Chicago Gold and Silver Investing Fan Blog

1st Sunday Coin Show in Schuamburg

I went to the first Sunday of every month coin show held at the Schaumburg, IL Embassay Suites sponsored by NOISE. It was nothing besides the usual. Vendors set up booths and sold their mainly numismatic coins at regular retail prices. Silver and gold bullion was sold at the regular premiums. The lowest price I got quoted for a generic silver 1 oz round was about $1.50 over spot. In other words, the usual price.

Overall, not worth going to if you have a local favorite coin shop that you go to. For better deals on silver bullion I would go to the Chicago International Coin Fair. This year's show will be held April 18-21, 2013 at the Crown Plaza Hotel near O'Hare Airport. In the past, I have bought generic silver rounds at spot price. That is the cheapest source I have seen.

Chicago economy getting much worse

All the signs are here in Chicago for financial armageddon. Everywhere I go, all the people I talk to the picture is the same - the economy stinks and it's getting worse.

The other day I talked to a 71 year old man. "I'm 71 yearsold and living off of social security. For the last 6 months I've been looking for a sales job. I'll take anything. But if you are not offered anything how cna I take it. It used to be, wages were higher, now they are offering only $10 an hour and I still can't those jobs."

Yesterday, I talked to a Sam's Club Manager: "Business is terrible. We are getting so much competition from everywhere. Sales are down. It doesn't matter that I work for the world's largest company. Sales are down."

The story is the same everywhere, company sales are down, people can't find jobs. Add that to the fact that there are 125 million people in America dependent on welfare or other entitlement and there are only 115 million people working.

My report is that in Chicago the economic situation is bleak and it is getting worse.

 

Egon von Greyerz Take

As US Public debt increases the price of gold will increase (goldswitzerland.com photo)

Video- First there was the Tea Party. Now there is the Broke Party!

Mayor Rahm Emanuel battling against the Chicago Teachers Union

Emanuel is forced to face the fact that unions are a burden to tax payers.

Read more in this Town Hall Article.

"The average Chicago teacher makes $76,450, nearly 30% more than the typical private sector worker in Cook County—and teachers work two months less a year."

Pensions Broke All Over the Place

Chicago is broke. At the city level, county level, and at the state level. According to a Chicago Tribune article: the city of Chicago has a pension gap of more than 25 billion, Cook County has a pension gap of 5.2 billion, and the state of Illinois has a pension gap of over 80 billion.

Everyone know we are all broke. The problem is that the mostly liberal leadership keeps getting the solution. Illinois has been run by Democrats for decades. Their solution always seems to be to blame the rich, raise taxes, raiding pension funds, and keep increasing public sector union compensation. This formula got us to this point and in Illinois they keep trying the same old formula that keeps getting us even deeper in the hole.

The county is in such a hole, even if they ask for a 1% increase in how much county employees (currently at 8.5%), they will only generate an additional 15 million dollars. That is minisully short of the 5.2 billion needed for the county pension gap.

I just cannot see any way for Illinois to get itself out of this mess without creating some massive chaos. When that happens, the unprepared will pay the most dearly.

The Real Reason Why the CPS is Broke...

The real reason charter schools will work is plain and simple .....they bring lower employee salaries and benefits.

Right now, CPS employee salaries and benefits make up 67% of the CPS budget.

See p.4 of this link:

http://www.cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/CitizensGuide.pdf

The Real Reason Why the CPS is Broke...

The real reason charter schools will work is plain and simple .....they bring lower employee salaries and benefits.

Right now, CPS employee salaries and benefits make up 67% of the CPS budget.

See p.4 of this link:

http://www.cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/CitizensGuide.pdf

Chicago's Largest Monthly Coin Show

Scene of vendors at the show (photo courtesy West Suburban Coin Show).

The West Suburban Coin Show (http://www.westsuburbancoinshow.com/) held at:

Park Place of Countryside Banquet Hall
6200 Joliet Road, Countryside, IL 60525

is the largest monthly coin show in Illinois.

Shows Held

2nd Sunday of the Month
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

I have not attended this show yet. But I definitely want to go soon. As you can see from the picture above there are a lot of vendors. From what I heard over 100. There is everything there from jewelry, collectibles numismatic coins, rare coins, and plain old bullion.

I asked a fellow if they have good prices on bullion. His answer was probably not now, since silver prices are so low. He said no one sells under spot, but you may get people selling at $1 over spot. Even at $1 over spot, that is an incredible price. Most coin stores charge anywhere from $3-$6 over spot on an American Eagle SIlver bullion coin. If it is true that you can buy silver at $1 over spot, then at the minimum you can save $2 per ounce that you buy. So if you are a high buyer of silver, let's say you buy 20 rounds, that can give you a savings of $40. That does not sound much, but if you are a big silver bullion buyer, you can really save money if you buy it there as opposed to a coin store or even online.

NOISE - 3rd Sunday of every month coin show

NOISE holds a coin, stamp, and other collectible show every 3rd Sunday of every month in Itasca.