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On Sunday, the price of gold hit a major milestone: it surpassed the $5,000-per-ounce mark for the first time in history. But while golds price rise is a good thing for investors in the precious metal, it may also signal broader investor anxiety about the marketsand the world. Heres what you need to know about golds surge. Gold trades above $5,000 for the first time ever On Sunday, gold surpassed $5,000 per troy ouncethe first time it has ever done so. The precious yellow metal climbed to $5,107 on Monday morning before paring back slightly to its current price of $5,082 per ounce, as of this writing. Golds most recent milestone is just the latest example of the good run the precious metal has had since 2025. During that calendar year, golds price surged 64%its highest single-year gain since 1979. And 2026 is, so far, shaping up to be another stellar year for gold. Already this month, the precious metal has hit milestone after milestone, surpassing its 2025 all-time high on January 6, 2026, when it reached $4,497.20 per ounce. Less than a week later, gold crossed the $4,600 mark. And on January 20, gold crossed the $4,800 barrier for the first time. It then took gold just five days to cross the $5,000 threshold for the first time in history. Whats behind golds recent rise? The short answer is Trump. But the more nuanced answer is uncertainty. Gold is a safe-haven assetan asset that offers relative stability in times of economic uncertainty or geopolitical upheaval. During these times, traditional assets like stocks and digital assets like cryptocurrencies can be, and often are, highly volatile. When investors are uncertain about the world or the economy, they tend to pull their money out of these types of assets to lock in any gains they have made, and then put the proceeds of those sales into a more stable asset like gold. 2026 has begun with massive geopolitical and economic uncertainty, primarily due to the decisions of President Donald Trump. The year kicked off with the U.S. attack on Venezuela, which Trump ordered to capture the countrys president. Almost immediately after that, Trump set his sights on acquiring Greenland. At the same time, Trump also threatened tariffs on eight European countries that publicly spoke against the presidents desire to acquire Greenland, which would potentially trigger a trade war. It was only last week that Trump finally backed down from his threats to acquire Greenland. Domestically, things have been just as chaotic in America. This month alone, ICE officers have shot and killed two American citizens in Minnesota, igniting fierce protests and condemnation from Americans across the country. But in news that has investors specifically worried, Trumps Justice Department has also opened a criminal investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell, which many believe is politically motivated due to Powell not lowering interest rates as fast as the president wants him to. All these events have created significant uncertainty about the world and the economy, prompting investors to seek assets they can park their money in that are historically less volatile than stocks. Silver rising, too The price of gold isnt the only precious metal rising due to all this uncertainty. Silver is also up significantly since 2026 began. As of the time of this writing, the price of silver is currently trading at around $108.50 per ounce after hitting an earlier all-time high of above $109. It was only last Tuesday that silver hit a then all-time high price of $95 per ounce. Over the past 12 months, silver has surged nearly 250%, and since 2026 began, the precious metal has risen a staggering 40% in the first 26 days of the year.
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Drake Maye vs. Sam Darnold. Two stingy defenses. A second-year head coach vs. a veteran coach in his second act.Super Bowl 60 is set and it’s a rematch: The New England Patriots vs. the Seattle Seahawks.The Patriots will seek their NFL-record seventh Super Bowl victory when they face the Seahawks on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.Led by Maye, coach Mike Vrabel and a stifling defense, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won their sixth ring together seven years ago.The Patriots (17-3) beat the Denver Broncos 10-7 on Sunday in the AFC championship game to advance to their 12th Super Bowl.Darnold, Mike Macdonald and a suffocating defense have led the Seahawks to the big stage for the fourth time in franchise history. They’re seeking their second Lombardi.Darnold, a No. 3 overall pick in 2018 now with his fifth team, played one of his best games to lead the Seahawks to a 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game. He threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers.“That doesn’t matter to me,” Darnold said about the doubters he’s proven wrong. “I just come to work every single day with these guys. These guys in the locker room, that’s what it’s about to me, man. The way we’ve come to work ever since April in OTAs, training camp, one day at a time and we’re here. We did it.”It was a wacky finish when Brady and the Patriots beat Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll’s Seahawks 11 years ago.Brady threw four TD passes and rallied New England from a 10-point deficit to win the fourth of his seven rings when Malcolm Butler intercepted Wilson’s pass from the 1-yard line to secure a 28-24 victory on Feb. 1, 2015. Seattle fans still lament why Marshawn Lynch didn’t get the ball on a handoff at the 1.“We did not care,” Macdonald said about coming into the season as underdogs in the NFC West behind the Rams and 49ers. “It’s about us. It’s always been about us and what we do and now we’re going to the Super Bowl.”Maye scored on a 6-yard touchdown run in the second quarter in Denver after a critical turnover by Jarrett Stidham, who made his fifth career start filling in for injured Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.“The Pats are back, baby,” Maye said. “Now, gotta win one.”Playing through a snowstorm in the second half, Maye only threw for 86 yards and ran for 65. Stidham had 133 yards passing and one TD, one interception and one costly fumble.The 23-year-old Maye, a finalist for AP NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, will become the second-youngest QB to start a Super Bowl behind Dan Marino. He’s the fourth second-year QB in the past seven years to lead his team to the NFL title game. Patrick Mahomes (2018) won it while Joe Burrow (2021) and Brock Purdy (2023) lost.Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a linebacker for the Patriots in the 2000s, turned the team around in his first season as coach. New England went from 4-13 last year under Jerod Mayo to 14-3.Vrabel is trying to become the first person to win a Super Bowl as a head coach and player for the same team. Tom Flores, Mike Ditka, Tony Dungy and Doug Pederson won Super Bowls playing for one team and coaching another.“I can’t tell you how proud I am to be associated with these guys and this organization,” said Vrabel, who is a finalist for AP NFL Coach of the Year. “I won’t win it. It’ll be the players that’ll win the game, I promise you. It won’t be me that’ll win it and I promise you I’ll do everything that I can and our staff to have them ready for the game.”No team has played in the Super Bowl more than the Patriots, who are 6-5. They’re tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most wins.It’s been a long road back to the top for New England, which came off consecutive four-win seasons and only had one winning season after Brady’s departure in 2020.The Patriots have averaged just 18 points per game in the playoffs, the fewest by any team to make the Super Bowl since the 1979 Rams, who averaged 15. New England’s defense has allowed just 26 points in the three games, an average of just 8.7 per game. The only team to allow fewer points in three playoff games before a Super Bowl appearance was the 2000 Ravens, who gave up 16. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Rob Maaddi, AP Pro Football Writer
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The most expensive bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction is no longer a dusty pre-Prohibition relic or a museum-grade antique. Its a 1982 bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle. This weekend at Sothebys New York, a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 20-Year-Old Single Barrel Sams (1982) sold for $162,500, setting a new record for the most valuable bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction. Only 60 hand-numbered bottles of the legendary Sams release were ever produced, bottled at a staggering 133.4 proof, the highest proof Van Winkle expression ever released. The bottle hadnt appeared at auction in more than a decade. And it wasnt alone. That record-setting bottle headlined the Great American Whiskey Collection Saturday, which brought in $2.5 million, making it the most valuable single-owner American whiskey collection ever sold and the most valuable single-owner spirits auction ever held in New York. The total more than doubled Sothebys low pre-sale estimate of $1.17 million, and every single lot sold. For a category that, until recently, lagged far behind Scotch in the auction world, the sale marked a watershed moment. This wasnt just a good night for Van Winkle. It was a signal that American whiskey has fully arrived as a serious, global collectible. A first for Sothebys and for bourbon The auction, held live at Sothebys new global headquarters in the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue, was the first live, single-owner American whiskey sale in history. Sothebys leaned into the moment, installing a pop-up bar inside the space so visitors could experience the 360-bottle collection up close before bidding began. The bottles read like a greatest-hits list of Kentucky and rye history: Old Rip Van Winkle, Old Fitzgerald, private bottlings for historic retailers, and ultra-rare single barrels that were never meant to leave a small circle of friends and insiders. And the buyers reflected how the market is shifting. Sotheby’s says 96% of the lots were purchased by North American collectors. Nearly a third of the buyers were new to Sothebys, and more than half were under 40. That last number matters. American whiskey collecting is no longer being driven by the same older Scotch-focused crowd that traditionally dominates auction houses. A younger generation of bourbon and rye obsessives is entering the secondary market with serious money and a deep knowledge of the categorys lore. Why private labels and store picks dominated the night What propelled the sale beyond expectations wasnt just age statements or old glass. It was something uniquely American: private label bottlings and single barrels made for liquor stores, families, and insiders decades ago. These bottles were never widely distributed. Many were likely consumed long ago. Their survival is almost accidental. A few standouts: Van Winkle 18-Year-Old Binnys (1985, 121.6 proof) sold for $106,250. Distilled at Stitzel-Weller and bottled at full cask strength for Chicago retailer Binnys, fewer than 100 bottles were made. Very Very Old Fitzgerald Blackhawk 18-Year-Old (1950, 121 proof) realized $112,500, more than double its low estimate. This was a private bottling for the Wirtz family, owners of the Chicago Blackhawks, and was never available to the public. A companion Blackhawk 12-Year-Old from the same series sold for $60,000. Van Winkle 18-Year-Old Family Reserve Park Avenue Liquor Shop fetched $62,500. Originally retailing for $75, it is one of only three known 18-Year-Old Van Winkle bottlings ever produced. All three were in this auction. A 1909 O.F.C. Bourbon 115 Proof drove competitive bidding to $47,500, far above estimate. Time and again, bottles tied to specific retailers, families, or one-off selections outperformed expectations. These werent mass-market releases. They were whiskey folklore in liquid form. A night of records for Van Winkle and beyond Numerous lots set new records, especially for obscure Van Winkle private labels and long-forgotten rye bottlings: Old Rip Van Winkle Blue Smoke 18-Year-Old: $37,500 Twisted Spoke 16-Year-Old: $32,500 Old Rip Van Winkle Delilahs 10th Anniversary: $30,000 Van Winkle 19-Year-Old Corti Brothers bottlings: $35,000 each J.W. Gottlieb Private Stock Rye 13-Year-Old (1984): $56,250 Old Rip Van Winkle Bottled in Bond 1917: $47,500 Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year-Old City Grocery 20th Anniversary: $30,000 Many of these bottles had never appeared at auction before. Others hadnt surfaced in decades. What this says about the American whiskey market Zev Glesta, Sothebys Whiskey Specialist, called the sale a defining moment for American whiskey at auction, pointing to the continued maturation of the global market for the rarest American whiskeys. Hes right. These werent aristocratic estate bottles. They were store picks, family gifts, anniversary barrels, and retailer exclusives that accidentally became legends. A bottle meant for a Chicago liquor store. A gift for the owners of a hockey team. A Manhattan shop pick that sold for $75. Forty years later, theyre museum pieces. And at least one of them just became the most expensive American whiskey ever sold.
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E-Commerce
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