Planning ahead for your family in case disaster strikes?

Your preparation should include creating a list of items to take with you if you leave your home.

The Hartford’s Allie Johnson has put together an article everyone should be aware of.

Weathering a storm, fire or other disaster starts with making an emergency evacuation plan for you and your family — including a detailed list of what to take with you.

The items you take may include clothing, food, water, medication, insurance documents and possibly even a few sentimental items like a journal or old photos. What you take will vary based on your household and needs. For example, you might have a baby or a pet that requires special accommodations or a family member who takes daily medication.

Start by making sure each family member has a backpack or other bag that’s sturdy, water-resistant and easy to carry, with pockets or compartments for finding items quickly. You may also want to get a container you can easily grab and place in your car for documents and other paper items.

Here are the things you may want to include when making your list of what to take with you if you evacuate your home.

Be Prepared, Download the List – Emergency Evacuation Checklist

Source: What to Take When You Evacuate Your Home in a Disaster

Interview with Jeff L. from Vintage Varieties at the Michigan State Coin Show, May 16, 2025

Note: the interesting display of Engelhard Silver items.  Jeff uses self-designed color-coded system based on the All-Engelhard Valuation Guide.  This assists collectors in determining different Engelhard products.

The Collectability Rating [ICR] system is a valuation guide for our community to define collectability and investment classifications for all Engelhard bars and ingots. These ratings are designated on our Definitive Pages as Tier 1 through Tier 5, with Tier 1 representing the most rare examples and Tier 5 representing the more common examples, per the classification categories found below.

Engelhard bars and ingots were not all created equal.  Each Engelhard variety has its own unique design and personality, with specific strengths, and yes, weaknesses.  Later production varieties were near perfectly-machined under precise manufacturing methods, with vibrant hallmark and flawless stamping, and often a proof-like finish… while earlier ingots were poured and stamped by hand in a far more artistic and old-world method.

Michigan State Spring Coin Show, Kalamazoo. MI – Collecting Engelhard Silver

Gold to Silver ratio – Why it Matters

Source: (282) GOLD to SILVER RATIO and why it matters! – YouTube

The Liberty Bell has long stood as a symbol of freedom and equality in many forms to many Americans, but none more so than the revolutionary fight for sovereignty that led to the birth of the United States. Now, the United States Mint is proud to herald 250 years of American independence with the Freedom Ringing – Liberty Bell in a striking limited-edition design. Years of planning and innovation have culminated in this unique coin honoring the Liberty Bell’s timeless message of hope and perseverance as inscribed upon the bell, to “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof.”

Freedom Ringing – Liberty Bell One-Half Ounce Gold Coin

For a 74-year-old Indiana woman, a computer pop-up was more than an annoyance. It set her on the path to nearly losing her life savings….

Source: Indiana Woman Nearly Loses Millions in Gold to Computer Pop-Up Scam

Have you seen rhodium plated coins recently and wondered what exactly rhodium was and where it fits in the scheme of more traditional metals like gold and silver? Keep reading to learn more!

Discovery of Rhodium

English chemist William Hyde Wollaston discovered rhodium in 1803. He made the discovery thanks to a tip from Hippolyte-Victor Collet-Descotils. Collet-Descotils surmised that the red color found in some platinum salts came from an unidentified metal. Wollaston removed the platinum and palladium ore through chemical reactions, resulting in a dark red powder. This substance was sodium rhodium chloride. Today, commercial rhodium is typically a nickel and copper byproduct.

Just 25 tons of rhodium are produced every year, just over 1% of the amount of gold produced. South Africa provides about 80% of that, with Russia accounting for another 8%. The metal is also found in river sands in the Americas and copper-nickel sulfide ores in Canada.

Chemical and Physical Properties of Rhodium

Chemically, rhodium falls into the category of noble metals, which do not react quickly to oxygen. It is among six platinum group metals, including platinum, palladium, osmium, iridium, and ruthenium. The metal is less dense than platinum and has a higher melting point. Rhodium shows no effects of water or air up to 600 degrees Celsius and has a melting point of 1,964 degrees Celsius. It has just one stable isotope that occurs naturally, Rh-103.

Rhodium is naturally a white metal, but black rhodium can be created by giving it an ink dye that binds to metal. Coins with black rhodium plating have become extremely popular among collectors in recent years. The plating gives the coins a sharp look and helps to protect them from corrosion.

Uses of Rhodium

Why is the price of rhodium so high, and what is its relationship to the economy writ large? To date, rhodium’s primary use has been in catalytic converters that clean emissions from motor vehicles. Sometimes used alone and other times with platinum and/or palladium, the metal reduces the amount of nitrogen oxide in the exhaust. This lesser amount of nitrogen oxide dramatically reduces air pollution, especially in cities. Therefore, the metal’s price collapsed in 2008, as the auto industry was hit hard by the crisis. The metal is also used to finish coins and jewelry, as well as searchlights and mirrors. Alloyed with platinum, it is also used in airplane turbine engines.

Recent studies have shown promising results for using rhodium in converting water and carbon dioxide into high energy fuels by using thermal energy from the sun. In this case, it is used as a catalyst in conjunction with cerium oxide. Scientists hope that this will create a new way of storing chemical energy.

Rhodium Plated Coins

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has taken firmly to the rhodium plating trend. One of the most famous examples of this is with the 2020 Black Proof Incuse Silver Maple Leaf. This unique take on the popular series has a mintage of just 5,000 pieces, each of which was struck from 1 oz .9999 fine silver. The selective black plating brings out the maple leaf and Queen Elizabeth II designs by darkening the rest of the coin. The RCM also used selective black rhodium plating in its Nocturnal by Nature series. The plating created stunning contrasts against the silver moon while offering a look at four of the issuing country’s wild animals as they would be seen at night.

Due to the relatively high prices of the metal combined with the relative popularity of gold, silver, and other metals among collectors, rhodium coins tend to be low mintage and hard to find. Pieces plated in the unique metal, though, are much more readily available. These pieces are sure to stand out and draw the attention of collectors and non-collectors alike.

Sources MCM – Modern Coin Mart

Live Science

Kitco

Reuters

Mining Technology

Silver looks simple. It’s cheaper than gold. More industrial. Easier to buy and sell. But when people actually try to cash out, the tax bill tells a different story. Higher rates. Fewer loopholes. And rules that punish anyone who treats silver like a short-term trade. So how does it seem like wealthy investors exit silver without paying much tax — or sometimes any at all?

This video breaks down the quiet, legal strategies behind that illusion. Not myths. Not offshore schemes. Just long-term planning, timing, and decisions most people never think to make.

Animated Money is the ultimate animated finance channel that turns complex money topics into simple, visual stories. Learn how to build wealth, invest smarter, and protect your finances with clear, engaging explanations about saving, budgeting, inflation, and financial independence.

Protecting you is a top priority, and Xfinity has dedicated significant resources to keeping your account safe and secure. There are multiple layers of security that automatically detect and block hundreds of thousands of cyber events every second, and a team of security experts who work to protect you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Your first line of protection is to enable two-step verification on your account. This extra step will help keep your account safe, even if someone gets your password. Once you enable two-step verification, we’ll text or email you a verification code before we allow an unrecognized device to sign in to your account.  Remember: Never share your verification code with anyone.

• Fake payment requests

• Deceptive emails, phone calls, and text messages

• Misleading websites

• Scammers often try to trick users into revealing personal information. 

• Phishing email or phishing text message

Report fraud

To report fraud, scams, or bad business practices, consumers should go to reportfraud.ftc.gov. You can also find more safety tips on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Consumer Advice website.

Lastly, if you feel like you or someone you know has been the victim of phishing, spam, online fraud, phone scam, or another security issue related to an Xfinity account, report it to Service Policy Assurance to let Xfinity know about the abuse. You can also stay up to date on topics related to Internet security, including known Xfinity security alerts and top phishing scams at Cybersecurity Alerts.

For more detailed information follow the link below.

Source: Protecting yourself from fraud

If you forget passwords, misplace photos and fear that your accounts might be hacked, try these strategies to declutter your online life.  Geoff Williams has updated one of the past popular issues for the Hartford newsletter. 

Source: How to Declutter Your Digital Life | EXtra Mile | The Hartford

Many people have embraced the online world, and everything else that has come with it, from smartphones to social media, because it has made our lives faster and easier.

But are our lives really any simpler? If you’re like most people, your online life probably isn’t any cleaner or less cluttered than your offline life. So, if you often forget your passwords, misplace your photos, or fear that your accounts might be hacked, try these strategies. They may help you declutter your online, and your offline, life.