‘Eat Where the Locals Eat, Buy Gold Where the Locals Buy Gold’

On Sunday, September 27, 2026, the Beaumont Enterprise announced its winners for the annual reader’s choice awards, known as Best of the Best in Southeast Texas. Once again, Universal Coin & Bullion (UCB) was voted by Enterprise readers the winner in the Best of the Best Gold Buyer/Seller category.

At UCB, we like to say, “Eat where the locals eat, buy gold where the locals buy gold.”

We have also been named the Dealer of the Year by the congressionally chartered American Numismatic Association (ANA) but that is not all. 

The past few months have been a special time for Universal Coin & Bullion because, in August, our weekly “Metals Market Report” won coveted honors from the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) as the Best Investment Newsletter. That’s right, the very newsletter you are currently reading received top honors during the NLG annual award luncheon at the World’s Fair of Money in Pittsburgh.

So, yes, to say it simply, we are very proud of these achievements. Why? Because these are honors that no one else you see advertising on television or online can claim. They aren’t made up or pay-for-play reviews; they are real honors from legitimate organizations that have been around for decades and they don’t need asterisks by them directing people to read the fine print for clarification purposes.

This latest accolade for our Metals Market Report would not be possible without the contributions of numerous talented individuals in sales, marketing and numismatics. Ask your representative to put you on our email list to receive this report each time it is published. You will be glad you did.

Whether you’re buying gold and silver bullion, incredible PCGS, NGC and CAC certified rare coins or opening a gold IRA, remember UCB’s service, education and sales have been voted the best both locally and nationally. Dare to compare us with all others.

I strongly encourage you to start a monthly acquisition plan and to also diversify your IRA with our recommended gold products.

Monthly Report for September and the First 9 Months of 2026

Gold began September 2026 at a strong $4,481, then peaked at $4,540 on September 3 before falling to $4,189 in the futures market (and a spot price of $4,160 an ounce) on September 30. That was a decline of 6.5% in September, which has historically been a strong month for gold, as it is the time of year when jewelers around the world buy gold to fashion it into jewelry for the fall and winter gift-giving seasons.

Silver ended August at $66.22 and then rose to $67.30 on September 3 before falling to $60.76 on the futures market (and $60.50 spot price) on September 30, for a 9.7% monthly decline. Platinum fell by 3.7% in September, while Palladium had the worst month of all, down 11% in September.

Oddly, Stocks were off less than metals: The Dow Jones Industrial was off 4.3% and the small-stock Russell 2000 was down 5.4%. The S&P 500 was off by only 0.5% and the NASDAQ rose 1.6%.

Part of the precious metals price decline this year revolves around a stronger dollar, with the U.S. Dollar Index up 3.23% in the first nine months of 2026. A bigger problem was rising interest rates – not only the Fed Funds rate increase in the middle of September. Additionally, the benchmark 10-year Treasury rate rose from 4.76% on August 31 to 5.29% at the end of September. Also, inflation remains stubbornly high and the price of oil rose from $85 to $90 per barrel in September.

Very soon, we will see the Treasury report on the fiscal 2026 deficit: FY26 ended this week (on September 30) and the red ink likely exceeded $2 trillion, despite a strong economy. It’s a sign of far too much spending, a condition likely to continue with campaign promises this election year. 

In the long run, these deficits will lead to a weaker dollar and stronger gold prices in the future.

Please note: “The Congressional Budget Office estimated the FY2026 national deficit will hit $2.1 trillion with the overall national debt exceeding $40 trillion.”

“J.P. Morgan, UBS, Commerzbank, Bank of America and Citibank all believe gold will reach at least $5,000 an ounce.  I’ve written for years about buying on the dips; it’s time to make your move because central banks bought more gold in the past four years than the previous eight years combined.”

Our Price Chart (above) can be misleading if you are only looking at year-starting prices. If you go back three years from today, to September 30, 2003, a week before the Hamas invasion of Israel, the metals win:

Shortly after the shocking invasion of Israel, I met with Steve Forbes, and he and I agreed that gold would hit $2,500 gold in 2024. It was an outrageous prediction at the time but gold reached $2,500 barely 10 months later, on August 16, 2024.