“When the stock market has been nosediving, when real estate has been taking a hit and all these other assets seem to have fluctuated downward, the only thing left in times of trouble and uncertainty is gold and silver bullion,” said mint spokesman Alex Reeves.
Indeed. The mint’s Sussex Drive operation sold 896,701 ounces of gold in coins, wafers and kilo bars in 2008, a 222-per-cent increase from 278,616 ounces in 2007. Sales of silver coins soared, too, to 8.8 million ounces from 3.5 million the previous year.
“Once again, it’s proven to be the asset of choice in times of uncertainty,” said Reeves.
