Is Silver Getting Bubbly?

Silver's rising prices as measured in US government fiat dollars (alias paper funny money) spawns new articles on a daily basis predicting that surely now silver is in a bubble (a price that is irrationally higher than the intrinsic value of the product or investment). I suspect that as the "tears of the moon" metal approaches the 1980 high of $50 per ounce, the uninformed scare-mongering will only increase in volume. But is silver really in a bubble just because its worth as measured in rapidly devaluing 2011 US dollars is nearing the former 1980 peak?

Firstly, let's make sure we're comparing apples to apples, or at least dollars to dollars. Based on the CPI, you'd need $134.29 today in 2011 to purchase the same products you bought in 1980 for $50. So, while we can talk about the NOMINAL high of $50 for silver per ounce, the real figure we should be eyeing for bubbly signs is a lot closer to the $134 mark in inflation adjusted dollars.

Secondly, exact information as to what price point constitutes pricing above an item's "intrinsic value" is always a little sketchy, to say the very least. However, I'd like to tentatively submit the inflation-adjusted high for silver of $134 as that point, since the 1979-1980 bull market is the best and only historical comparison to today's market.

Next, I think a "real world" comparison of actual buying power of one ounce of silver for the years 1980 and 2011, may aid us in our search for buying power equivalency, and perhaps the actual 2011 point at which we may be entering bubbly territory. Therefore, I've collected the economic information below:

1980 $ Price - Price in Silver Oz. @ $50 per ounce

Avg. New Home $76,400 - 1528 oz.

Median Household Income $17,710 - 354 oz.

First Class Stamp $0.15 - 0.003 oz.

Gallon Regular Gas $1.25 - 0.025 oz.

Dozen Eggs $0.91 - 0.018 oz.

Loaf White Bread $0.50 - 0.01 oz.

Next, we'll look at the 2011 - Silver @ $41 per ounce

Avg. New Home $202,100 - 4,929 oz.

Median Household Income $52,029 - 1,269 oz.

First Class Stamp $0.44 - 0.01 oz.

Gallon Regular Gas $3.75 - 0.09 oz.

Dozen Eggs $3.00 - 0.07 oz.

Loaf White Bread $2.78 - 0.07 oz.

It's easy to see from these two pricing tables that you need a lot more silver to buy everyday items in 2011 than was required to purchase the same products at the peak of the 1980 silver bubble. For example, you could purchase an average new home in 1980 for only 1528 ounces of silver, but you'll need 4929 ounces to close on that same house today!

Finally, I'd like to see how high silver would have to rise in price before it could buy the same amount of products it did in 1980. To determine the 2011 dollar adjusted figures I'll divide the current 2011 dollar product costs by the number of silver ounces required in the 1980 peak. See below:

Avg. New Home - $132 per ounce silver

Median Household Income - $147 oz.

First Class Stamp - $147 oz.

Gallon Regular Gas - $150 oz.

Dozen Eggs - $167 oz.

Loaf White Bread - $278 oz!

The incredible numbers above show that silver will have to rise to between $132 to $167 per ounce to arrive at pricing levels in 2011 dollars that proved to be overheated or bubble-ridden in 1980! In addition, if you want to eat bread again like we did in 1980, you're going to need silver at $278 per ounce! So, our tentative figure of $134 per ounce for a silver top is pretty right on the money.

Given all the information above, I'd say we have quite aways to go with silver at about $41 an ounce before we reach any frothy action! For my part, don't even wake me until silver has exceeded $100 per ounce!

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick
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Silver is Consumed!

Industrial Demand

The first fact that jumps off the page is that the future for silver looks remarkable with industrial silver demand rising from 15,160 tons (487 million ounces) in 2010 to 20,712 tons (666 million ounces) in 2015. Much of the growth in the global total of industrial silver consumption will be driven by stronger demand for a number of established uses including the manufacture of electrical contacts and the use of silver in the photo voltaic industry. New uses center on silver's antibacterial qualities, while other new uses tend to make use of its conductive properties, including solid state lighting and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Overall please note that silver’s importance in the technology of the day is huge. We go so far as to say that the demand from silver has transformed from a want to a need! Whether we are in a boom or bust silver’s demand will remain robust. It is now needed to make all facets of an economy run well and at all levels, even down to individual needs. This secures its future and assures us that silver prices are well supported. Here is the list of the amounts used in different applications that emphasize this point.

- Cell phones used 404.35 tonnes [13 million ounces] of silver last year.

- Computers consumed 684.29 tonnes [22 million ounces].

- Thick film PV consumed 1,461.90 tonnes [47 million ounces] in 2010.

- Automobiles which used 1,119.75 tonnes [36 million ounces] of silver.

- Electrical and electronics demand for silver reached an all-time high of 7,555.21 tonnes [242.9 million ounces].

- Solar Power in 2011 is expected to reach 2,177.29 tonnes [70 million ounces], up 40%.

- RFID tags in 2010 reached between 31 and 62 tonnes with a long way to go before reaching full market.

- Water purification used 62 tonnes [2 million ounces] set to grow to 74.65 tonnes [2.4 million ounces].

- Medical applications may grow strongly to reach 93.3 tonnes [3 million ounces] by 2015.

- The use of nano-silver in goods packaging and hygiene combined would consume 124.4 tonnes [4 million ounces] of silver over the next five years.

Silver is consumed

While photographic use of silver allows for the re-cycling of silver, reclamation of silver from most of the above uses is difficult to nigh-on-impossible. This in itself assures either a constant or rising demand for these applications. Of particular note is the growth in Asia where we are watching around half of the globe’s population developing at infrastructural level as never before. This growth will continue at double figures, per annum for at least the next decade. Gold is rarely consumed as it is deemed far too valuable. Reclamation efforts relative to the value of the gold ensures that scrap merchants will go to extraordinary lengths to recover the gold. In silver’s case these efforts would cost more than the sale of the silver so used. As the silver price rises further reclamation efforts will become profitable and more silver will be recovered, but we are still a long way off from that day.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick
CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

Should I Pay To Store My Gold / Silver?

Many gold & silver sellers today offer buyers the option to store their precious metals for them in their secure vault for a fee. To some concerned about theft or storage, this solution could seem like a good deal. The buyer gets to own gold and silver without the worries associated with keeping these valuable metals at home. So, is it wise to give your precious metals investment to your seller for safekeeping? Heck, NO! Why? See below:

• Conflicts of interest - The seller is running a business. Like every business profit and cash flow are primary concerns. The temptation for a vendor to "sell" you imaginary gold or silver and then charge you fees for its storage at his facility are very real. The situation practically begs for a ponzi scam set up. Even a basically honest seller with sub par business skills could find himself in a financial tight spot if a large amount of deposits are withdrawn precipitously or through plain mismanagement.

Example: Earlier this month, FBI agents seized computers, records and safe-deposit box keys from the Tigard home of Lawrence Henry Heim, president of U.S. Gold & Silver Investments Inc. in Portland. The FBI says the mail and wire fraud investigation stems from unfulfilled investor orders made as long ago as 1998 and as recently as October 2010.

Heim and his company also face three lawsuits -- one in federal and two in state courts -- seeking more than $875,000 and alleging breach of contract. One of the suits was filed on behalf of the estate of the late Portland high-tech pioneer Tom Holce.

According to the lawsuits, first reported in Willamette Week, Heim's company has not delivered on at least $875,000 of U.S. gold and silver coins. In some cases, the suits say, investors asked Heim to store coins on their behalf. In others, Heim entered into contracts with investors for which he would pay interest while holding the coins, according to the lawsuits.

• Bankruptcy & Legal Problems - What happens if a business storing your PM's goes bankrupt, or its assets are seized for civil and criminal legal proceedings? There's just no clear answer to this vexing question.

Example: Bernard Von Nothaus, the founder of the Liberty Dollar was arrested in 2007 and over $7 million dollars worth of copper, silver, and gold bullion owned by investors storing their PM's with the company were seized by the Federal government. Von Nothaus was recently convicted of counterfeiting, and faces 15 years in jail and substantial fines. In addition, the US government is seeking court permission to permanently confiscate all the bullion seized. As it stands now, the investors in the Liberty Dollar stand to lose their entire stored bullion, or at best face long legal battles to regain ownership.

There are plenty of other reasons not to entrust your gold and silver to others, but I hope the above two "horror stories" will be sufficient to dissuade anyone from pursuing this foolish investment choice.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles. Rick

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Prices Haven't Risen for Over 70 years!

When you're riding in a car the houses and trees outside the vehicle appear to be whizzing past rapidly while you stand still. Of course, every adult knows that the apparent movement of the objects outside the car is only an optical illusion. The motor vehicle in which you're riding is moving. The scenery is actually rooted fast.

The driving analogy above is ideal for describing the inflation of prices in US fiat money (US Dollars). It is not the prices of food, fuel, etc., that are continually moving upwards, it's the value of the US paper Dollar that is plummeting downwards!

To prove my price inflation assertion, let's look at everyday prices on items from 1940 and 2010. All costs will be computed using US 90% silver coins (dimes, quarters, halves) that were minted for circulation up to and including 1964. Coins minted after that date for circulation were made from base metals and fall under the heading of fiat money (money that has no value outside of the government mandated value).

Average Cost Gallon Of Gas

1940 $0.11 cents

2010 $2.75

Present Value $0.11 cents silver money $2.97

Average Cost Loaf of Bread Food

1940 $0.10 cents

2010 $2.79

Present Value $0.10 cents silver money $2.70

Average Cost 1lb Hamburger Meat

1940 $0.20 cents

2010 $3.99

Present Value $0.20 cents silver money $5.40

You can see from the price information above that if you'd saved your 90% US silver coinage since 1940, you could still buy these everday items for the same amount based on their silver content value! In other words, the "real prices" of these items has really stayed relatively the same. The only reason that inflation has appeared to cause prices to rise is that the actual buying power of the US Federal Reserve Notes un-backed by precious metals has dropped precipitously.

There are exceptions, of course, to the above rule. Although housing prices have been battered by the recession, they're still hovering above their 1940 silver coin equivalent. The price of a new car is likewise further ahead than its equivalent in 1940 silver coins. However, I expect these exceptions to be liquidated in the future as silver continues to rise versus the empty shell that is the US Dollar of today.

So, the next time you fill up with gas, don't give the gas station attendant a hard time. Remember, it's the Federal government with its money printing presses flooding our economy with worthless greenbacks that you should direct your anger towards.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick

CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

Beware These Gold/Silver Sellers!

In every reputable industry you invariably have a few bad eggs salted in with the honorable sellers. The precious metals industry is certainly no exception to this unfortunate rule. The following companies have raised flags with consumers who found their business practices less than satisfactory.

Monex Deposit Company http://www.monex.com/
Currently rates a D- with the BBB. Monex will offer to hold silver for you, or offer you leveraged accounts. I strongly advise against that. Their BBB report quotes the following:
"Complainants allege that they purchased precious metals based on advice and coaching from account representatives and as a result, they incurred substantial financial losses. A few clients complained that account representatives did not follow their instructions in applying funds for investment or that they failed to keep them informed, and as a result, they suffered losses they would not have incurred had their instructions been followed. The company responds to some complaints by disputing the allegations and stating that the investments are self-directed and they are not responsible for losses, denying requests for refunds or monetary compensation. In one case a partial refund was issued, but was conditional upon signing a release waiver composed by the company. "
Northwest Territorial Mint www.nwtmint.com

NWT Mint comes in with a C rating with the BBB. The primary complaints here lie in the long wait times (up to 6 months) for delivery of gold and silver bullion purchased from this company.

Goldline International www.goldline.com

Goldline rates an A+ rating with the BBB...which I find more than a little SUSPICIOUS. The last time I wrote about this company was in November 2010, when they had just moved up from an F to a D-. Rumors about buying a BBB rating have been kicked around, but who knows. Maybe they suddenly got religion...maybe not.

At any rate Congressional investigations were launched last year in response to a variety of predatory selling practices. One of their reputed favorite selling routines was to talk investors interested in buying gold or silver bullion coins into purchasing foreign numismatic collector gold coins with higher profit margins.

Check out these two links for other articles I've written about Goldline:
http://survivalus.blogspot.com/2010/07/goldline-international-scam.html
http://survivalus.blogspot.com/2010/11/goldline-scam-swiss-gold_30.html

Kitco www.kitco.com

Kitco has NO RATING with the BBB as their rating is "under review", whatever that means. My biggest problems with this company are their pool accounts, unknown delivery times for silver, and unknown and backlogged payment if you sold silver to them.

With Kitco Pool accounts your purchased silver and gold remains in their unallocated pool of precious metals. You get a statement for your gold or silver, and bills for trading fees. On the positive side, I guess, you get to easily sell and buy by punching a few keys on your computer.

I'm sorry, but any trust I had in my fellow man died with Enron and the Bernie Madoff scams. What's to stop a company like Kitco from preserving only a fractional supply of actual bullion, while reaping free profits for themselves with your assets? Bottom line, if it's in an unallocated pool, you don't know WHAT'S ACTUALLY SWIMMING AROUND IN THOSE MURKY WATERS!

One of Kitco's top men is Jon Nadler, a perennial gold and silver bear. He's been wrong so often in his precious metal price predictions since 2008, that he must surely envy a broken clock that's right twice a day! Internet rumors have speculated that Mr. Nadler has actually acted as Kitco's resident disinformation officer to help depress gold and silver pricing to preserve the "integrity" of the Kitco pool accounts by discouraging demands for physical delivery.

If interested, you can read The Best Places To Buy Silver http://survivalus.blogspot.com/2010/08/best-places-to-buy-your-survival-gold.html.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick
CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

US Treasuries = TRASH!

The wisest and most successful bond investor of all time, Bill Gross, has dumped his bond fund’s $150 billion investment in U.S. bonds. One should not ignore the importance of this event. The largest bond fund in America no longer believes that Treasury bonds are a good investment. Moreover, Gross is not alone. Blackrock, the world’s largest money manager, is now underweighting Treasuries overall and reducing the duration of the bonds it still holds. That means they are dumping their long-term bonds, which are the most sensitive to interest-rate changes, in favor of Treasury instruments that mature in a year or less. Other bond funds, such as the $20 billion Loomis Sayles funds, are also forgoing Treasuries in favor of high-yield corporate bonds. Virtually everywhere you look, from great investors such as Warren Buffett to insurance companies such as Allstate, everyone is dumping their long-term U.S. debt and either buying debt that matures in less than a year or moving their money elsewhere.

So who is still buying U.S. debt ? According to Bill Gross, the “old reliables” — China, Japan, and OPEC — are still in the market for 30 percent of all new debt. The rest, however, is being purchased by the Federal Reserve. There is no one in else in the market. For the first time ever, Americans are refusing to purchase their own country’s debt.

Gross estimates that the “old reliables” are still good for $500 billion a year in purchases, and will be for some time in the future. This is pretty much the amount they’ve had to buy in the past to rebalance capital flows distorted by the U.S. trade deficit. Gross, however, may be wrong this time. Japan, needing to finance its reconstruction, is much likelier to be a net seller of U.S. debt, while China’s economy is slowing and actually ran a trade deficit in the last quarter. That leaves only one buyer of consequence — the Federal Reserve.

Meanwhile, there are already signs that inflation, while still subdued in the United States, is looking to break out. It has begun wrecking havoc through many areas of the globe, for example providing the catalyst for much of the upheaval in the Middle East. And when it strikes here, the Fed will be out of options. It will have to turn off the money pumps, raise interest rates, and batten down the financial hatches. The resulting recession will be long and nasty.

It is time to face facts. Spending is so out of control that Treasuries are no longer a safe haven for investors. The markets are saturated with U.S. debt and increasingly unwilling to absorb more. There is only one way out of this mess — cut spending, fast and deep.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick

CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

Junk Silver for the Apocalypse?

In the preparedness world there is a very vocal segment that believes that TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) or SHTF (**it hits the fan) will happen any day now. Some see pandemics and plagues, others see Earth Axis Shifts, Mega Tsunamis, Super Volcano Eruptions, Giant Asteroid Impacts, Nuclear War, and even an avenging God as the key players in the extinction of human society. They hold these apocalyptic beliefs so fervently that all prepping actions they take are with the absolute worst case scenario in mind. As such, they talk endlessly about food, water, self defense, medicine and seeds, sarcastically dismissing precious metals like silver and gold as valueless shiny things that you "can't eat".

Now, I'm not saying that big disasters can't happen. The recent earthquake in Japan is just one reminder that we humans live at the mercy of our very geologically active planet, and not the reverse. However, in the last 6000 years of recorded human history mankind has suffered some pretty big kicks to the chops, but has always recovered eventually. We're not immortal, but we're pretty darned resilient. History has proven that much. As such, I always feel a little insulted when TEOTWAWKI extremists assume a human extinction event is not only inevitable, but likely to happen tomorrow or the following day at the latest! They further point out the absurdly obvious conclusion that silver and gold money while pretty handy and valued ever since man started building the first cities in the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley millennia ago, will most certainly be useless when billions are dead and starvation is universal. No kidding, really?!

As far as gold and silver being worthless in a complete and total apocalyptic "gotterdamerung" case, what knowledgeable person could disagree? In a true "Road Warrior" lawless state, food, water, seeds, guns and medicine will most certainly be king, not silver or gold pocket change. However, I like to examine all the percentages before I commit my scarce funds.

Historically, we've had numerous cases of rampant inflation and hyperinflation in the last 100 years of civilization. On the other hand, we've had zero mega tsunamis, a few widespread plagues since Ancient Rome fell, one dinosaur level asteroid extinction strike in the last 65 million years, one super volcano eruption 75,000 years ago, and zero axis shifts and nuclear wars. Statistically speaking, therefore, we should be a lot more worried about inflation and hyperinflation than any of the other known human-impacting events. Junk silver coins (pre-1965 USA dimes, quarters, halves) plainly won't help you if a Mount Everest-sized rock traveling 10 times faster than a speeding bullet splashes next to your oceanview villa, but during hyperinflationary times these shiny coins have saved many thousands in Weimar Germany, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Iceland, and Zimbabwe, etc., when their paper fiat money crumbled to dust.

Conclusion: Most definitely have emergency food, water, seeds, guns and meds. In my mind, that all goes without saying. However, trust in gold and silver as the American dollar is openly and systematically undergoing devaluation leading to ultimate destruction by our so-called leaders. Inflation is already here, and hyperinflation is a vicious beast whose hot breath can already be felt breathing down our collective necks! First things first, I say!

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies (below):

Rick

CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

6000 Years of Gold Fever!

4600 B.C. Ancient civilizations begin to use gold as jewelry because of its beauty.

1500 B.C. The gold-bearing regions of ancient Nubia make Egypt a wealthy nation.

1323 B.C. Egyptians create Tutankhamun's funeral mask, a triumph of gold craftsmanship.

1200 B.C. Egyptians master the art of beating gold into leaf and develop the lost-wax jewelry casting technique, still used today.

1091 B.C. Squares of gold, about the size of postage stamps, become a form of money in China.

560 B.C. The first gold coins are minted in Lydia, now a region in Turkey, after a refining breakthrough ensures consistent purity.

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Funeral mask of Tutankhamun (14th century B.C.)

334 B.C. Alexander the Great and his army cross the Hellespont into the Persian Empire, sezing gold now valued at up to $980 million.334 B.C. Alexander the Great and his army cross hHellespnt into the Persian Empire, seizing gold now valued at up to $980 million. 334 B.C. Alexander the Great and his army cross the Hellespont into the Persian Empire, seizing gold now valued at up to $980 million.

334 B.C. Alexander the Great and his army cross the Hellespont into the Persian Empire, seizing gold now valued at up to $980 million.

218 B.C.–202 B.C. The Romans gain access to Spain's gold-mining region during the Second Punic War.

58 B.C. Julius Caesar conquers ancient Gaul, acquiring enough gold to repay all of Rome's debts.

50 B.C. The Romans issue a gold coin, the aureus, which circulates for almost 400 years.

309 A.D. Roman Emperor Constantine launches the gold solidus. It circulates for nearly 1,000 years in various forms..

696 An Islamic gold coin, the dinar, is minted in Damascus.

1284 Venice introduces the gold ducat, whose weight and purity remain unchanged for 500 years.

Money Museum

Aureus (Rome, 128 A.D.)

1492 Christopher Columbus discovers the new world, leading to the Spanish Conquest. By 1510, Inca gold from Colombia and Peru pours into Spain.

1663 The Guinea, named after Africa's "Gold Coast," is first minted in Britain and becomes its main circulating coin.

1694 The Bank of England, the first central bank to have gold reserves, is established.

1700 Gold is discovered in Brazil, which becomes the world's largest gold producer by 1720, tripling the world's output.

Money Museum

Solidus (Byzantine Empire, 705-711 A.D.)

1717 Sir Isaac Newton, master of the Royal Mint, fixes the price of gold at £3.17s.10d, essentially putting Britain on a gold standard until 1931.

1787 Ephraim Brasher, a goldsmith, strikes the first U.S. gold coin.

1792 The Coinage Act places the U.S. on a bimetallic silver-gold standard.

1817 Britain introduces the sovereign, a gold coin valued at one pound sterling. It becomes the dominant coin in international trade for the next 100 years.

1837 Gold weight in the U.S. dollar is lessened so that an ounce is valued at $20.67.

Money Museum

Dinar (Gupta Empire, 375-414 A.D.)

1848 John Marshall finds gold flakes while building a sawmill near Sacramento, triggering the California gold rush. The discovery transforms world gold production, which escalates tenfold during the next decade.

1852-1853 Britain and France mint substantial quantities of gold coins from California and Australia. Gold begins to take over from silver as the most widely circulating currency.

1862 The Latin Monetary Union is established, setting standards for silver and gold coins in France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and, later, Greece. The countries accept each other's coins as legal tender.

Money Museum

Ducat (Venice, 13th century)

1871 Germany issues the mark, a new currency based on gold. Ten more European countries join the gold standard during the 1870s, leading to a collapse in the silver price, as nations disposed of silver coins.

1873 The U.S. adopts an unofficial gold standard after silver is eliminated.

1887 John Steward MacArthur patents the MacArthur-Forrest process for using cyanide to extract gold from ore, leading to the extraction of gold in South Africa.

1896 William Jennings Bryan urges a return to a bimetallic system in his "Cross of Gold" speech at the Democratic national convention.

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Gold Washing in California, an 1896 engraving

1898 Prospectors discover gold in Klondike, Alaska, prompting the century's final gold rush.

1898 Prospectors discover gold in Klondike, Alaska, prompting the century's final gold rush.

1900 The U.S. adopts the gold standard through passage of the Gold Standard Act.

1913 The Federal Reserve Act requires backing Federal Reserve Notes 40% in gold.

1931 Britain abandons the gold standard.

1933 President Roosevelt prohibits private holdings of gold coins, bullion and certificates to alleviate a banking panic.

1934 The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 gives the government permanent title to all monetary gold and halts minting of gold coins. Only Federal Reserve Banks may hold certificates, putting the U.S. on a limited gold bullion standard. President Roosevelt reduces the dollar by increasing the gold price to $35 per ounce.

Money Museum

Stater (Tribe of the Parisii, 120-100 B.C.)

1935 Construction begins on the bullion depository at Fort Knox, Ky.

1944 The Bretton Woods agreement establishes the basis of the post-war monetary system. The U.S. dollar is set to maintain a conversion rate of $35 to one ounce of gold.

1961 Central banks of the U.S., U.K., and six European countries form the London Gold Pool and agree to buy and sell at $35.09 per ounce.

1968 The London Gold Pool collapses, leaving the U.S., Britain and other European nations unable to maintain the gold price at $35. The gold price begins to float freely for the first time.

1971 President Nixon closes the "gold window," stopping all gold sales and purchases and ending conversion of foreign-held dollars into gold.

1973 U.S. devalues the dollar and raises the official selling price of gold to $42.22 ounce. Dollar selling continues, which leads to currencies being allowed to float freely.

1975 Americans are allowed to hold gold other than jewelry for first time since l933. Krugerrand sales and gold-futures trading begin in the U.S.

1976–1980 The International Monetary Fund abolishes its official gold price, freeing governments to trade gold in private markets.

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Bloomberg News

Gold futures are traded on the Comex floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1980 Gold reaches an intraday high of $875 on Jan. 21 but falls to $591 by year-end.

1981 The U.S. forms a Gold Commission to make recommendations on government policies about the role of gold in domestic and world-wide monetary systems.

1999 The euro is introduced, backed by a new European Central Bank holding 15% of reserves in gold. The Bank of England sells half of the U.K.'s gold stocks, pushing down prices to $250 an ounce.

1999 Europe's central banks enter the Central Bank Gold Agreement, which limits their annual sales of gold into the market. This action stimulates a rise in the gold price during the next decade.

2009 Central banks return to buying gold for the first time in two decades.

2011 Gold hits an intraday high of $1,445 on March 7.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick

CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

A Return to the Gold / Silver Standard?

The State of Utah has passed legislation that would allow gold and silver coins to be used as a legal tender in the State. This fiscal move is widely viewed as a hedge against the value erosion that the US Dollar is currently undergoing.

The new wave is not restricted to Utah, as a dozen states have proposed such a bill.

In Virginia, the legislature there has passed a bill (which is yet to be signed by the governor) that would allow the state to mint gold, silver and platinum coins. This is expected to protect the state from the scourge of high inflation.

In fact, a Virginia delegate tried to initiate a resolution that would allow the state to have its own currency, but the effort fell through. Recently, there were unconfirmed reports that China is on a move to opt for a gold standard.

The US had been on gold standard for a major part of the 20th century, but Richard Nixon decoupled gold from currency in 1971.

In November last year, World Bank President, Robert Zoellick called for considering by nations a return to gold standard to better accommodate currency fluctuations.

The Utah bill is yet to be signed by the State Governor. Once this is through, there are arguments that the legislation may spur the US Congress to consider adopting gold standard.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick

CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

What is the Gold / Silver Ratio?

CLICK CHART TO ENLARGE

The chart (above) shows the gold / silver ratio for the last few years. The ratio simply put describes how many ounces of silver will buy one ounce of gold. Historically, the ratio was pegged at 16 ounces of silver to one ounce of gold. Indeed, this value relationship of the two precious metals actually mirrors their relative abundance in the Earth's crust.

In more recent times the ratio has swung heavily in favor of gold as silver was demonetized, averaging around 55. Currently the ratio is about 40x and thus above the median of 55x. This means that silver is attractively valued relative to gold. A low was hit in 1920, when 15 ounces of silver would buy 1 ounce of gold. 1940 saw a row of historical highs, when one ounce of gold bought 100 ounces of silver. We experienced similar values in 1990.

Looking back over the centuries, we find that gold has been substantially more expensive since the beginning of the 20th century than in the previous three centuries. The long-term median (since 1687) is 15.7x. This also reflected the actual ratio of physical supplies: gold is about 16 times more scarce than silver. According to USGS, the measured and assumed silver resources are about 6 times as high as the ones of gold. Therefore silver is at the moment clearly undervalued at a ratio of 40x relative to gold.

Note: 3/25/11 - GOLD/SILVER RATIO touched more new lows this week. Closed today at 38.486. Shhhh -- Listen. Come close and I'll tell y'all something you won't hear anywhere else, but don't tell anybody. At 38.486 the ratio stands below its 10 year, below its 20 year, below its 30 year, below its 50 year, below its 60 year, and below its 110 year average. In fact, it's nearer the 220 year average than the 110 year. Put that into perspective: the 10 year average is 60.53, 22 points higher.

[Using a gold:silver ratio of 16:1 equates to a price of $90 per ounce for silver based on the current ballpark price of $1430 per ounce for gold and suggests a price of $650 if gold were to reach a parabolic top of $10,400!]

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies (below):

Rick

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Why You Must BUY SILVER NOW!

Silver prices are continuing to climb, and scale new pricing heights. Today (Feb. 21, 2011), silver tasted highs over $34 USD. That's an increase from the prior close on Friday of almost 4.0%!
Still, it makes sense to buy silver. Here are six good reasons:
1. China has turned net importerChina, the biggest commodity guzzler in the world, is importing silver big time. In fact, in 2005, China exported 100 million ounces of silver (one troy ounce = 31.1 grams). In 2010, five years down the line, the country has turned a net importer, importing 122.6 million ounces, which is around 14% of the global production.
Now, we all know the impact China has on the price of a commodity it takes fancy to. India, the biggest consumer of gold and silver in the world, imported 1,200 tons of silver in 2010, up 20% from the previous year. This increase in imports has largely been attributed to increase in the price of gold, thus making gold jewelery very expensive.This has made people in these countries turn to silver jewelery. In fact, as the price of silver keeps going up, more and more people are likely to take fancy to silver jewelery.
2. Supply demand mismatchThis is a very basic point, which is behind every price rise. Silver demand is more than silver supply, and thus the prices have been on a run. The Silver Institute, which tracks silver supply, reports that from 2000 to 2009 (the latest data available), the supply of silver went up to 709.6 million ounces, up from 591 million ounces. This shows an increase of around 2% per year.
Data from the CPM group shows that mine production rose to 741.5 million ounces in 2010 (up around 4% from 2009). Silver demand in 2009 stood at around 889 million ounces and the difference between supply and demand was largely met out of scrap sales. Given this, nearly 19% of silver demand is being meant out of scrap sale. This is not sustainable.
3. No recycling of silverOne way to increase supply is to recycle silver like gold has been over the years. Silver is largely used as an industrial metal. It is a very good conductor of electricity, the best heat transfer agent and reflector of light, a very good lubricant, catalyst and alloy. But it is used in very small amounts as an industrial metal. Given this, it is not easy to recycle silver.
Also, at its current price, it is not monetarily feasible to recycle silver. Experts are of the view recycling will become monetarily feasible only once the price of silver crosses around $50 per ounce (currently it quotes at around $32-33 per ounce). Given these reasons, increasing sale of silver scrap is not very easy.
4. Not easy to ramp up productionExperts who closely track silver believe the world is running out of silver. The most vociferous of this lot, Adrian Douglas, the proprietor of Market Force Analysis and also a director of GATA (the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee), has gone on record to say the world will run out of silver in 2020, and thus become the first element of the periodic table to become extinct.
Theodore Butler, silver analyst, Butler Research, has said in the past that silver inventories have declined from 10 billion ounces (one ounce equals 31.1 grams) in 1940 to 1 billion ounces today. In comparison, gold inventories stand at a total around 5 billion ounces. So, if we were to believe these experts, there is five times more gold on this earth than silver. But does that reflect in the price of these metals? Certainly not.
This decreasing inventory cannot be built up through increase in production. The earth’s crust has around 17 times more silver than gold. Despite this, silver production cannot be ramped up quickly. The primary reason for this is that it is rare to find a pure silver deposit. Hence, nearly two thirds of the silver that is mined comes as a by-product of mining other metals, like copper, zinc and lead. So, increased production of silver in turn depends on the price of the other metals it is co-mined with.
Also, the silver “mine-cycle” is around 10 years, i.e. the time it takes from starting to explore for silver and until the mine finally begins to produce silver. Over the years, the low price of silver has ensured that the mining companies haven’t gotten around to looking for silver.
5. New uses of silverAs mentioned earlier, silver has lots of industrial uses, given that it is the most malleable and ductile metal, after gold. Silver is currently used in electrical applications like conductors, switches, fuses etc. It is also used in photography, and silver alloys are used as cathodes in batteries. New hybrid car batteries rely on the gray metal, as does the growing solar cell industry. Interestingly, the new uses of silver keep growing.
One of the newest and most innovative uses for the "poor man's gold" is to kill germs! As a bactericide, silver is used in water purification and air handling systems. Additional new products using silver’s biocidal qualities are being developed each year; clothing, bandages, toothbrushes, door-knobs (flu-protection), keyboards, and the list goes on growing.
6. The investment argumentInvestors are gradually realizing the potential of silver. This has led to an increased demand for silver coins as well as exchange traded funds worldwide. The US Mint sold more than 6.4 million silver eagles this January —- the highest sales in a single month since the coin was introduced way back in 1986.
Eric Sprott, who runs Canada-based Sprott Hedge Fund and who recently launched a silver fund, made a very interesting point during an interview. His new fund entered the market to buy 1 million ounces of physical silver. The silver wasn’t readily available, and it took the fund nearly 10 weeks to acquire the entire stock.
Now, this was the impact of just one fund. Imagine what would happen once a few more silver funds are launched. In fact, data from the Silver Institute shows that the investment demand for silver went up by a whopping 184% to 136.9 million ounces in the year 2009 (the latest data i.e. available).

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies (below):

Rick

CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!