Issue 15 · week ending October 20, 2026
October 20, 2026
Gold slipped back toward $4,120 as oil climbed again, and the last Semiquincentennial quarter started shipping to banks. Plus Heraeus on record-high gold ETF holdings for the year, Metals Focus's 2027 forecast, and the story behind the 1849 Mormon $10 gold piece.
The Gettysburg Address quarter entered circulation. The U.S. Mint has begun shipping the 1776–2026 Gettysburg Address quarter, the fifth and final Semiquincentennial quarter, to Federal Reserve Banks as of Oct. 19. Lincoln is on the obverse (designed by Justin Kunz, sculpted by Don Everhart); the reverse shows two clasped hands under A NEW NATION CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY (designed by Beth Zaiken, sculpted by Craig Campbell). The Mint's online two-roll set ($56) and 100-coin bags ($63) go on sale Nov. 13 at noon ET.
CoinNews.net printed 2.8 million circulation coins struck through September, split evenly between Philadelphia and Denver; two-roll set $56, 100-coin bags $63 (2026-10-19).
Gold edged lower Tuesday morning as rising oil prices, with Brent near a five-month high, kept inflation and Fed tightening in focus ahead of the Oct. 27–28 meeting.
Kitco News (Reuters) printed spot gold down 0.5% to $4,120.87 an ounce and December gold futures at $4,139.90 by 11:03 GMT; CME FedWatch at a 92% chance of a December hike (2026-10-20).
Gold ETF holdings hit 2026 highs despite the price slump. Heraeus analysts say gold held its $4,100 support after the hot September CPI and PPI prints, while Bloomberg-tracked gold ETF holdings climbed to a year-to-date peak and have stayed there even with gold stuck around $4,100–4,200. Asian-listed funds accounted for almost half the 12-month increase.
Kitco News (Heraeus) printed Heraeus figures of a 101.3 moz year-to-date peak on Oct. 8, up 5.3% from the 96.2 moz low on July 20 (2026-10-19).
Metals Focus sees gold consolidating. Matthew Piggott, director of gold and silver at Metals Focus, told Kitco that institutional and central bank buying keeps putting a floor near $4,000, and that the structural drivers behind last year's rally remain in place.
Kitco News printed Metals Focus forecasts of a $5,330 average gold price in 2027 (vs. a projected $4,600 average this year), $5,600 in Q4 2027, and silver averaging $84.40 next year (2026-10-19).
CoinWeek tells the story of the Mormon $10 gold coin, dated 1849 but struck in December 1848 in the Great Salt Lake Valley: just 46 were made before the mint's crucibles broke, and only about 10 to 11 survive. It follows the Green-Kern-Carter-Miller specimen, now graded PCGS AU55.
CoinWeek printed $840,000 realized at Stack's Bowers Galleries in December 2020 (CoinWeek does not say whether this includes the buyer's premium) and an estimated value approaching $2 million in Witter Coin's November 2025 publicity (2026-10-19).
CoinWeek IQ walks through five dramatic paper money errors from Bureau of Engraving and Printing presses that still turn up in circulation, from misfeeds and folds to ink failures.
CoinWeek printed no sale figure.
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