It's a wonderful time for gold

Muenze Oesterreich AG, the Vienna-based mint that makes the Philharmonic, the best-selling gold coin in Europe and Japan, says it had sold 243,500 ounces since 26 April, more than the 205,300 ounces sold in the entire first quarter of this year.

People want gold, and they want it now. China, Australia and the 15 other largest mining nations have increased their weekly output to keep up with a buying wave that began when stock markets fell and the euro weakened to a four-year low against the dollar. Star investors George Soros, John Paulson and Kyle Bass are said to have bought a record 1,938 tons between them since the beginning of the year.

"You could see gold go up another $1,000," Evan Smith, who helps manage $2 billion at U.S. Global Investors in San Antonio, told Bloomberg. "All of the turmoil and problems we've seen in Europe [are] just another reminder that there's a lot of value in gold as a safe haven."