[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '
')What happens when Saudi Arabia, "the latest BRICS entrant", demands Gold in exchange for it's oil? When Russia demands the same for it's Gas and fertilizer?

[yellowcanoe]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '
')
Just confirms what many have already known, that China is loading up on Gold in preparation for the $US collapse as the world reserve. Russia, one the leading Gold producers simply keeps it's own production to achieve the same ends. While people in the WEST load up on $US based paper/Digital assets, believing them to be the secret to future prosperity, the East/BRICS nations are preparing for what always happens, a switch to a Gold backed international monetary system.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('yellowcanoe', 'W')orld GDP has grown well beyond the point where we could have gold backed currencies.

[AgentR11]

I know gold bugs would love to see gold re-rationalize to represent gold backing of currency, but it just wouldn't happen in the US, and you mention the example, perfectly constitutional; they'd federalize gold ownership, and set the price at something ridiculously low in light of the new reality. We wouldn't lose dollars on the confiscation, I don't think they'd go that far, but they'd price it at like $3k when the world reset has it at $50k. The dollar is not magic, our debts are unsustainable, and there's no law/budget they could pass that would solve our basic insolvency problem. I wish I had a more positive opinion on the outlook on gold...

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AgentR11', 'I') know gold bugs would love to see gold re-rationalize to represent gold backing of currency
I wish I had a more positive opinion on the outlook on gold...

[Doly]

I'd love if the goldbugs in this forum had a look at my thoughts on money on my blog and made their comments. I don't know if there is anything very original there, but I would still be interested in knowing who said those things before me, and your thoughts:

https://energywatchers1.wordpress.com/2 ... r-5-money/

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Doly', 'I')'d love if the goldbugs in this forum had a look at my thoughts on money on my blog and made their comments.

[theluckycountry]

At this rate Gold will be over au$5000/oz in no time!



It's not something I ever thought about back when I was buying it for $650, or even around $2700 which was my last major purchase. When Gold rises abruptly we Gold bugs don't like it because we know it's function is to keep pace with inflation, and anything over that places it in bubble territory. But what Gold has simply done is make up for all the inflation since Covid, and a little more due no doubt to the fragility of the markets and all the Debt accumulation.

Where will it be in a year? There in the safe, ready to be be cashed in and spent on necessities if needed.

[careinke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'A')t this rate Gold will be over au$5000/oz in no time!



It's not something I ever thought about back when I was buying it for $650, or even around $2700 which was my last major purchase. When Gold rises abruptly we Gold bugs don't like it because we know it's function is to keep pace with inflation, and anything over that places it in bubble territory. But what Gold has simply done is make up for all the inflation since Covid, and a little more due no doubt to the fragility of the markets and all the Debt accumulation.

Where will it be in a year? There in the safe, ready to be be cashed in and spent on necessities if needed.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', 'W')hen was the last time you ever used gold to purchase something directly? Do you do it often? Just curious.

[careinke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', 'W')hen was the last time you ever used gold to purchase something directly? Do you do it often? Just curious.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', 'S')o you agree with me that gold is a store of value and not currency???

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P').S. The Czechoslovakian government is adopting BTC as a National Strategic Reserve, the are also looking at selling some of their gold to help fund it.

[theluckycountry]

Was listening to a July 2024 Financial Survival network podcast the other day, where the host interviewed martin Armstrong. Of course he's not as smart as Inke but leaving that aside, he said that if Gold had a big runup in January it would stay flat for the rest of the year. Well it has had the runup, let's see if Armstrong gets this prediction right.

[theluckycountry]

That's a 45% increase year on year. Nothing like the bubble gains of the paper markets, but not bad for rock solid Money. In the GFC (great Recession) the Dow Jones and it's ilk fell by over 50%
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he DJIA hit a market low of 6,469.95 on March 6, 2009, having lost over 54% of its value since the October 9, 2007 high.

[theluckycountry]

China's Insurance Companies Will Now Buy Gold
Pursuant to China’s continuous drive to monetize gold the nation has begun to permit Gold’s use in their insurance industry as an investment vehicle for companies to offer.
https://vblgoldfix.substack.com/

How a U.S. Gold Revaluation Could Impact Investors
There has been growing discussion about the possibility of the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve monetising America’s gold reserves. If this happens, it could have significant implications for gold prices, monetary policy, and financial markets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5qhBC1GnOA

GOLD RUSH TO NYC: Is something BIG About to Happen?
Something big is brewing in the gold market. The Bank of England is facing months-long delays on gold withdrawals, an unprecedented 'gold bank run', while COMEX gold inventories have soared 75% since November. At the same time, Wall Street is hoarding physical gold at record levels, but why?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-02- ... out-happen

Certainly a lot of increased activity in the Gold camp. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes, Non-Western activity that is, that has gone under average consumer's radar. Fun days ahead.

[theluckycountry]

Platinum

This morning, having a coffee on the balcony where I watched the sun rise over the mountains, I was reminded of some Platinum I bought back in 2006. Two ounces, $1400 aussie each. I hadn't checked the price in years and was "sort of" surprised when I discovered later that they are still worth, $1400 each. Platinum did spike to $2200 back around the GFC but then went back and stayed flat for the last 15 years. Now this is remarkable on many levels, not the least of which is that fact that Platinum is rarer than Gold even. A lot rarer!

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t's 20x rarer than Gold, only a few hundred tons are produced annually. It is one of the least reactive metals, has remarkable resistance to corrosion, even at high temperatures and is therefore considered a noble metal. Consequently, platinum is often found chemically uncombined as native platinum.

[theluckycountry]

Gold is poised to break through $3000 $US. Can you believe it was only $250 back in the early 2000's? It had been in a slight Bear market for a decade, but even $250 was good compared to the $35 it was when the market reopened for consumers in 1970. That was after the American peakoil event naturally, when the US began to lose control of world monetary system and started defaulting on it's Gold obligations (France) When it had to start net imports of oil, when the lifestyle of the average citizen began to decline and they began taking on personal debts to keep up.

$3000 is a 12 fold increase, much better than houses, much safer than stocks too, which are just a casino. If you want to measure by the Casino then start from the 2008 low of 8000 and you'll get a 5 fold increase to today. But of course many of the companies back then are down a lot today and were kicked out of the indexes, the high valuations today are based on other stocks, like Nvidea, Tesla etc.

In Australia were approaching $5000/oz Gold. Very nice indeed. It seems the more the nations manipulate things the more Gold rises, which is to be expected, since it has no counter-party risk, it all alone in that regard.

[Tanada]

Speaking of coin money, in 1982 the USA switched from traditional bronze pennies to zinc plated with copper. This was done because inflation had so devalued the US dollar that the humble penny was now worth more than twice its face value as copper and pennies were disappearing from circulation at an ever increasing rate.

Last month the USA announced the penny will now be phased out of existence, mostly because inflation has made the value of zinc greater than the value of a penny.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]So long, penny! Trump orders US to ditch 1-cent coin after decades of complaints

February 10, 2025

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The lowly penny, the forgotten mainstay of coin jars and car cupholders everywhere, may soon be no more.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday he’s ordered his administration to cease production of the 1-cent coin, whose buying power is long past its prime.

Advocates for ditching the penny cite its high production cost — currently almost 4 cents per penny, according to the U.S. Mint — and limited utility. Fans of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative bargain in production costs compared with the nickel, which costs almost 14 cents to mint.

Trump’s surprise order comes after decades of unsuccessful efforts to pitch the penny.

“Only tradition explains our stubborn attachment to the penny. But sometimes traditions get ridiculous,” the Farmers’ Almanac said in its 1989 edition.

Here’s a look at some questions surrounding Trump’s order.
Can Trump really order the Treasury to stop minting pennies without Congress’ approval?

Yes, according to legal scholar Laurence H. Tribe, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Constitutional Law Emeritus at Harvard University.

U.S. code gives the Treasury Secretary the authority to mint and issue coins “in amounts the secretary decides are necessary to meet the needs of the United States.”

If Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent decides the amount necessary for the penny is zero, he’s within his legal rights, Tribe said.

“Unlike a lot of what the new administration has been doing pursuant to the flood of executive orders since Jan. 20, this action seems to me entirely lawful and fully constitutional,” Tribe said, referring to the aggressive executive action Trump’s taken on other issues since taking office.

Congress, which dictates currency specifications like the size and metal content of coins, could make Trump’s order permanent through law. But past congressional efforts to ditch the penny have failed.

Pennies are mostly made of zinc, and the American zinc lobby has been a major opponent to suggestions that the penny be eliminated.
How many pennies are in circulation?

It depends on what you mean by circulation.

Pennies are the most popular coin made by the U.S. Mint, which reported making 3.2 billion of them last year. That’s more than half of all the new coins it made last year.

MIT professor Jeff Gore, who founded Citizens to Retire the Penny, said coins are supposed to stay in circulation for about 30 years and that in the last three decades the U.S. Mint has made about 250 billion pennies.

But, he says, “because nobody wants to use pennies, they fall out of active circulation much faster than other coins.”

If pennies sit in drawer for a decade, Gore asks, “Does that qualify as being in circulation?”
Will Americans miss pennies?

The experience in other countries suggests no.

Canada started phasing out its penny a dozen years ago and urged store owners to round prices to the nearest nickel for cash transactions. Electronic purchases were still billed to the nearest cent. The move came after New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, and others dropped their lowest-denomination coins.

After dropping the penny or its equivalent, those countries have not looked back.
What comes next?

Trump’s order, which he announced in a social media post as he was departing New Orleans after watching the first half of the Super Bowl, was the latest in his administration’s rapid-fire efforts to cut government costs.

“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” Trump wrote in his post, which was light on details about plans for a post-penny future.

After Canada stopped minting new pennies, it began recycling them for their “valuable” copper and zinc, according to a 2022 report from the Canadian Mint.

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '[')b]Platinum

This morning, having a coffee on the balcony where I watched the sun rise over the mountains...