Understanding "The Economy"
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WhirlyBen, the Globo and the Great American Gold Grab
(Here Comes Gold Confiscation)
by Edgar J. Steele
January 10, 2006
Audio: streaming
mp3 (5 mb, 42 min)
http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/audio/whirly16-16.mp3
"The real truth of the matter is, as
you and I know, that a financial element in the larger
centers has owned the Government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson."
--- President Franklin D. Roosevelt's letter to Colonel House,
November 21, 1933
(Sterling Library, Yale University).
"The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing
less than to
create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate
the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole.
This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of
the world
acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings
and conferences."
--- Professor Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope: A History of the
World in our Time
(Macmillan Company, New York, 1966), p. 324.
"Like gold, U.S. dollars have value only to the extent that they are
strictly limited in supply.
But the U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press
(or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S.
dollars
as it wishes at essentially no cost...A money-financed tax cut is
essentially equivalent
to Milton Friedman's famous "helicopter drop" of money."
--- Ben S. Bernanke (incoming Federal Reserve Chairman),
Deflation:
Making Sure 'It' Doesn't Happen Here
(Remarks to the National Economists' Club, Washington, DC, Nov 21, 2002)
"By coordinating with fiscal policy, the Fed could even implement what is
essentially
the classic textbook policy of dropping freshly printed money from a helicopter.
In this case, the Fed would monetize government debt that had been issued to
finance a tax cut."
--- Evan Koelnig and Jim Dolmas
(VP and Senior Economist, respectively, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas),
Monetary
Policy in a Zero-Interest-Rate-Economy (May 2003).
What is it about Economics? Seriously. Why do so few people even try to
understand economics, which simply is the study of the production, distribution
and consumption of goods and services? There are whole schools of thought
concerning economics, too, as though it is some arcane and mystical field
incapable of human comprehension, akin to philosophy, theology or the mind of
the teenage girl. There's Keynesian Economics, the Austrian School and Marxism,
to name a few. Economics can be micro or macro; it can even trickle down,
according to some.
The Secret of Economics
Ok. I'm going to clear it up, once and for all, here and
now, for everybody. Here's the secret key to economics: There is no
such thing as a free lunch.
That's it. Any time you find your eyes glazing over while economics is being
discussed, simply repeat the mantra: There is no such thing as a free lunch.
You'll be way ahead of those around yourself. A corollary of the "no free
lunch" maxim, which served as the anthem for the 1930s and soon will again be
popular: "Brother, can you spare a dime?"
Deficit Financing or... Just Put it on the MasterCard
Ok. Maybe there is a little more to it, but not much. Here
it is: Spend more than you earn and you go into debt. Governments that print
more money than justified by goods and services have to borrow the funds for the
money, just like everybody else...if they have central banks, that is, which
means virtually every government on the planet. Borrowing means debt. Go into
debt deeply enough and you never will get out - you will go bankrupt...even if
you believe in free lunches.
Printing extra money dilutes the value of existing money. This is well
understood by corporate executives who do the same thing when they give
themselves stock options which, when exercised, dilute ("water") the value of
already-outstanding stock purchased by mere mortals like you and I (who are
referred to by corporate insiders as "suckers"), leading to a decline in the
value of the stock. This is where stockholders (the "suckers") get sheared.
Eventually, the market gets wise, dumps the stock and the company goes out of
business, thereby completing the sucker shearing process. The unemployed
executives take their ill-gotten gains and open a new business, conduct an IPO
and the process starts afresh. In this single paragraph, you have just learned
everything of value that I ever learned in my former life as a financial
analyst.
In the old West, unscrupulous bartenders added water to their stores of whiskey
in order to increase profits; source of the term "watered stock." Eventually,
their patrons went elsewhere and they went out of business. The term carried
over to the securities field.
Diluted money is said to be inflated instead of watered, since more dollars
chase the same quantity of goods and services, which inevitably leads to price
inflation. This is where you and I, gentle reader, get sheared by our own
government. Eventually, governments that print too much extra money go out of
business. America's is living on time borrowed by virtue of the fact that its
currency has served as the world's currency for so long. As China, Iran, Iraq,
Warren Buffet and Bill Gates all have told us recently, by dumping the dollar
themselves, America's time now is up.
The average American family well understands the consequence of deficit spending
via those ubiquitous credit cards: they simply refinanced the house! Now they
are about to learn a very painful lesson, one their grandparents learned nearly
a century ago.
The Zen of Not Knowing
Used to be, when something seemed clear to me, yet befuddled
others, I assumed that I simply didn't understand it. No more, though.
Finally, I am attaining that degree of certitude reserved to the very young, the
very old and the very pretty. When I was in my twenties, I thought I knew
everything. I was wrong. Now, approaching my dotage, I know that I don't know
everything. But, these days I do know when I don't know
something. What's more, I know when somebody else doesn't know something, even
if I don't know it either. You can tell by the way they act.
Doctors, in particular, hate it when I say this: If a professional cannot
explain anything within his field of expertise to you in terms that you
instantly grasp, then he doesn't understand it himself. Anything. Okay,
lawyers, test yourselves: explain the Rule Against Perpetuities to your
sons and daughters. Estate planning clients, test your lawyer by demanding that
he or she explain that Rule to you.
Mechanics who can't explain how my automatic transmission works don't get to
work on it. Ditto for HVAC guys who can't explain why heat pumps almost always
make more sense than traditional furnaces and air-conditioning systems. And
contractors who can't render a spot-on estimate almost instantaneously...well,
don't get me started.
Here's another maxim concerning professionals, while we're on the subject:
Any professional who does not bring more to a transaction on your behalf than he
or she takes in fees is worthless. If followed, that guideline would render
most lawyers and all judges in America unemployed tomorrow.
Government Economists, Central Bankers and Other
Ignorant Thieves
Here's something you can take to the bank: The guys in
charge of economics in America don't know what they're talking about. Actually,
it's not that simple. I mean, they really don't know what they're
talking about, but they purposely make it complicated in an attempt to hide
something that they do know: they are robbing us blind. Their
ignorance is belied by the fact that they think they can keep it from us
forever. Ignorance, not stupidity. These guys aren't dumb. It takes a
towering intellect to build a towering house of cards. America's current house
of economic cards is the tallest ever built.
The Federal Reserve Bank ("the Fed") is a private organization. It is not
Federal, it is not a Bank and it has no reserves. It is owned, in the main, by
foreigners named Rothschild, Warburg, Seif and Lazard. Make of that fact what
you will.
The Fed was established in 1913 to stabilize America's money supply by
regulating the operations of all of America's banks. What a joke! For
two hundred years prior to the Fed's establishment, without its "stabilizing"
influence, the American dollar varied little, if at all. A 1910 dollar bought
exactly what an 1810 dollar bought, not to mention all the other American
dollars, right back to the founding of the Republic.
Know what today's dollar will buy? Exactly what two cents would have bought on
the day the Fed was established! Two cents. What happened to the other
98 cents? They were stolen by the Fed, doing exactly what the quotes at the
head of this article promise will happen in the future.
The dollar has declined over 30% just since George W. Bush first assumed office,
five years ago. You saw it happening. You heard about it. Deficits,
donchaknow. Towering deficits, as far as the eye can see. Spending deficits.
And trade deficits, which simply are spending deficits at the international
level. Deficits of monumental and historical proportions. Humongous
deficits. Deficits that defy description.
Gotta pay for that pointless war in Iraq (coming soon to an Iran near you), all
that health care for the illegal immigrants, all that welfare for the
now-permanent underclass in America, all those new government workers, all that
price gouging by Halliburton...and so on.
When the government spends five dollars, yet takes in only four dollars, it
simply prints the fifth dollar, which it then, incredibly enough, proceeds to
borrow from the Fed. Counterfeiting, if you will, but they call it deficit
spending. I call it theft.
Every phony dollar printed by the government dilutes the purchasing power of
those dollars you already possess, as those of you who have received the secret
key to economics now understand. Theft, pure and simple - which you have come
to accept, even expect as normal, in the ever-increasing prices of everything
you buy. Taxes are bad enough, but theft by inflation is bankrupting America.
Even a small amount of inflation, over a long enough period of time, will result
in theft of the entire money supply. Remember, only two cents are left and,
boy, do I intend to give you mine here today!
Any amount of inflation is too much. Zero inflation. Like gravity, it's the
law. Violate it at peril of getting badly hurt.
Gold used to regulate inflation for us, effortlessly. But gold prevented theft
by the Fed, so it had to go.
Monetary Inflation
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
When the government goes to lunch, you get to pay for it. The first four
dollars of its five-dollar lunch might come from your taxes. The fifth dollar
simply is printed and, when spent, dilutes the value of your remaining dollars.
And that literally is what happened this past year, since America's money supply
now is increasing at a clip of about 20%, but with no corresponding increase in
the goods and services produced by America.
More dollars chasing the same goods and services: monetary inflation.
Money, like work, expands to fill the space allotted to itself, with the result
that prices are bid up: price inflation.
Here's the whole point of a gold standard: they couldn't dig gold out of
the ground any faster than the total supply of goods and services increased
worldwide. Gold as money worked and was stable because of that simple fact.
Paper money doesn't work, never has worked and never will work simply because
there is no limitation on how much a government prints.
Yes, it really is that simple. Now you understand economics better than
the PhDs running America. Historically, all governments have printed their
paper currencies into hyperoblivion. If you think the American dollar's
experience will be any different, then you might be an Economist.
That is why, in March 2006, the American government is going to stop reporting
how much the money supply grows - to keep guys like me from seeing its excess
and telling you exactly how much was stolen from you. Why? Because a growing
number of Americans are starting to listen to guys like me and mumble aloud
things like: "Git a rope!"
WhirlyBen and Easy Al
Incoming Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has made it clear that he
intends to continue the disastrous polices of outgoing Chairman Alan Greenspan:
inflate the money supply mercilessly. Maybe even rain it down from helicopters,
needs be. That's why I call him "WhirlyBen" Bernanke.
Neither WhirlyBen nor "Easy Al" understands economics, though both know full
well that they have been stealing from you. They think that there is a
free lunch and that the tab can be held at bay forever. They are wrong and we
are dangerously close to the tipping point right now - the point beyond which
too few of us have enough wealth or income after taxes (not to mention the
government theft that is monetary inflation) to pay the mortgage and feed our
families.
Gonzo Economists
There are some economists in America who seem to understand
things. Predictably, they are viewed as, well, nuts by their brethren.
Richard Daughty (http://www.321gold.com/archives/archives_authors.php?author=Richard+Daughty),
aka "the Mogambo Guru," bills himself as the "the angriest man in economics" and
writes a weekly column funnier than you might imagine. Robert Chapman, who pens
a weekly stream-of-consciousness screed called "The
International Forecaster (http://www.theinternationalforecaster.com/),"
is another. Both of these guys walk around wearing sandwich boards that
proclaim "The End is Near" on the front and "Buy Gold" on the
back. Naturally, these guys are my economics gods. And Bill Bonner, founder of
The Daily Reckoning (http://www.dailyreckoning.com/).
Though Bonner is far too normal and nice a guy, his head pretty much is screwed
on correctly, too, which means backwards. He wears a sandwich board, too.
The Mogambo, Chapman and Bonner all claim to not understand why the Fed does
what it does. I wonder. Of course, they are right, insofar as they
insist upon measuring the Fed against its own charter and thereby expect our
government to do right by its citizenry. It seems pretty clear to me, though,
exactly what is going on: a shearing.
Goodbye, Dollar - Hello, Globo
The Fed and its surrogate, the United States government (yes,
that is the correct order, boys and girls), intend to crash the dollar like the
mortally-wounded eagle-cum-albatross it has become. Perhaps the impending
Iranian move to demand Euros instead of dollars for its oil (not so
coincidentally, that is exactly what Iraq did just before we decided to invade
it) will be the final straw. If not, we are dangerously close, regardless.
Think deflation, which has been masked for several years now by the monetary
inflation being spewed by the Fed (except as regards your paycheck, of course).
When that no longer works and the final refuge of the inflato-dollar, real
estate, has its not-so-little bubble burst, think true hyperinflation, Weimar
style.
This is the way it has to be, if one-world government, over a hundred years in
the making, is to be implemented. We will need a one-world currency. It can't
be the mortally-wounded dollar and it sure won't be the Euro. This is not idle
speculation on my part. It is intense speculation and the result of
years of seeing Feds under every bed and behind every tree. You see them now,
too, don't you? If not, you will.
I call the coming new money the "Globo," for lack of a better term. I should
trademark that, I suppose, so that I can charge them big bucks for using it when
the time comes. Of course, they would just pay me in useless dollars, anyhow,
so what's the point?
The Globo primarily will be electronic, transferred as debits and credits via
what we now call "ATM" or "debit" cards. The embedded chip will be the
preferred mode. That's "the Mark of the Beast" to you Revelations fans.
Of course, WWIII and Depression II will accompany the transition to the Globo,
to mask the real reason for the changeover and facilitate the real shearing,
which has yet to take place, but that is a story beyond the scope of today's
discussion (though not beyond the scope of my book,
Defensive Racism (http://www.DefensiveRacism.com),
which I recommend you get and read immediately, before the dollars you pay for
it become even more worthless).
The Globo is absolutely necessary if they are to monitor the movement of all
money, rather than just most of the money, as at present. That way, they
get their vigorish every time a Globo passes "Go." Besides, with the Globo they
will procure the ultimate ability to micromanage each and every one of us ("Ye
shall neither buy nor sell," to put it in terms to which you Revelations
fans will relate).
Ok. That takes care of "WhirlyBen" and "Globo" from the title of today's
piece. What about "the Great American Gold Grab?" Glad you asked. I also hear
a number of shrieks out there just now, along with the Biblical weeping, wailing
and gnashing of teeth: What will we do? Save us! Save us!
I hope I'm not being too melodramatic here.
The Great American Gold Grab
Well, I'm with my economics gods on this one: buy gold.
With one reservation: after you buy it, I think they're going to take it away
from you. After all, they did it before, the last time they threw us into a
stock market crash, worldwide depression and a world war that redefined the
borders of several countries. This is where my economics gods turn their backs
on me, be warned. That's ok. I'm used to it.
See my article, Peak
Silver (http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/columns/peak.htm)
, in which I make the case for precious metals as a means for transporting one's
wealth from one side of an economic chasm, like the one now before us, to the
other side, intact. Indeed, I see the opportunity for great increases in wealth
during the trip. In that article, I also explain why I think silver actually
represents the better investment since its demand derives from sundry industrial
uses, not just as a hedge against the end of the world, and there actually is
less of it available than gold.
Most writers use the word "gold" to mean all precious metals when they advise
that you shift some or all your investments into them. As I said to a fellow
customer in a coin shop recently, who was wondering aloud what might be a good
investment: "Paper bad. Metal good." At times like these, that advice really
should rank right up there with "Buy low. Sell high."
But, back to gold confiscation. Many say the government will not confiscate
gold today because Nixon took us off the gold standard in 1972, thereby removing
gold as backing for the dollar. When Roosevelt outlawed the personal holding of
gold bullion, they argue, there was lots of gold in bank vaults and it served as
the dollar's guarantee. That argument is ridiculous.
FDR didn't need to confiscate gold because it served as backing for the dollar.
He seized gold because our masters wanted to ensure that they made the
windfall profit on its possession when FDR devalued the dollar, not common
riffraff like you and I (known to government insiders as "suckers"). And when
FDR announced the new price for gold, after he had confiscated as much as he
could from private citizens, those guys made a killing.
The same situation exists today. When the dollar does its best imitation of a
dead-cat bounce, the price of gold (and silver and platinum and rhodium and
palladium) will go to the Moon, Alice. Don't forget: Paper bad. Metal
good. Those who hold precious metals will make a killing. Guess who thinks
that only they deserve to make that killing? The same guys as before, that's
who, which is why the private ownership of gold bullion in any form almost
certainly will be outlawed before the dollar does its swan dive.
Some like to say there exists too little of any of the precious metals to amount
to enough to warrant confiscation. True enough, valued by today's dollar.
However, consider gold valued in dog dollars, at $5,000 per ounce or more,
as it will be once the deed is done. Different story, isn't it?
That's the logic behind my belief that gold will be confiscated before the
festivities begin. Is there any hard evidence, other than the fact that they
did it before and that other countries have done the same thing before devaluing
their currencies? Well, yes, there is, in fact. And it is most interesting,
since it is embedded within a somewhat obscure law that took effect precisely
one week ago.
The Old Gold Grab
First, though, let's take a look at the actual language of a
selected portion of FDR's
gold
confiscation order of April 5, 1933 (http://www.the-privateer.com/1933-gold-confiscation.html):
"...All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to a
Federal Reserve Bank...all gold coin, gold bullion and gold certificates now
owned by them...except...gold coins having recognized special value to
collectors of rare and unusual coins." (emphasis supplied)
It is a popular myth that FDR merely set a date beyond which gold could not be
exchanged for paper money. The actual wording of FDR's order explodes that
myth: "All persons are hereby required to deliver...all gold coin, gold
bullion and gold certificates." (emphasis supplied) Gold was confiscated from
us suckers...er, citizens, pure and simple, and paid for at the much lower
pre-revaluation rate of only $20 per ounce.
There were a couple of exceptions to the confiscation order, such as gold used
in commerce and trade (gold tooth fillings, for example). But, the most
interesting exception, by far, was made for what are known as "numismatic"
coins. Remember the wording: "...except...gold coins having recognized
special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins." You can bet there
will be an equivalent exception made during the upcoming gold confiscation
simply because so many of those who run things still own a large proportion of
existing numismatic coins.
The New Gold Grab
Most laws in the United States really are the result of
agency "rulemaking," and tend to be the most verbose, obtuse and obscure of all
laws. Yep, written by people not elected by us. Given equal weight with other
laws - more, if, like myself, you believe the courts now disregard the
Constitution altogether. IRS regulations are perhaps the best-known collection
of these agency rules.
Something called the "Financial Crimes Enforcement Network" (FinCEN), a US
Treasury division, issued just such a rule last year, which just went into
effect and which I believe reveals the government's intention to confiscate gold
again. The rule, entitled "Anti-Money Laundering Programs for Dealers in
Precious Metals, Stones or Jewels," (31
CFR Part 103 or
http://www.fincen.gov/antimoneylaundering060905.pdf) was first brought to my
attention by Lawrence Patterson, founder and publisher of
Criminal Politics magazine (http://www.criminalpolitics.com).
In his magazine, three months ago, Mr. Patterson quite efficiently connected the
dots which are buried within FinCEN's obscure piece of agency rulemaking to gold
confiscation.
Let's have a look at the relevant portions of this rule that lead to this
conclusion:
Section 103.140(a)(4) of the rule specifically "defines 'precious metal' to
include gold, silver and the platinum group of metals, at a level of purity of
500 parts per 1000 (50 percent) or greater, singly or in any combination." For
example, US Gold Eagles are merely "precious metals" and covered unless rare
enough to be worth more than twice the value of their gold content. Pay
attention here, because, by inference, numismatic coins have just been very
strictly defined - they are only those coins that are worth at least
twice their melt value. This is an important point.
The rule specifically applies to retailers who sell or buy more than $50,000 per
year of "jewels, precious metals, precious stones and finished goods (including
jewelry, numismatic items and antiques) that derive 50 percent or more of
their value from jewels, precious metals or precious stones contained in or
attached to such finished goods." (emphasis supplied.) Covered
retailers must file "Suspicious Activity Reports" (SARs) with the government
concerning sales and purchases that might possibly be connected to money
laundering, specifically identifying customers.
Now, technically, only large transactions and those which are "suspicious" must
be reported, but this will result in every transaction being reported,
just as it has in banks, because of the penalties attendant to not reporting
something that some bureaucrat might say should have been reported.
Recently, I bought a $2,500 cashier's check at my personal bank, at which I have
more than one account and where all the tellers and clerks know me - yep, I got
detained for ten minutes while the clerk filled out an SAR.
The reporting requirements apply to all transactions, even those including
numismatics (the 50-percent rule is used simply to define who must report
in the first place). The days of walking into a coin shop and anonymously
buying or selling a thousand dollars' worth of anything are over, folks.
Unless, of course, the shop is one which deals exclusively in numismatic coins
(again, those worth more than twice their melt value) - look for these specialty
shops to spring up now.
Now, let's step back and take a look at what's really going on with this
rule. Allegedly, it is an anti-money-laundering regulation. It says so right
in the rule: "Precious metals, precious stones and jewels are easily
transportable, highly concentrated forms of wealth and can be highly attractive
to money launderers and other criminals..." Right. Sure. Then why
exclude numismatic coins, which are an even more highly concentrated form of
wealth than the bullion coins specifically included? This internal
contradiction points up two things.
First, the target of this law is not criminals, it is ordinary American
citizens, as we shall see in a moment.
Second, however, for the first time, numismatic coins are being defined and
excluded...for what reason, exactly? There is only one possible
interpretation: so that all other coins and forms of precious metals will
already have been tracked and reported upon when the government issues a
confiscation order for gold. This is the same thing as gun registration, which
always precedes gun confiscation, folks. That's why this type of law, until now
restricted to banks and securities firms, has been expanded to include dealers
in all forms of precious metals, particularly coin dealers. A great many pawn
shops will fall in line now, too.
I said that ordinary citizens are the real targets of this law. Here's why:
reporting will allow the government to see "structuring" (conducting a large
deal surreptitiously by breaking it into many smaller, hopefully unnoticeable,
deals) by citizens who buy or sell a few coins from or to each of several coin
shops. Until now, each deal has kept such people below the reportable
threshold, so that the IRS never was the wiser. Now it will be a snap for
government computers to aggregate all sales by individuals, no matter where made
in the United States. Since a lot of people currently hold bullion which has
doubled in value recently, this is a big deal. It will become a much bigger
deal when bullion becomes valued in dog dollars. It also is a big deal if the
government is to effectively implement the Globo once the dollar is dumped -
they've got to stamp out the cash economy.
Too paranoid, you say? No. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that
this law, designed to stamp out money laundering by coin dealers, in the main,
actually will encourage a great many coin dealers to take up money laundering,
due to the profit potential that will accrue from individuals wishing to evade
the reporting requirements, for whatever reason.
Silver's Special Allure
Interestingly, the proposed FinCEN rule last year asked for
input from the public as to whether or not silver should even be included in the
final regulation. When the public comment period closed with no such input
having been received, FinCEN said it would still accept such recommendations,
right up until the effective date of January 1, 2006. On January 5, 2006,
FinCEN Ruling 2006-1 told silver dealers that they can hold off on implementing
their anti-money-laundering programs until further notice.
This is a clear tipoff that silver will not be confiscated
when gold is called in.
What to Do
Here's the bottom line:
1. Don't buy gold bullion in any form, not even in the form of the less-rare
gold coins that aren't worth more than twice their melt value.
2. Instead, buy silver bullion, which I believe has a better upside potential
than gold, anyway.
3. What's more, consider trading in your gold bullion right now for silver or
for true numismatic coins that have a broad, well-defined market, such as $20
St. Gaudens gold coins in PCGS-certified MS 63 to MS 65 condition. Chalk it up
to my paranoia if you like, but do you suppose it is just coincidence that the
lower-range St. Gaudens coins, the best-known and most-collected gold coins in
the world, just happen to be worth about twice the spot value of gold?
I possessed a modest number of gold eagles (my retirement nest egg, such as it
is) that I removed from my safety-deposit box and traded to my local trusted
coin dealer for 10-ounce silver bars and some St. Gaudens coins (PCGS graded
only) before the end of 2005 and already have made back the commissions on both
sides of the deal from the appreciation seen in both, versus the appreciation
that has taken place in gold since I traded. It was a no-cost trade for me.
Given the way silver still is going, vis-a-vis gold, it can be a no-cost
trade for you, too. Go to the on-line version of this article and search the
reader letter responses for the name of the dealer I used, if you simply must
have a specific reference from me.
Put half your investment, at least, into the physical metal, take delivery and
keep it somewhere safe (not a bank safety-deposit box like I do!). Call local
coin dealers, hardly any of whom yet seem to know about FinCEN's new law, and
pay cash for what you buy without identifying yourself to them, if possible. If
you either can afford larger purchases or buy via mail order, then you will not
be able to avoid having your name recorded. Records make confiscation and
taxation easy.
Buy 1-oz. silver rounds or 10-oz. silver bars. Larger bars might require
assaying when you sell, which will make them difficult to peddle quickly.
Silver Eagles command too high a premium. The rounds have just as much silver
and typically go for about 50 cents over silver's daily spot price, though you
might have to pay upwards of 75 cents over spot to acquire smaller quantities
(you will recoup about 25 cents of that premium when you sell). I view "junk
silver" (old circulated coins) as useful only if the entire world goes the way
of Mad Max.
Buy popular numismatics for which there is a ready market. The best example is
$20 US gold coins designed by a fellow named St. Gaudens, for whom they are
named. Buy them only in uncirculated condition, certified by PCGS or NGC at
Mint State (MS) 63, 64 or 65. PCGS and NGC are professional coin grading
companies. PCGS essentially sets the market price for coins graded by both of
them. You can access the PCGS on-line
price guide at
http://www.pcgs.com/prices. Multiply their given prices by 85 to 90% in
order to derive actual market values.
Put the rest of your investment into funds and/or mining stocks. Diversify.
Stay away from companies holding South African mines and large hedge positions.
For two years, my personal favorite has been Gold Corp (GG). Some list members
bought Gold Corp when I first mentioned it and since have racked up gains close
to 200%. I also mentioned a couple of months ago that I liked the potential for
palladium, the best common stock for which seems to me to be North American
Palladium (PAL). Those who bought North American Palladium when I mentioned it
report gains in only a couple of months totaling nearly 50%. I have very modest
investments in each of the stocks I just mentioned (the rest of my retirement
nest egg).
New America, an idea whose time has come.
-Ed
Latest Nickel Rants:
- 12/19/05 -
Holy Holocaust!
streaming mp3
- 1/2/06 -
Jesus Christ,
Outlaw
streaming
mp3
http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/rants/outlaw16-16.mp3
Latest Columns:
- 10/7/05 -
Peak Silver
streaming mp3
(2 mb, 20 min)
-
http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/audio/peak16-16.mp3
- 10/24/05 -
Into the Dust
streaming mp3
(3 mb, 28 min)
-
http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/audio/whirly16-16.mp3
---------------- e-mail responses to Edgar Steele:
Now, just a very few of your recent Emails, the volume of which has grown
staggering. Please forgive me for not even acknowledging receipt of emails
these days. Your emails mean more to me than I can say. While I try my
best to read them all, I simply haven't enough hours in the day to answer them,
except in the following fashion: