Goldline International Scam Investigation Opened!

An investigation has been launched by Democratic Congressmen Weiner & Rush, of the selling practices of Goldline International. Goldline uses high profile conservative firebrands like Glenn Beck to promote their gold & silver coins and bullion. I believe the investigation by the government of Goldline is politically motivated, and represents yet another glaring example of the "Big Brother" mentality that seemingly has engulfed our nation.

My own review of their online selling practices and their website reveals they primarily profit by selling gold and silver coins at extremely high prices to novices, incited by inflammatory ads featuring conservative icons. The company especially seems to prefer non-bullion numismatic coins as their "true value" is much more nebulous, and not directly linked to silver and gold prices (as are bullion coins). The sales pitch relies heavily on worries about the economy and a possible Federal government confiscation of non-numismatic gold coins, as happened in 1933 under FDR. Goldline claims profit margins of 30-35%, but I suspect they actually soar as high as 67% on their favorite coin, the Swiss 20 Franc gold coin! On the other hand, competitors like Amergold.com offer the same coins at only about a 13% market up!

The Swiss coins contain 0.1867 troy ounces of gold, and are a little smaller than a nickel. The coin is promoted as a rare numismatic coin, and therefore likely exempt from any future government mandated confiscation. In reality, however, the coin is actually quite common and is of little numismatic value. Their website also spends a lot of time selling First Strike, Proof, and other coins that usually demand high premiums above and beyond their gold or silver content.

You can read my other blogs for more information, but I've said previously that most Americans should concentrate on American pre-1965 dimes, quarters, halves, and dollars (junk silver), and American Silver or Gold Eagles from Gainesville Coins or Apmex if they don't want to be ripped off. Bottom line, you'll get a lot more silver and gold for your buck. The numismatic and specialty coin premiums are much higher and more volatile than bullion investments, and easily evaporate in periods of severe economic instability. However, do your OWN research first BEFORE buying. Take no one's word, (including mine), as to the best investment vehicles for your particular situation. DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE, PEOPLE! Don't rely on Uncle Sam to always be there to correct your ignorant or lazy mistakes!

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

Flying Money

Around 800 AD, The Chinese Tang dynasty invented the first paper money. China was a big country, and the rulers of China didn't like the idea of having to transfer all that heavy gold and silver around on a constant basis. The money certificates were exchangeable by merchants for the stated amount of precious metals in any city in the Empire. This remarkable innovation in trade was nicknamed "flying money" by the Chinese merchants, due to the frequent problem with the valuable paper blowing away on the slightest breeze!

A couple hundred years later the Song, Chin, and Mongol rulers began to use paper currency throughout China. By 1309 AD, the currency called the Yuan, had depreciated 1000%. Often the government would refuse to exchange the old money for new as the old became battered and useless. By the end, the great innovation that so impressed Marco Polo had ceased to have any connection to gold or silver, and reverted to it's inherent worth...nothing!

Every paper currency that followed in Europe, America, and around the world has either collapsed or become substantially devalued. In 1950, a US silver dollar bought 4 gallons of gas. It would do the same today due to its silver content if you sold it for US paper dollars. A paper dollar saved from 1950, however, wouldn't even buy half a gallon of gas at your local pump. That, my friends, is inflation and currency devaluation. Please keep in mind as well, that this loss of buying power occurred during the period of time where the USA was the Mightiest nation on Earth!

Is worthlessness the inevitable future for the US Dollar? In a word, yes. It's purely a matter of time. Perhaps it will be a matter of days, months, or years, but it will eventually become WORTHLESS. The process of paper currency devaluation is like an hourglass with an elastic neck, the sand will continue to slip away, only the rate at which it falls is open for debate.

There are a few truisms in historical economics. Governments will always seek to debase currency because it allows them to spend without raising taxes (which everyone who votes generally hates). Think about that for a moment. If you had a printing press and could print your own money seemingly without a reckoning, wouldn't you print away 24/7? When the government gets print-happy, however, the money supply soars leaving manufactured products & supplies in the dust. Too much money chasing too few goods means inflation, or worse, hyperinflation.

Buy 90% "junk" silver coins, American Silver or Gold Eagles now and prevent your money from FLYING AWAY!

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

Fiat Money: The Monopoly Game of Life

Playing Monopoly was a favorite activity on rainy days with my brother Mike and sister Nancy. It was a sublimely magical game, especially for me, because it allowed a middle class kid to become instantly transformed into a real estate tycoon. One minute I'm foraging around for a quarter to buy some candy or a comic, and the next minute I'm buying up properties in Atlantic City like I was Donald Trump on a bender! What made possible my sudden climb from small city kid to rich landed gentry? Paper or fiat money. The game was jam packed with it...and it was all-to-easily acquired. I never thought for a moment about who printed up the money and just why it could be used to purchase real estate, a way out of jail, utilities, railroads, pay taxes etc. I don't recall questioning if it was "backed" by any real items of value, but everyone else playing the game accepted it's worth, so who was I to make waves? Besides, it was just the one of the rules of the game, right? Now that I'm an adult, I know that our Federal government is the "man behind the screen" that plays the part of the mysterious money printer. The definition of fiat money is according to InvestorWords.com:

Money which has no intrinsic value and cannot be redeemed for specie or any commodity, but is made legal tender through government decree. All modern paper currencies are fiat money, as are most modern coins. The value of fiat money depends on the strength of the issuing country's economy. Inflation results when a government issues too much fiat money. Well, that definition about sums up the US paper money situation nicely, don't you think? It's funny money with no actual value of its own, other than the strength of the faltering US economy. Even the currently circulating "silver" pocket change falls under the same category since it's made from base, not precious metals any longer. The definition goes on ominously with a final warning about the risk of inflation if the issuing government prints too much fiat money. Inflation, of course, being the silent robber in the night who steals your hard earned money only to replace it with an identical, yet debased copy, that buys less goods and services than the original note.

To further illustrate the inherent inflation mechanism of fiat money, let's return to my Monopoly game. Once to spice the game up my siblings and I started the game with 3x as much starter money as the rules indicated. The result? We bought the same properties, but the bidding wars launched the real estate prices into the stratosphere. Even low rent properties like Baltic went for multiple times its stated value. Without realizing it, of course, we imitated the irresistable force of monetary inflation inherent in and unavoidably linked with the fiat money pantheon. At my family's last Thanksgiving I wanted to test the awareness level of the above basic economic truths (yes, I'm available for parties). A short conversation with my usually very intelligent brother-in-law, Bill, confirmed the consensus in the room. He thought the dollar was backed by gold in Fort Knox (nope), and that today's coins still contained silver (nope again, they haven't since 1964). I believe a countrywide survey would show the vast majority of Americans have similar misconceptions about the real value of their negotiable currency. The current American debt is now a whopping $13 Trillion dollars, and will likely reach 19 Trillion in 2015. The money supply in the US has also been growing alarmingly as the government seeks to stimulate the economy. By fiat money definition, inflation, and even hyperinflation, are axiomatic. The US Dollar is holding strong for the moment, because the world presently lacks another easy replacement to pay for their oil, etc. However, inevitable signs of serious inflation will undoubtedly undermine the confidence of Americans and foreigners alike in the US Dollar. Once that happens...game over man. Speaking of game over, guess how my siblings and I treated the Monopoly money once the game was finished, and we awoke to the fact that it was all just paper and therefore inherently worthless? We threw it in the box (no tidy denomination segregation) and chucked the whole kit and kaboodle into the closet. BUY PHYSICAL GOLD AND SILVER COINS OR ROUNDS NOW! Gold and silver have had value in human society for 5000 years! Let's see if the US Dollar will maintain it's value for a fraction as long. 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

Get Girly MJ off my Lady Liberty

The Garish and Girlish face of Michael Jackson superimposed over the lovely and historic Lady Liberty on the American Silver Eagle coin. Yes, this "product" is actually being sold right now, as the contents of my stomach struggle violently to be released! What cold-hearted, avarice-soaked monster would commit such an atrocity on an American treasure? I would heartily support any new law that would sentence such an vandal to a mandatory lifetime term without the possibility of parole for this vile crime (and I'm only a little kidding about this)!

So, what's next America? A figurine of the Statue of Liberty in streetwalker makeup? A poster of Uncle Sam in fishnet stockings and heels?

Ouch! Sorry for that last mental image. Besides, I don't think Sam's got the legs for it.

PS. I want everyone to know I kept it classy, and avoided the obvious jokes about the unlikely picture of MJ on top of any woman, lady or not. I even resisted with titanic moral strength the temptation to indicate that "he" might be more at home atop a Boy Scouts of America collectable.

Oh...wait. Never mind re classy claim.

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