Tag Archives: Central Planning

Jan 13 2019

The 1943 Copper Penny a Flop? Or just Over Hype by Heritage Auctions?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Opinion

Re-Posted Jan 13, 2019 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: I read that the Heritage auction of the penny they said would bring $1.7 million was a flop. Any indication as to why? Or is it just the firm trying to pawn something for big bucks?

HK

ANSWER: I have no idea why Heritage would have claimed the coin would bring $1.7 million. It is not that rare. There are about 40 to 45 known 1943 copper cents from the Philadelphia Mint. The general assumption is that they were struck by accident when there were some copper blank planchets still remaining in the press hopper when production began on the new steel pennies.

Now as far as sales go, there was a 1943 copper cent which was first offered for sale back in 1958, which sold for more than $40,000, or so it was claimed. Subsequently, there was one sold for only $10,000 at an ANA convention in 1981. The highest amount ever paid for this error previously was $82,500 back in 1996.

There was only one copper 1943 penny known from the Denver Mint which did sell they claim for $1.7 million by Legend Numismatics of Lincroft, New Jersey. I would not guarantee that price personally. US coins tend to get really hyped. This unique coin, not publicly known to exist until 1979, was certified PCGS MS64BN. If Heritage was claiming their penny should bring $1.7 million which was from the far more common hoard of Philadelphia, I really question such expertise. The Heritage example sold for only $204,000, which is a modest advance over the last sale of $82,500 back in 1996.

The culture in American coins is strikingly different. American collectors seem to prize errors. A brockage is an error coin where one side is normal, but the other side instead of the reverse displays the obverse again, but incuse or in a negative mirror-like form. Brockage errors are caused when an already minted coin sticks to the coin die and impresses onto another blank pressing a mirror image of the other coin into the blank.

Brockage errors coins are rare. However, they do not bring significant premiums. A nice Augustus(27BC-14AD) denarius may bring $1,000+ whereas the Brokage will bring about $500 as illustrated above. Here is an extremely rare official Roman die of Emperor Tiberius (14-37AD) with precisely this problem of a silver denarius stuck to the reverse die.

This die of Tiberius is UNIQUE and was discarded because of the brokage error coins it would have produced which would have appeared like the Augustus denarius illustrated above. There are only about 12 official Roman dies that have survived.

Here is Another genuine Roman die of an extremely rare Emperor Gordian I (238AD) who reigned for only 21 days. Obviously, this die was discarded because he did not last in office very long.

There is a completely different culture outside of American coins. Such an error would never bring such premiums. In ancient coins, the premiums attained are for high quality.

Jan 12 2019

The Coming Launch of Socrates


Armstrong Economics Blog/Socrates

Re-Posted Jan 12, 2019 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Marty,
Back in 2015 when they closed the Chicago MERC after 167 years, you did a piece about how flashing screens do not provide the same “feel” as tape watching and floor trading. You also mentioned in that piece that “after Socrates, you will recreate something you always wanted to do” in relation to bringing “feel” back into trading.
My question is; given all the directions you are being pulled- is this still something you aspire to undertake?
I grew up tape watching, and despise blinking screens…it’s a lost art and would welcome anything you might undertake in this area.
Rw

ANSWER: Absolutely. We are getting ready for the first launch very soon. The intention is to expand the system to intraday. We are in negotiations with a data-provider to make the system live intraday with reversals and timing on an hourly basis. Trust me. It has been this initial launch that has been delayed by banks changing rules causing us to have to re-write the payment systems three times. Then we have completely different rules for outside North America so it required then setting up another whole new payment system. Then we have been having to set up yet a third for China. This has all been driven by this Hunt for Taxes.

It will be that intraday version that will be sound. Also in Phase-Two of our launch, we will be looking at providing a download version that will link back into our system so you can just talk to it and it will answer. We just cannot do that level of sophistication over the internet.

Jan 10 2019

Germany Slips into Recession Following the Economic Confidence Model


Armstrong Economics Blog/France

Re-Posted Jan 10, 2019 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong; Your ECM has been amazingly accurate. Not only did real estate peak, but it is now official, Germany is in a recession.

Great job

HW

REPLY: There is an accurate business cycle that unfolds but you must step back and observe it from a global perspective. The Economic Confidence Model has a long track record.  The numbers are shocking. For 8 out of 12 months in 2018, German production has declined. On average, manufacturing declined 4.1% in November and energy production decline 3.1% in November. Even new construction has declined 1.7%.

Jan 10 2019

May EU Elections Promising to be Major Issue


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union

Re-Posted Jan 10, 2019 by Martin Armstrong

Two more politicians in France have abandoned Macron and joined the right party of LePen ahead of the May European elections. Our sources in France are clearly revealing that the Yellow Vest movement has had a profound impact on politics. Macron’s promises to raise taxes on the rich are falling short because that just never seems to result in lower taxes for anyone else.

Our models are shaping up to show May as the major turning point here in 2019. This will have a profound impact on European share markets as well as the currency. Meanwhile, the EU is really at war with Poland and its policies have been outright deliberately intent on punishing Poland. This is leading to the development of a new coalition causing Ital and Poland to join together against Brussels to form their own anti-EU league.

Jan 9 2019

Yellow Vest Movement Spreads to Australia & Poland


Armstrong Economics Blog/Australia & Oceania

Re-Posted Jan 9, 2019 by Martin Armstrong

We are witnessing the Yellow Vest Movement now also spreading to Australia. We are seeing the rise there and in Canada also against Fake News that the media is desperately fighting Trump on who now label him an idiot in headlines. We are also witnessing a backlash against taking in the Muslim claimed refugees from Syria in Australia as well. It is not a matter of race, but culture. People who traveled to Paris from the USA this summer have often returned with horror stories of being robbed on the street, cell phones, jewelry, purses being stolen by people on motorcycles. Muslim women begging on every corner of the Champs-Élysées. The culture clash is the problem. These people cannot speak the language and lack skills for employment for the most part. Immigrants historically seek economic opportunity – not handouts. Last November, Merkel was offering cash to the refugees to leave Germany it was getting that bad. Now she is willing to pay one year’s rent back home to leave Germany.

The Green groups that have taken over the UN are frantic fearing that they want to avoid the violent clashes that have rocked France from becoming a “je suis Trump” (I’m Trump) moment for against climate change. It was the higher global warming fuel taxes and other environmental efforts that sparked the “yellow-vests” protests that have forced Pres­ident Emmanuel Macron into ­retreat. In Canada, the Yellow Vests are also growing over environmental sanctions that block pipelines and creating employment in the energy industry which is also lurking behind a growing separatist movement in Alberta. The Yellow Vest Movement has hit Poland for all the same reasons. In Egypt, the government has restricted the sale of yellow vests in hope of preventing the spread of the movement there as well. This is turning into a clash against the Global Warming Crowd. The environmentalists now fear that the Yellow Vest movement will engulf all of Europe as their agenda has been to raise taxes and lower the standard of living in addition to the birth rate.