dollar makes stocks, rare coins and bullion automatically more pricey, followed by an undermining of our credit throughout the world with consequent increased interest rates.

    What is the practical way to prepare for this? Coins rise in value as the dollar falls, then rise again as inflation drives people to "limited quantity" goods like gold and truly rare coins and collectables Is this the time to convert cash to bullion or is there another play here to protect yourself, like loading up on stocks or betting on foreign currencies? Does this mean we can anticipate the Dow at 20,000 based on devalued American dollars?
    Dr Mikey
    Commems and Early Type
  • derrybderryb Posts: 37,672 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>We lay people really appreciate the lucid discussion here, it's great to hear from so many knowledgable forum members on this topic.

    I would ask this question: the cheapened dollar makes stocks, rare coins and bullion automatically more pricey, followed by an undermining of our credit throughout the world with consequent increased interest rates.

    What is the practical way to prepare for this? Coins rise in value as the dollar falls, then rise again as inflation drives people to "limited quantity" goods like gold and truly rare coins and collectables Is this the time to convert cash to bullion or is there another play here to protect yourself, like loading up on stocks or betting on foreign currencies? Does this mean we can anticipate the Dow at 20,000 based on devalued American dollars? >>


    You can expect the Fed to do everything in its power to keep the Dow bubble intact. You can be best prepared by learning their game and playing it well. Since dollar value is dropping, convert your dollars into something that is rising in value. But never forget that what goes up must come down. I would forget foreign currencies as all central banks are currently devaluing their currency. They want us out of dollars and into markets. Might as well play along and profit. Gold and silver coins are an excellent avenue, just be prepared to sell when the top is near.

    No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left

  • heavymetalheavymetal Posts: 631 ✭✭✭✭
    This morning, I saw a small tv spot on CNBC about their "Alternative Investing" page which mentioned "rare coins" specifically. As a regular CNBC viewer and Coin Collector, I don't recall seeing this promo before. I will watch for it again as this may signal a "sheparding" of investors into the coin collecting arena. HM

    CNBC Alternative Investing Site
  • nutmegnutmeg Posts: 345 ✭✭


    << <i>This gets an Award for most confusing / misleading topic title.

    To just about everyone "QE2" is Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

    image >>



    When I read this title I thought that the ship QE2 had sunk and salvagers were bringing up rare coins from the ocean floor wreckage.
  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Methinks smoe of you guys have been to too many Tea Parties! LOL

    Soooo - let me get this straight:

    The government borrows money in the past and gives IOU's in the form of Treasury Bonds. The government then buys those IOU's back for current cash - and some say the government is borrowing more money? What am I missing here?

    All that's happening in my mind is illiquid assets are becoming liquid .... and we the taxpayers are saving huge amounts of interest in the meantime. What's not to like? >>


    Me thinks that some of you put too much trust in those that ultimately determine your quality of life.

    QE2 is the equivalent of you transferring the balance of a credit card to a new credit card to avoid the payment. As you continue to do this each time the bill comes in, it eventually spirals out of control to where there is no way you will ever be able to pay off the balance. The difference here is that sooner or later the credit card companies will cut you off and quit giving you new credit cards. In the case of QE2, since our creditors (China and Japan) have cut us off by not loaning us more money (buying our treasury bonds), the Fed has become the credit card company and is indirectly buying the debt.

    The Fed is seeing to it that that this bill for the debt is being passed on to you and I. We will pay with devaluation of our dollar savings, price increases to compensate for the dollar devaluation, and a monster of an I.O.U. (the bonds themselves) that will be passed on to future generations. Keep in mind that there is always current interest due on the government's debt and all of this new debt is being created primarily to keep up with the interest payments. And they put Bernie Madoff in prison for this kind of behavior!

    Debt is the lifeblood of the financial industry. Loaning you and I, and now Washington, money is what puts money in their pockets. As an agent for the financial industry, the Fed's modern role is to assist in creating demand for credit. Their number one tool is low interest rates. Market bubbles (dot.com, real estate, commodities and now maybe even rare coins) are created with this demand as speculators have cheap money at their disposal. A market "bubble" is nothing more than an overpriced market that was fueled by careless speculation. Eventually the speculator realizes he was "had" and the rush to get out is even more dramatic than the rush to get in.

    Even with record low interest rates, the American people have gotten smarter. They have learned that the true fix is to get out of debt and to save. Realizing this, the Fed has engineered a way to force you out of your dollar savings. By destroying the value of your dollars (QE2) they are forcing savings to be converted into speculative investments in order to maintain their value. This drives up markets, including the value of rare coins, for the wrong reasons and creates the illusion that all is well. The Fed pretends to believe the fix to an economy that spent more than it had is to generate more spending funded by more credit. In reality they are just doing what they do best - creating demand for credit.

    It's a snowball heading down the mountain. How will all this end? Very, very badly for those that drink the kool aid or the tea and do not prepare for the consequences. Lifelong savings that are sitting in the bank will be destroyed. It has nothing to do with politicians and everything to do with those who control the politicians. Learn how bubbles are created, learn how to see them forming, get in on the ground floor and get out before the elevator reaches the top. Right now the elevator has already reached the "dollar" penthouse and is on it's way back down. The Fed wants you out of dollars and will make it unprofitable for you to remain in dollars. Learn to play the game and profit from your knowledge. It's the only thing you can do to protect your financial security. >>



    Waiiiit a minute - you can't have it both ways. You can't say all the money is going to interest rates to service the debt and then not acknowlege the vast savings that record low interest rates are causing. Bottom line is this: fiscal policy DEMANDS inflation. Without the abilility to inflate the economy 6% while reporting it as 2-3% for Social Security purposes, the country is bankrupt. We WILL inflate - and there's nothing wrong with it. Deflation is the devil here, folks. Printing new money to buy old borrowings and at the same time driving interest rates to record lows? Brilliant! All hail the Fed.
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 35,933 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Methinks smoe of you guys have been to too many Tea Parties! LOL

    Soooo - let me get this straight:

    The government borrows money in the past and gives IOU's in the form of Treasury Bonds. The government then buys those IOU's back for current cash - and some say the government is borrowing more money? What am I missing here?

    All that's happening in my mind is illiquid assets are becoming liquid .... and we the taxpayers are saving huge amounts of interest in the meantime. What's not to like? >>



    Buys back with newly printed cash that would not have been printed otherwise if it weren't for QE2. Saving interest would also be another benefit.

    With this method, the government is printing more money that never existed and would not have existed if not for QE2.

    Someone asked about how much in Treasuries will the government sell over these next few months that they are buying Treasuries. (essentially asking why are they both buying AND selling) My point was they printed new moneythat we never had before to buy AND are borrowing more money from the same suckers that loaned it to us in the first place: Mo Money... Mo Money... Mo Money!



    I'm not surprised that Justacommeman thinks QE2 will help rare coins.

    Those with a particular wealth can keep doing what they do in up or down economic times. But, I still ask, are those less fortunate wealthy who held back now feeling well enough and wealthy enough to increase rare coin purchases? I don't think we're out of the woods yet, and would look more to the "no longer need of any QE" as a watershed event....

    but then again, I'm not that wealthy.
    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It wasn't so long ago that T-Bills were in the 8% range. Now they're in the 2% range. 6% savings on 10 Trillion dollars debt? Just a mere $600 billion a year, folks. And it's not costing us a dime - a lower dollar creates jobs and profits. So what if it's a little more expensive to buy at Walmart - buy USA!
  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Yes, the Fed is printing money. But so what? If all they do with that money is buy T-Bills, there's no net effect. The government is buying back its own debt with new debt...big whoop. And the benefit is that every time they sell debt to replace expiring debt, we are saving 6%. WE save it. Thank you, Fed.
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,313 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Illiquid assets purchased by the FED or anyone else for that matter remain illiquid. The FED has $1.2 TRILL of such illiquid assets on their balance sheet. They can become liquid if they are willing to dump them on the market and accept FMV, which may only be from 10c to 80c on the dollar. A better way for them to handle this is to shuffle those illiquid assets over to the taxpayers via conduits like Fannie and Freddie, which conveniently had their price caps removed until 2012. These assets are illiquid for a reason. Not because they are hard to sell or determining their value is overly difficult. The real reason is because they are worth a fraction of their current marked to model value. And no one wants to be seen taking the marked to market hit in the light of day.

    The problem of constantly pushing off debt down the road is what got us to where we are today. That in a nutshell describes our economy over the past 30 years. Regardless of any immediate illusory savings, such a scheme always ends of toppling on its creators. The FED/Treasury/Big Banks have many means to induce liquidity without resorting to the simple purchase of TBonds. Currency swaps, repos, derivatives, GSE's, agency debt purchases, FED foreign custodial account purchases, POMO's, direct stock market purchases via the exchange stabilization fund, and a host of other methods are at their disposal. If one looks at just the money supply it's quite apparent it hasn't kept up with TBond purchases, TARP, QE1 or QE2. These guys now have basically undetectable methods not viewable by J6P to induce unlimited liquidity that work around the standard monetary system. They don't need approval by congress or anyone else. There's no way they could have done this work in the light of day without being exposed.

    The rare coin market is driven mainly by collectors, but only at specific times. The rare coin markets of 1977-1980, 1988-1990, 2005-2008 were heavily infiltrated by investors and speculators, many of which used to be just collectors or dealers. When the investors show back up, the collector is pushed to the side as market dynamics change. The rare coin market is never just collector oriented.

    roadrunner
    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Why would the Fed sell? Just hold til maturity - that's the advantage the Fed has over the banks. It's not like the assets have no value...especially the T-Bills.

    In the end, all of this will have cost us nothing and saved us billions. While keeping us out of a Depression. Brilliant.
  • derrybderryb Posts: 37,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Bottom line: The Fed is destroying the value of your money. If they can't do it with inflation they will do it with devaluation. In the process they are forcing more Americans to government handout programs at the expense of those who are smart enough to properly manage their personal finances. Thank you Fed. Brilliant. image

    No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left

  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Bottom line: The Fed is destroying the value of your money. If they can't do it with inflation they will do it with devaluation. Thank you Fed. image >>



    Oh, puh-leeze. Show me one thing other than the precious metal bubble that costs you more than it did before the crash. Oil? Nope. House? Nope. Car? Nope. The Fed ain't destroying nothing - they're saving the darn country billions in interest payments and keeping us out of a Depression.
  • derrybderryb Posts: 37,672 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Bottom line: The Fed is destroying the value of your money. If they can't do it with inflation they will do it with devaluation. Thank you Fed. image >>



    Oh, puh-leeze. Show me one thing other than the precious metal bubble that costs you more than it did before the crash. Oil? Nope. House? Nope. Car? Nope. The Fed ain't destroying nothing - they're saving the darn country billions in interest payments and keeping us out of a Depression. >>


    For one thing, the longer line of Americans needing government assistance is costing me more. You're forgetting that Fed policy created the crash and all of the bubble markets, an effect that took time to boil over. Other than instant devaluation of the dollars in your wallet, the effect of current policy will be felt later. Lay off the kool aid.

    No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left

  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Whaaaat? Smoebody here better lay off something but its not me and the koolaid! Lol.

    We are talking QE2 - not your fantasies about what may or may not have caused the crash. I'm still waiting for hard evidence of all this destruction being caused by the Fed. A higher Australian dollar? Shocking - how will we afford all those necessities we import from the Aussies? image
  • derrybderryb Posts: 37,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The results of Fed action are not felt until later. Earlier fed actions and their lagging results created market bubbles and total market meltdown in 2008. QE2 is nothing more than irresponsible Fed action to devalue the currency and to pass government debt directly to the taxpayer. Since interest rates are near zero and are not providing the intended consequnce of encouraging Americans to spend money they don't have, the Fed is pulling out it's last big gun and monetizing the national debt. In simple English, since our earlier foreign creditors are wise to the scam and will no longer carry our debt, the Fed is forcing it upon the American people. It is an expensive bandaid on a gunshot wound. The resulting infection will be much worse than the immediate surgery (drastically cutting government spending) that should be accomplished.

    No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left

  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You have totally failed to show how printing new money to buy old debt is forcing the national debt upon the American people. All it does is increase liquidity. Yes, its lowering the dollar but so what? That's good for jobs, good for corporate profits - and yes, good for inflation. We are in debt $10 trillion dollars - we HAVE to have inflation. Without inflation, the debt becomes even more staggering. Without inflation, Social Security bankrupts the nation. All hail inflation!
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 35,933 ✭✭✭✭✭
    China, Germany and South Africa criticise US stimulus

    Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on German television that "with all due respect, US policy is clueless."



    Obviously not a rare coin collector!



    As mentioned QE2 is trying to make sitting in cash a bad idea. Money will move to riskier assets. Their price will increase. People will feel wealther and spend more. An additional effect that is supposed to happen is the large banking institutions holding these Treasuries will have more money to lend. Unfortunately, they haven't self soothed from the home and commercial real estate lending crash. The commercial lending crash is still happening to some extent. So, I can't help but wonder if the banks will hold the liquidity and use it for their own ends instead of lending it. No one can force them to lend. The result from that is a small wealth effect and similarly small increase in spending, in my opinion. "A short lived sugar rush." This is why I don't see an effect on the rare coin market.
    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • derrybderryb Posts: 37,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Note to tradedollarnut - we are bankrupt. The only thing keeping us afloat are the Treasuries (I.O.U.'s) being bought with money created out of thin air. Who do you think is on the hook for the I.O.U.'s? The very same people that ultimately pay all government debt.

    No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left

  • mrearlygoldmrearlygold Posts: 17,858 ✭✭✭
  • derrybderryb Posts: 37,672 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>We are in debt $10 trillion dollars - we HAVE to have inflation. Without inflation, the debt becomes even more staggering. Without inflation, Social Security bankrupts the nation. All hail inflation! >>



    So, you're argument is to reduce the true value of government debt by reducing the true value of the American citizens' holdings? Drink more kool aid.

    No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left

  • Unequivocally, yes.
  • tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Note to tradedollarnut - we are bankrupt. The only thing keeping us afloat are the Treasuries (I.O.U.'s) being bought with money created out of thin air. Who do you think is on the hook for the I.O.U.'s? The very same people that ultimately pay all government debt. >>



    Past decisions that have nothing to do w/ the Fed and QE2. Given the FACT that we owe all this money and have Social Security deficit looming, how about YOU come up w/ a different course of action for the Fed. What would YOU do given reality? No fantasies about not having borrowed in the 1st place - that wasn't the Fed.

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