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The Perils of Paper Gold

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

“The physical gold market is actually being drained by euro gold buyers. People are converting their euros to gold and there is only a finite amount of physical gold available.” The “London Trader” made this assertion to King World News on January 17, 2012.

He also expressed concern over the amount of “paper gold” being created: “Yes, you will still see games being played and yes you can create paper gold out of thin air. But there comes a point where each time you do that the physical buyers are taking it and it has a lagging effect that will catch up, and eventually it gets reflected in the price.”

What is “paper gold”?

As might be inferred, it amounts to a trick.

“The IMF actually invented what became referred to as “Paper Gold” in 1971 – months before the U.S. severed the tie between the Dollar and Gold.

The IMF knew this step was coming, and so it invented the “SDR” (Special Drawing Right).

It was touted as a Reserve “Currency” that would replace both the U.S. Dollar and Gold in the basements of the world’s Central Banks.” source: The Privateer


This is astonishing: the yellow metal, something solid, something of genuine value was going to be replaced by – paper! It gets worse: in discussing StreetTracks Gold Shares (ticker symbol: GLD), the NYSE-listed exchange-traded fund sponsored by The World Gold Council, James Turk (Founder, Gold Money) explained on March 5, 2007 just how this paper gold “functions”:

“Investments in gold can be nearly anything gold related. For example, they can be gold certificates and other promises to pay gold. Importantly, they do not have to be physical gold”. Therefore, all GLD has to do to satisfy its auditor is to show them the bank statement (i.e., a piece of paper) that says gold is stored in any Subcustodian appointed by the Custodian. The auditors do not have to go to the vault of the Subcustodian to prove that the gold actually exists, is not encumbered in any way, is securely placed in allocated storage, and accurately records the ownership of the fund.

“If GLD declared its asset to be “Gold”, the fund’s auditor would have to substantiate that the gold really exists, which GLD of course cannot do because of the inability to audit or even inspect gold stored in subcustodians and sub-subcustodians, which is a risk noted in the prospectus. This reality just re-confirms what I and others have concluded all along – GLD is just a paper scheme. It should not be considered as an alternative to physical gold ownership because it is not.” source: The Paper Game

This happens because what is being traded is called “Investments in Gold” rather than “Gold” as such. So in effect this is trading on a promise, and a loose one at that. One must wonder why the World Gold Council endorses what looks suspiciously like a fraud: read more of Mr Turk’s article to discover how trades in these “assets” can result in two people owning the same piece of gold!

Friedrich Hayek pointed out that merely putting the word “social” in front of a legitimate concept (e.g. “social justice”) automatically deprived that concept of meaning; the word “paper” clearly fulfils the same function in high finance….!

by Mark Rogers

LINGOLD SAVING PLAN - GOLD

UNCLEAN GOLD AND ECO-CRISIS

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Earlier this month on Goldcoin.org, we looked at hazardous gold mining operations in South America (Unclean Gold). The context was the Peruvian economist, Hernando de Soto’s findings that the vast majority of the world’s poor operate in economies that give them no access to title and other capital-realizing legal arrangements. There will be a great deal more to say about these insights, but here I want to address an important distinction that needs to be made about eco-crisis and the environment. This is to clear up some of the misapprehensions voiced by critics of capitalism and free trade, such as “Occupy” and many of the rancidly left-wing organizations financed by Soros.

The anti-globalization movement has global ambitions far in excess of those entertained by the merchants and manufacturers who drive globalization. The latter want to acquire or produce their goods at the best possible costs and sell them for the best possible prices. Not only are these relatively modest ambitions, but they are also perfectly normal: merchants and manufacturers down the centuries have always traded on these assumptions.

A main platform of anti-globalizers against the despoliation allegedly caused by capitalist enterprise is environmentalism, and this vision is entirely holistic – i.e. global! They also embrace goals far in excess of what any economy can bear, especially a developing one: the grandest is the demand that carbon emissions are reduced by an improbable amount in an unachievable time…

The reason: “global warming”. However, this is an ideology and can have no bearing on what real people struggling in real economies must do to survive and prosper. Hence the refusal of India and China to sign up to carbon quotas; hence the puzzlement of Africans and South Americans that they should be sacrificed, denied the possibility to improve their lot because of the perceived “fate of the earth”.

Global warming is now a legislative fact, and it is so because the wrong science is used: the study of the “greenhouse effect” is based on the composition of gases, i.e. chemistry. However, what drives the climate is convection, i.e. physics. The Earth is 70% water, and the land mass that makes up the rest contains high mountain ranges: the effect is the creation of a planetary climate which helps regulate temperatures over time.

“Environmentalism” is merely another attempt by those who despise wealth creation, and all the benefits that flow from it, to reduce western economies and suppress emerging ones.

Yet are there not serious ecological problems such as the unclean and illegal gold mines discussed earlier? Of course there are, but refusing to be blinded by environmentalism means approaching such eco-crises more circumspectly. That is, each crisis must be seen on a case-by-case basis, and not dove-tailed into a wider and misleading perspective. Why should what needs to be done – and more to the point that can be done – to alleviate a local problem, be deferred until globalization and the environment are “fixed”? The attempt to co-opt the unclean gold mines into a productive framework, would demonstrate that such problems can be solved on their own terms – and give true value not only to the gold extracted but to the lives and work of the extractors.

By Mark Rogers

How the loss of France’s triple A could effect Gold

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

France’s loss of the triple A rating sharpens the focus on what needs to be done to avoid the Eurozone’s crisis deepening further. What happens in France in the immediate as well as the long term future is therefore of concern to those outside France as well as those within. This week it was made clear that through increased IMF funding, the UK is likely to be contributing to the bail out funds, although the UK remains committed to countries not currencies. Of particular concern to English readers is the likely reaction in France to the required social reforms. And of course the flight into gold helps strengthen the hand of the wise investor.

The loss of the triple A is only one of the superficial symptoms of the trends of 2012. The economic crisis continues to deepen, which may well cause the price of gold to climb more quickly than envisaged, but not initially.

The consequences for the economy…

This is not due to having been warned of the possibility of such a loss. Since October last year, the agency Moody had been holding the sword of Damocles over Gallic heads.
The downgrading of the French credit rating from AAA to AA by the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has far graver consequences than would be implied by the speeches of leaders who wish to give reassurances, a mere few months ahead of the elections.

The interest rates at which France borrows and which are already twice as high as those of Germany will increase, to cover the risk of default. The first direct impact on the economy is the flight of investors and thus a fall in the CAC 40 index.
And for individuals
Higher interest rates on mortgages, tax hikes, diminished access to credit… the French will have to curb their spending. All the large companies in which the State has a stake (EDF, GDF, France Telecom, Renault, SNCF…) will see their financing costs increase, which inevitably will impact the expenditure of individuals, not to mention the degradation of public services.

Is the A lost forever?

Of course, France can regain its triple A, but how soon and, especially, at what cost?
The corporate VAT plan is only a tiny initiative when viewed in the light of the catastrophic impact of such a downgrading. According to Norbert Gaillard, consultant at the World Bank, France can only recover its AAA at the expense of important social reforms and “a drastic reduction in public expenditure”. Flexibility of the job market for greater competitiveness, extending the period of contributions to pension funds, elimination of the 35 hour working week… Are the French ready to give up their social gains whilst increasing their daily expenditure? Working more and earning less money?

The consequences for gold

As soon as the credit rating of a country is downgraded, the cautious markets fall, demand for gold increases and hence its price. Initially, the need of banks for liquidity can result in a massive withdrawal following the resale of credit and a fall in the price of gold on the markets, as has been already more or less the case since December. One should therefore take the opportunity to strengthen one’s position on gold and buy now because the secondary effect once the selling off stops will see: gold reach new highs this year breaking the $2000 an ounce barrier and beyond.

Fools or Gold?

Once the dominoes of Debt start to tumble the skies the limit but more importantly, when states fail, currencies collapse or sovereign debt strangles everyday life, where would you rather have your “money”?
In a tangible precious asset with perennial true value?
Or tied up in the worldwide web of debt derivatives, Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) and untraceable off-ledger accounts?

The choice is simple, give your money to the crooks you’ve been conditioned to trust with blind faith and risk losing everything or buy something solid that you own and trust yourself to manage it properly?

It’s what they call a no-brainer!

GOLD STORAGE, THE HONG KONG WAY

Sunday, January 15th, 2012

I returned home to Hong Kong after undergoing my last two years of schooling in the UK; I quickly found employment and after work (six days a week) and on Sundays, I began to explore areas of Hong Kong that I had never visited during my childhood and adolescence.

One of the consequences of the several waves of refugees from communist China (the revolution itself, the Great Leap Forward in the 1950s, the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s) was the rapid accumulation of informal dwellings on the mountainsides. These shacks were made out of anything handy: packing crates, corrugated iron, planks. They were incredibly hardy edifices: typhoons capable of lifting a battleship, blowing it out of the harbour and impaling it on a rocky island in the South China Seas, would leave the squatter huts crowded onto an exposed side of the island at the harbour mouth intact!
As a child I had always been fascinated by these places: they embodied escape, freedom, the mastering of adversity; they had an air of romance and adventure. Yet I had never visited one: this was something I remedied as I explored Hong Kong anew during 1975.

What I discovered was remarkable. First of all, these places were orderly and clean, the natural drainage of the mountainsides enabling the latter. The homes were sturdily constructed despite their flimsy materials. What was truly astonishing, however, was the discovery that the expensive cars parked at the foot of the hills belonged to the owners of these huts! This was not all: the informal lifestyle of the hillsides meant that the hut doors tended to be left open: there were always a few children or an ancient grandmother (whom we shall meet again) to keep an eye on things. Through these doors I glimpsed the good life inside: the huts had all the conveniences – fridges, deep freezes, television sets, electric fans, air conditioners, electric lighting: the hills were ablaze with electricity, all legally installed.

This lifestyle reflected a dominant desire among the Hong Kong Cantonese: the ambition, if not for themselves, then for their children to emigrate to one of the Anglosphere countries, far from China, which had caused them such grief. This being so, many prosperous people simply did not want to spend on property. The millionaire who lived on the hillside above us had built himself a house – it was in the style of a mansion, to accord with his status but was really very modest: what was the point of investing in substantial real estate when you might have to abandon it?

Portable Purchasing power?

The personal or family memory of enforced flight also gave rise to the idea that if you were going to have to pick up and go, then property should be portable. The wealthy of Hong Kong are unusual amongst the world’s richest in that they spend more of their money on jewellery and watches than any other type of investment and/or luxury good, mansions and yachts coming right at the bottom of their priorities – only a tiny percentage bother with these things. The desire for wealth in a safe and portable form surely means that the idea of putting their assets into gold coins would appeal to the wealthy, economy-stimulating entrepreneurs of Hong Kong.
Enter Grandma: while I was exploring the shacks and shanties, I saw the most revealing thing of all: the family wealth of these entrepreneurs was stored in gold – in Granny’s teeth: the fillings were so abundant that their mouths gleamed with gold!

by Mark Rogers

Buy Gold, be wise – it lets you take back control

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

The twentieth century saw in both extreme (Nazism/Communism) and mild (the European-style welfare state) forms the strange phenomenon of governments repeatedly taking against their own peoples – in the name of the people. No longer was an independent citizenry to be trusted to look after itself, educate its children, defend its homes and families, and generally stand on its own feet: the munificent state was to do all that, and the end result is bankruptcy. And evasion: the bankrupt states of Europe are not prepared to be honest about where state intervention leads, even though the lessons have been spelled out twice in the twentieth century in draconian form: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

As the eurocrisis deepens, measures antipathetic to savings are being mooted across the continent, involving amongst other things bans on the purchase of gold over certain amounts and bans on cash transactions. Any attempt by savers to convert increasingly worthless cash into solid investments like gold are to be thwarted, raising fears that a Franklin D. Roosevelt style confiscation of privately owned gold may be on the horizon.

Certainly measures proposed or drafted into law in the last quarter of 2011, in Italy, France and Austria, give cause for concern: in Austria there is a restriction on the purchase of more than 15,000 euros’ worth of gold; in France, all metal sales over 450 euros must be paid for by credit card or bank transfer; in Italy it is proposed to ban all cash transactions over (the figures vary) 300, 1,000 or 5,000 euros. The effect of these measures would be to render all significant purchases of precious metals recorded and therefore traceable to their owners.

It has been claimed that the various reasons for these measures are an attempt to rein in credit, to comply with U.S. requests for assistance in combating money laundering, or to help prevent the theft of ordinary metals: in the case of the latter there have been widespread spates in recent months of the theft of metals from anything ranging from telephone poles to industrial plant. While these may all be true goals (whether the proposed remedies will work is another matter – it always is), there is the significant problem that nowhere are the precious metals excluded from the measures. Hence the fears of confiscation.
Gold is a safe haven competitor against fiat money; this may not cause problems when economies are genuinely booming (i.e. the boom is not fuelled by easy expansions of credit). Yet when the fiat money system is collapsing and inflation is rampant the idea that people may protect their assets and their pensions by converting their cash into gold becomes a serious “problem” for the state: savings are seen as a threat.

We have seen how Keynes thought “wealth accumulation” a vice (Austerity for you – privileges for Politicians, December 16th, 2011). He further mockingly remarked: “The duty of ‘saving’ became nine-tenths of virtue and the growth of the cake the object of true religion.” Reckless governments are hardly likely to admire or condone prudence in their peoples; whatever the ultimate reason for this, such an attitude on the part of the authorities will only widen the gap between the political elite, unable to admit the error of its ways, and nervous private citizens wondering whether they have a future.

Finally, savings based in fiat currencies or related to debt-ridden financial institutions have the possibility to fall to zero in a crisis. Savings based in physical assets that you own help protect to preserve your accumulated wealth as they retain worth through a crisis.

The best physical asset to own during a crisis is gold which has proved its perennial purchasing power for over 6000 years – no fiat currency has ever existed that long to compare it and no other asset can compete with the value retention of gold. After all Gold can never be worth zero – it has intrinsic value, it is relatively rare on the planet and it has always been revered as precious because it is and has chemical and physical properties unmatched by any other metal.

By Mark Rogers

Gold Censored by US TV Networks

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

Watch the Ads they didn’t want you to see here – read on

There are many theories surrounding the manipulation of the Gold Market and the Gold Spot price but few doubt that it takes place, orchestrated by some greater beings that seek to control the money supply.

In a recent cynical twist, gold has been effectively censored off the air of a host of major US TV Networks working in collusion with the Obama administration and the Fed.
An established gold investment company recently made two TV ads to be aired across the networks. The ads feature caricatures of Obama, Bernanke and Pat Boone who narrates the story. The latter works for the company Swiss America and has long been an advocate of the virtues of gold versus dollars.
The first of the ads takes a humorous jibe at Bernanke’s Wall Street reputation for being “helicopter Ben” , ready to dump money on a crisis.

“made-up” reasons for ban?

The reasons given for rejecting the ads vary from ;
• Comcast who explained that it “doesn’t meet our standards on public symbol. The Comcast Public Symbol Policy apparently specifies that the “use of the name or likeness of the President of the United States and/or the Presidential Seal for endorsing commercial purposes must be authorized by the White House.”
• Fox News said the “representation of public figures is something we try to avoid.”
• CNN/HLN told Swiss America the commercials were “not appropriate for the current political landscape.”

Swiss America CEO Craig Smith said “The networks’ reaction shocked me,” Smith said. “It’s a threat to First Amendment rights when a commercial message is rejected not because it is inaccurate or misleading, but because it makes what is perceived to be a political statement the networks want to avoid.”

Smith told WND he was concerned that the networks were protecting Obama and Bernanke.
“All we are saying in these two commercials is what dozens of responsible professional economists are saying every day,” Smith said;

“Gold investment as a responsible diversification strategy when governments printing of fiat currencies with abandon risk unleashing inflationary principles.”

Inflationary pressures are building globally and no-one has an answer to them rising and the consequent economic impact.
It is a common known fact that storing gold through a crisis and inflation is the BEST way to protect your wealth value and its purchasing power. This has been the case for 6000 years.

Gold can never be worth zero – it has intrinsic value.
Fiat currency can become worthless – its only value is that of a piece of paper

The Ban backfires

However, the censorship has backfired as Google TV accepted the ads which will eventually be shown throughout the networks via Google TV!
These humorous videos tell a very straight and simple story and the only possible reason for banning them is because of how close to the TRUTH they really are – and that hurts the Politocrats who believe they are all supreme and mighty to judge over us, control us and bankrupt us.



They are so desperate to cling on to power they will do anything – except we are not the fools they take us for – are we?

WHEN DEBT’S CALLED CREDIT (2)

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Here we continue our conversation from the previous article “When Debt’s called Credit”.

So, you mortgaged your salary and have been fortunate enough with your earnings to stay the course of a twenty-five year mortgage repayment plan. However, the asset which you now possess has cost you something like three times its original price. You are inclined to think that this, plus the profit on any potential sale, is what your house is now “worth”. However, your house will only be worth its inflated price (a price entirely created by debt) relative to a booming economy which puts a premium on home ownership. That is, it is worth this potential only if there is sufficient activity in the economy to fuel someone else’s borrowing to purchase your house to further inflate the value of that property.

One point to clarify, at the risk of stating the obvious (though there is little that is obvious about the modern mortgage): where does the borrowing come in – you have paid for your house out of your earnings on a monthly payment plan. The bank/building society has lent you the money by buying the house, and the repayment plan reflects the cost of, and length of time that, the money is out on loan in the form of bricks and mortar.

Thus house prices become grossly inflated. If the cycle continues, the house at the end of each twenty-five year period will keep tripling its nominal value – but this is unsustainable in the long run, and, despite Keynes’s dictum that “the long run is a misleading guide to current affairs”, that is exactly the view that should be taken: in the long run, the mortgage inflates the value of the asset, and it is entirely foreseeable that it should do so. In fact, that it does so renders the word “asset” in this context potentially meaningless. What happens if you cannot sell the house, and no-one wishes to rent it at a price that reflects anything like your “investment” in it?

Of course, there are many who buy their houses as homes and a long-run inheritance for their children. But the trouble with the modern mortgage is that it is sold largely on the basis that the asset is a tradable good. This is not a natural assumption for most people to make, especially families, and was not something that our forefathers generally assumed – unless they were builders, property developers and speculators.

There is a serious and somewhat sneaky consequence of the inflation of house prices: the government under New Labour changed an important measures of inflation, the Retail Price Index which included mortgage interest repayments, that is house prices, (and was used, amongst other things, to adjust selected benefits, including state pensions) by switching to the Consumer Price Index, which does not (interestingly, the latter also omits Council Tax, which is a concern for pensioners, who may well own their homes, but are not free of this major property cost). The measure of inflation used by those who make public policy does not include a major source of inflation.

Has the desire to own one’s own home become a mania of the Tulip or the Railway kind?

It is also worth remembering that inflation rates currently higher than interest rates, thus all monies stored/saved in this type of way are effectively losing value daily and their purchasing power rapidly eroded.

There are few “inflation-proof” savings or savings plans on offer but one to consider is the purchase (and ownership) of the only safe haven tangible asset – Gold in physical form. Historically gold has always protected wealth against periods of inflation and crisis. One important aspect is to ensure that you own your gold as this gives you complete control over its eventual resale which is the most important moment for your investment.
We strongly advise against the purchase of “paper” gold such as ETFs as these are so oversold that only 5% could be redeemed against physical stocks. These types of investments are extremely vulnerable in an economic crisis and the risk of significant losses is increased.

True value is an asset that maintains its worth at all times – during prosperity and austerity.

Choose yours wisely!

By Mark Rogers

The other side of Gold mines in Peru

Friday, November 11th, 2011

Open mine in Madre de Dios

Mother Nature has been extremely generous with Peru, and has presented it with a valuable treasure such as its exuberant Amazon Forest and in the depths of its earth, the presence of the coveted golden mineral, which has given rise to the existence of numerous mines and gold washing places in the country.

Over the years, many national and international companies have heard of the treasures which may be extracted in Peru and have settled in its provinces. In this process methods have evolved and they have the Escuela de Minas, whose object is to train competent professionals, capable of offering a better organisation in order to guarantee the optimum achievement of the mining companies’ aims.

But there is another side to the story, beside the great mining companies and their expensive equipment and potential, sits the illegal extraction of this mineral in far away areas of the Amazon Forest, where control by the Government environmental and financial agencies has proven difficult. There are different reasons why this illicit activity has arisen such as shortage of employment in rural areas, increase in the gold price and tax avoidance which in turn results in an increase in profits. But all this is being done without control and the heads of these illegal extraction operations do not take into consideration environmental conservation issues provoking in turn further erosion (than that caused by any mineral extractions, even when using appropriate means) and an increase in the contamination of rivers as mercury and cyanide are being poured inappropriately into water sources.

In this scenario, problems are not only environmental but also social. According to studies undertaken by Peruvian authorities, the business of illegal extraction creates problems such as child prostitution (in the area known as Madre de Dios, it is thought that over 300 children work in prostitution in bars near the illegal mines) and that others are subject to child labour, having to work from a very early age without being paid for it. Other consequences of illegal extractions are smuggling and illegal trafficking of arms.

It is not just a matter of gold. In these crossroads, the wish of the few to quickly enrich themselves provokes serious problems, which may be more difficult to eradicate than illegal mining itself.

Article by : Lizette Paternina

Crisis, what crisis?

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

The G20 in Cannes is in crisis as its host President Sarkozy remains distracted by the Greek referendum announcement and the implications for his cunning Franco-German solution, hatched with best chum Chancellor Merkel to the European debt crisis.
The G20 group accounts for 80% of global wealth but also brings together huge differences in perception of where the world is at.

The Chinese have 3 Trillion dollars to help out the troubled western economies if it chooses. But then the Chinese are a nation of savers, hard earned cash they earn from long days of toil, often in self-enterprise ventures, is regularly put aside as investment for their future. On average the Chinese put aside 25% of monthly income for a rainy day. However their view of our crisis is somewhat different as one guy likened it to “ a bankrupt wealthy old man asking a poor man for money”. Some Chinese also remember the past experiences of decadent Western capitalism and imperialism. As Holly Williams from Sky News said “They don’t see why they should invest their hard-earned savings to help out economies and people to continue to have much more than they ever have had or ever will.

It is worth remembering that the average Chinese citizen lives below the poverty line and the new found wealth and middle class does not benefit the majority of China’s population – just like every other country you may care to analyse. The distribution of wealth always remains top heavy to keep our governing powers in the manner they’re accustomed and the bankers with enough profits to pay for it as well as their own hefty bonuses.

If you want to know to whom all the “money” has been paid that has resulted in this planet-sized debt then look no further than Goldman Sachs, their lawyers, all ex-heads of state and the personal fortunes of other prominent world politicians over the last 40 years, the Federal Reserve, the history of the Rothschild fortune and the IMF.

Will this debt ever be properly accounted for or ever paid back? No and No.

That’s why China does not want to lose value of its accrued wealth to the whims of US or European debt. Both lack a credible and coherent plan. Obama and Sarkozy have both got one eye firmly on domestic matters as they prepare for re-election next year.

Greek Tragedy?

The joke is they were all so smug thinking they’d sorted out a plan to buy time with Greece and then Papendréou goes and drops a bombshell with his referendum offer as a democratic gesture to the Greek people – oh yeah!
Trouble is he doesn’t actually care because he has nothing to lose and he knows what is coming as we wrote in “Greeks prepare a coup d’état ?”

He has taken this opportunity, his last on the European and G20 stage, covered by the world’s media, to play centre stage and enjoy his moment. He was called before the Headmaster and Headmistress of the Franco-German alliance, to explain his unilateral approach to life and to discuss the question that will be put on the referendum.
He indicated that sovereignty of Greek affairs remained the jurisdiction of the Greek parliament and its decisions are binding before all others and not open to outside interference. So not your average pro-European stance!! As I’ve said he’s got nothing to lose and knows what is coming.

US upgrades priority on plans for Iran airstrike

I also heard that the US and therefore by default the UK as well are bringing forward their plans to conduct air strikes on Iran. Seems they’re centrifuges are back in business as is the possibility of producing weapons grade nuclear material. Looks like they’ll hit their not-so-secret secret mountain production facilities. Intelligence reports backed up by International Atomic Energy Agency gives this story more than usual credibility. The word on the street is that Obama is nervous.
Israel says report proves “we told you so” for years that Iran posed a significant threat to its existence.

UK General strike will paralyse a nation

In the UK a massive general strike looks set to take place at the end of the month over public sector pension reform plans. The nation could be brought to a standstill with a 3 Million walkout planned. Negotiations between the Government and Trade Union leaders are not making any progress even if there is an improved offer on the table. The taste of austerity is always bitter.

Silvio doesn’t want to spoil a party

Finally Italy rushed out a message on the eve of the G20 to announce a package of austerity measures no doubt to comply with some previous handshake and just to make sure drinks with the others went well in Cannes! We’ll believe them when they’re implemented, successful and have brought about the desired effect.

Ever wondered why the announcements of “new improved measures and offerings to us all” from politicians always get great airtime but we rarely see a “results show” – then again fixing figures is a way of life for some so don’t settle for less than “seeing is believing” proof.

Crisis, what crisis?

So the world, its economies, all nations and globalization are working fine and there’s nothing to worry about – fine – and remember in this case do nothing, just enjoy every moment of a beautiful daily life.

If you thought for one minute this may be in jeopardy would you insure against it? Just like you would a car against an accident so you can afford to replace it if necessary, or against a fire so you could rebuild your home?

How do you insure yourself against a crisis?

Transform some of your wealth into an inflation-proof, crisis-proof physical asset to protect yourself against devalued or worthless currencies, loss of income and employment, contagion, bank collapse and debt default.
The problem with hindsight is that it’s too late to take preventative action. Only acting before the event gives insurance cover so find out about owning gold and gold coins as a real alternative for a safe place to store wealth.

Greeks prepare a coup d’état ?

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

The problems for Greece just seem to get worse and with an insurmountable burden of debt, repayments and austerity measures there seems to be no reasonable or predictable way out for Greece for decades if not longer.
So they feel backed into a corner with little or no choice and therefore nothing much left to lose.
The announcement of a Greek referendum announced out of the blue by the Prime Minister seemed to surprise all the European Heads of State yet they have been in direct dialogue with him and each other constantly – so why haven’t they talked about it before?

Hidden agenda

Papandréou is gettin ready for action and implementation using the referendum as a smoke-screen.
It is no surprise therefore to learn that in the past couple of days the Greeks have replaced all of their senior military commanders; The Army, the Airforce and the Navy have all seen their chiefs sacked and replaced with officials much closer to the Papandréou cause – FACT. They have also removed various other members of the military hierarchy just below the Chiefs to ensure a thorough clearout of all positions of importance and their replacements are all hand picked partisans.

Referendum ou coup d’état?

So what lies behind his surprise decision to conduct a referendum of the people over the bailout proposals from the EU? Is it simply a return to democratic values, has he lost the plot? He has no other viable options?
In short he is preparing for a military coup d’etat which will impose strict marshall law on the streets, force people to work and result in Greece absolving itself of all known debt (how convenient), leaving the euro and the European Union. It is also possibly the only chance left to Greece which will otherwise be burdened with debt, austerity and a miserable existence for at least fifty years.

Think of it as logical – no more debt, no more EU rules, no more French and German rescue plans – just back to zero (which is better than where they are now at minus a Trillion euros and mounting with interest!)
This whole crisis has been a joke and the politicians and bankers continue to flood the media with lies that everything will be alright.
The Greeks are bust several times over and will never repay this debt , the interest or the loans it has received since the EU first bailed out their fraudulent, corrupt, chaotic, dishonest and shrinking economy.

It’s like someone having spent the night in a casino gambling away their fortune for their own private personal greed and gain nut because they didn’t win, lost everything the Casino says it’s OK and let’s you off with all the losses you owe them. Of course casinos are not this accommodating and you’ll end up crippled or worse for your troubles if you don’t honour your debt.
There again Greece, honour and debt appear here for the first time in a sentence otherwise they have no place together.

So what happens next?

Sarkozy and Merkel will continue to lie to the world that they have “the plan” to save everyone, Europe, the Greeks, the banks etc etc.
In reality their G20 is a scam and the promises they made last week to raise €1000 Billion for European bailouts to come is flawed – talk is so cheap with Sarkozy and he has a history of making great TV promises with a view to getting his face on TV a little more but the promises never arrive until he reiterates the same thing a year later as a new promise (usually most of the TV watching “sheep” have forgotten what he said before and of course the media play along with him as they must).

A military Junta in Europe

Greece will find it tough to go it alone but what other realistic chance does it have or does it deserve? None.
The problem does not end there because what will be the effect from the Billons of written-off Greek debt?
French banks will collapse, maybe British and German too. European states will have even more debt from the money they gave to bailout the Greeks which they will obviously never see again but still have to create / print / pretend to have had in the first place.
Once again their credibility will be demonstrated as none existant but they will continue to lie to anyone that listens – everything is alright! Yes, we remember they said that in 2008.

What is extraordinary is that the masses (or sheep) continue to believe in their politicians and bankers like it were some ordained right they have to tell us what to do. Fact is both will do anything they can to benefit themselves and very little to really help any of us. Their power and money are an addiction that needs feeding and they are forever hungry.

Don’t be a fool forever- make your own decisions and don’t believe everything fed to you by the TV.

Remember that it is not in the interest of governments to tell you the whole truth – they cannot afford for you to know that!

When crisis hits

No banks, no cash, no petrol, no shopping, no wages, no credit cards, no invices paid – what then – anarchy, civil unrest, violence, robbery?
It will be survival of the fittest and the protected.
What insurance do you have against a world in crisis, civil unrest and without paper or plastic money?
The only way to survive will be to barter with what you have – this works if you have something valuable to trade like silver coins or even gold. If you don’t have something valuable start planting seeds to grow the food you will need to live – that is of course if you have a garden.

Source AFP

Stock trading payable in gold!

Friday, October 28th, 2011

While many players in the stock market decry gold because it brings nothing in, “it doesn’t work”, the yellow metal will soon become the currency of the Swiss stock exchange! A good way to make equity investments more attractive!

The Six Securities Services Company, specialized in the settlement and the delivery of equities, is totally innovating by offering payment of stock trading in gold: a world premiere.

Customers will soon be able to buy shares in Zurich and set in units of gold, the XAU (a unit of XAU equals one ounce of gold in US dollars). In order to pay their trading in XAU, investors must have an account in XAU with the SSS Company and that it is of course supplied.

This news provides opportunities as the introduction within weeks of quotation and trading of structured products negotiated in XAU.

Gold is back on the market as the currency exchange
We can consider several reasons for this initiative: in the current floating exchange rate system, the dollar is losing more value, from the urge to print, and the euro is endangered by the threat of Greek bankruptcy, the recapitalization of the banks and the likely printing of more paper money. As for the other hard currencies, like the Swiss Franc, they prevent their issuing country from exporting because they are too strong. So the central bankers do everything to prevent their currencies becoming too valuable and consequently a haven for Forex investors.

On the other hand investors bought a lot of gold in recent years. The gold fund is therefore to carry out the transactions XAU. But the other reason is that the market and the global monetary system being more uncertain than ever, they wisely invested in a wealth that would never lose its value : gold. It has become the new currency of trust. “We already have three foreign exchange settlements, gold is the new currency”, said the spokesman of Six Securities.

Evidence if need be is by becoming the currency of financial transactions gold does not only benefit from being a trend or a passage linked to the crisis. It should be seen as differently as the crisis and the lack of confidence in markets and economists is much deeper than it seems. Previously considered as “the currency of last resort”, gold became the official currency exchange. A sign that should worry everyone… except those with gold!

When gold compensates for stock market losses…

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

… It acts out its role as a hedge perfectly. It is exactly what the example of this investor illustrates, someone who, fortunately for him, had not put all his eggs in the same basket.

Didier L. bought gold coins, quite simply when the opportunity presented itself, at the beginning of 2011. The ongoing talk of the crisis, the instability of stock markets and gold as a safe haven helped him to decide to take the initiative by investing part of his assets in physical gold, in the form of gold coins. “I just simply asked one question about gold on the internet which led me to the blog articles on Goldcoin.org and then subsequently to the websites AuCOFFRE.com and LinGOLD.com . One thing lead to another and I found myself on a platform for selling and buying gold coins with which I was able to invest my available funds”.

The profile of the investor fell more within a long term investment.”Basically, I thought about hoarding money by buying full and half-size Napoleon gold coins, with the intention of reselling my gold coins at a good profit, before selling at a fixed date, so as to not pay capital gains tax” (which is 31% in France – editor’s note)

Weary, stock market shares in which he had invested part of his capital have seen a high depreciation this summer. The shares in his portfolio have all dropped. Fortunately, by selling his gold coins, our saver was able to quickly withdraw the cash he needed to compensate for this depreciation.

His gold coins were sold like hot cakes

Gold thus fulfilled its role as hedge and Didier L. was even able obtain a substantial profit by selling his gold coins. In the end, even if he did not lose money, his one small regret is that he knows that he could have made more if he had not been forced to sell his coins earlier than intended.

He was able to sell his gold coins at the quotation price which meant they went very quickly and the money immediately found itself in his current account. “I was surprised by the speed and the ease of execution of the process. It would never have been the case with a traditional bank, this speed favours trade and cash flow, it is therefore interesting. And it would have been just as quick with much bigger amounts.”

It is the right time to buy!

The worst, he says, is that the balance of the CAC 40 companies (in which he had some shares) is currently excellent but markets that are nervous, over-cautious, fearing the sovereign crisis in the euro zone tend to undermine companies that are doing well and which are more than viable by creating harmful doubt in their price. “But the shares that are currently at their lowest can only go up”.

In spite of the heavy loss that he has suffered to his share portfolio, our investor advises those who have the cash to buy shares in the CAC 40 and in companies whose economic growth prospects are certain, such as ErDF (a utility company) and those in the sector of sustainable development. Cautious but strengthened by experience and conscious of the progression which the price of gold will continue to achieve, he tells us in confidence “now or never is the time to buy gold to secure one’s savings!”. “Saving with gold can be as much about liquidity if you need to sell and cover hedges elsewhere as well as buying at the right time to protect your wealth”.

Where should one go to buy one’s gold coins with confidence?

“The purchasing of gold coins is not a trivial matter, but contact with the consultants of AuCOFFRE.com or LinGOLD.com , (the web based established platforms where I bought my gold coins), are excellent. I never have to wait for advice and the people I deal with are obliging, available, friendly and reassuring”.

Moreover the coins are certified, sorted, sold with a bar code and each specimen is unique. It applies to semi-collectible coins (like the 5F Napoleon) and “investment quality” coins.

“Not only is the commission on purchases or sales charged by AuCOFFRE.com or LinGOLD.com tiny (1%), but furthermore  the coins have already been appraised and verified which represents time and money saved. This gives one confidence and that  is something priceless”.

World Exclusive: The Vera Valor, the first ever pure gold bullion coin or “round bar” made from “Clean extraction” Gold will arrive in early December 2011

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Obverse of the VERA VALOR, 1 ounce of pure gold from "clean extraction" in the form of a "round bar", produced by and available from AuCOFFRE.com and LinGOLD.com

LinGold.com and AuCOFFRE.com will unveil their innovative new gold coin, the VERA VAOR, during a private function for their Members on December 3rd 2011. The general release is scheduled for December 5th when everyone will have a chance to see the first ever bullion 1 ounce “round bar” made from pure gold of “clean extraction”.
Minted in Switzerland, the Vera Valor has characteristics comparable to that of a Chinese 1 ounce Panda (purity 999.9, 32mm diameter, 31.10 grams and 2.7mm thickness) but it has its own unique and innovative features.
Firstly it is a true universal coin and has no control or allegiance to a country, religion, culture and especially not to any financial institution.
This is reinforced by the choice of 5 languages for the word ounce, notably in Chinese and Arabic.
Also it will use the best of safeguards used with bullion bars and be one of the few (if there are any others?) to propose an individual unique reference number along with the hallmark of the world renowned assayer and mint Valcambi, thus guaranteeing the integrity of this unique product.
The “icing on the cake” for the lucky Members who are able to order these coins is that they will be able to personalise/customise their coins by adding three letters (initials etc.) before the serial number (eg. CUP3418).

The first series will be the 2012 edition of 1000 pieces which will be numbered from 000 to 999.
For the moment that’s as much as we know but the guys at LinGold and AuCOFFRE tell us that since its launch 2 days ago they’ve already had preorders in excess of 350 pieces. All this from an image of the Obverse only – the Reverse is a closely guarded commercial secret which will be revealed in early December (we have it on good authority that it is a world’s first and unimaginably innovative).
Sounds like a great welcome awaited this product which suggests it has a bright future ahead.


The idea behind this coin was to promote a universal coin, and to provide an alternative “clean extraction” 1 ounce gold product to the Krugerrand, Nugget, Eagle, Panda, Philmarmonica etc.
It’s price will always be close to these types of products and will reflect it’s pure gold content , universal nature and totally new and unique design.

The Vera Valor is exclusively available as a pre-order via LinGOLD.com and AuCOFFRE.com – the coins will be in Members accounts during the period 5th – 9th Dec 2011.
If you wish to know more please click the link to contact LinGOLD.com directly.

Valcambi s.a, Swiss gold and precious metals refiner

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Last week our friends at LinGOLD.com and AuCOFFRE.com invited us along to visit the “Fort Knox” style location of the Valcambi refinery and mint.
This site is impossible to enter without a previous invitation and the appropriate credentials and papers (passports etc). These help to gain entrance past the bombproof glass and metal detectors but only under official escort at all times. However unnerving at the time our friends told us it was rather reassuring to know that the site is so well protected as they are customers of Valcambi and therefore have a vested interest in the security of their stock.

This Swiss precious metals refiner is based in Balerna not far from the Italian border. This company is one of the leading four Swiss – and world – refiners of gold. Valcambi are also the first private organisation to offer “green gold” by industrial production which is traced at every step from the mine through to the finished refined goods.
Independent auditors monitor the integrity of the supplies and process ensuring that the “green gold” is always kept separate from other supplies. This includes the cleaning down of containers and production lines as well as having dedicated facilities for “green gold” only.

During the visit we accompanied the Management team of AuCOFFRE.com & LinGOLD.com who were there to validate their newfound status among the exclusive list of Valcambi clients. Their market-leading company in France is now the only one to offer Valcambi supplies in France.

We asked Paul McGowan, the Managing Director of AuCOFFRE.com, what was the interest in negotiating directly with a refiner of precious metals?

“The answer is obvious; reduce the middle-men and to be able to offer totally innovative, ethical “green gold” products which enable us to have total traceability on the products we offer. Valcambi were also an ideal partner for us to launch our own innovative product, the Vera Valor, which is a 1 once pure gold 999.9 “round bar” and a coin made only with gold of clean extraction provided by Valcambi “green gold”. We know that there is only the one intermediary, Valcambi the refiner, between us and the Newmont gold mine in Nevada which has a dedicated system of clean extraction. With respect to the Vera Valor it was important that we had complete control over the production chain in the sense that every stage is carefully monitored by independent auditors to ensure the integrity of our product – from extraction to the sale, from producing blanks to minting them.

In the context of fake gold bars and coins, this partnership allows us to have a total guarantee over the product which we can offer to our Members and one we can produce on an industrial scale.

Valcambi are the only refiners who can offer and guarantee the complete separation of “clean extraction” gold from the rest of production which is fundamental to the conditions of our “clean extraction” charter. There can be no contamination of the two sources if we are to guarantee the quality to our Members”.

Valcambi is currently celebrating 50 years in business. Their celebration includes a beautiful book of illustrative photographs which they have kindly allowed us to use below. They show Valcambi workers during various stages of the refining process. Hopefully more to follow …..


Gold demand mid-year review

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

We are late July and it is time to look at the gold accounts for the first half of 2011! Hinde Capital Fund Management conducted a study in June 2011 entitled “A Golden Renaissance, Precious Metal Dynamics ” which confirms the upward trends in physical gold (but not in “paper gold”).
Another analysis conducted by Goldsphere Edmond from the Rothschild Fund also confirmed this rise in demand in countries with a strong geopolitical risk despite stagnant mining production.
We were expecting a correction in the Gold Trend this summer and yet just the opposite has happened.
The Eurozone and American debt crises have helped this push upwards which has not been this significant since the beginning of the century.
Gold has risen an average of 19% per year since 2001. It is now facing an unprecedented demand.
Since the United States imposed the dollar as the world’s reserve currency and then subsequently flooded the market with it to increase consumption, the dollar has been heavily devalued. Their ability to stifle the price of gold has waned and globally investors have sought to ditch large reserves of weakening dollars for something safer. These investors initially thought the Euro may be the path to take but they got it wrong again and are now flooding into the only sure refuge which is physical gold. It is incredible how so many of these high flying know-it alls seemed oblivious to the obvious risks in the Dollar and then the Euro. Do they really research their options or just deal over expensive meals and golf holidays. Could they not see the blatant crisi of Sovereign debt affecting the major economies of the world? One has to ask what they have been doing for the last ten years and how apparently well-informed intellects make such poor judgments? (Must be the constant intoxication of self-appreciation, greed, drugs and alcohol)

A steadily increasing demand since 2003

Particular strength can be found in emerging nations where the demand for gold is rising to the detriment of the Green-back: 12% for India and 21% for China. Also, Mexico has filled its coffers of 93 tons of gold in the 1st quarter of 2011. Asia accounts for 62% of the demand, some of it cultural such as in India, but also other countries now active in the market are seeking to catch up for lost time (private investment now allowed in China) but also because “Governments wish to increasingly diversify their foreign exchange reserves and to disinvest from the US dollar or other currencies in trouble” (Option Finance Agency, France).

Other sectors such as jewellery are also in high demand (+ 55%) despite the rise in the price of gold (+ 3.1%). For this first half of 2011, the demand increased overall by 25%.
The paradox is that the demand for investment is still low, which proves that the course gold has nothing to do with any speculative flows. Indeed, it is also estimated that there is a mass of net flows out of “paper gold” (such as ETFs) equivalent to 55 tonnes. Overall, investments in gold are less and less by speculators, which is positive for the gold price trend. The attraction of a safe haven and sure value during these difficult and uncertain times is populating the gold investment market with serious investors, both private and institutional. This is hardly surprising when one calculates the increasing risks attached to most other forms of investments (which are largely based on owning bits of paper and have proved catastrophic to large funds in recent years).

Physical gold, a healthy investment

This study also shows that despite a growing demand, mining production did not increase accordingly and in fact was virtually stagnant. Recent fears have also surfaced that South African mines will be closed by strike action.

Another surprising finding is that gold sold by individuals to be recycled is steadily declining. This shows that the masses wish to hold on to something of value and also that they are fed up with being ripped off by those crooks who run incessant TV ads.
Even in Greece and despite the crisis, gold plays its role as a life insurance and safe haven since it is often kept in the home. Despite the attractive gold prices Greeks will not sell that they already have and they are still likely to buy more as a protection for their future survival.
Finally, another unexpected discovery, physical gold investment is disconnected from gold shares (the gold shares represent only 1% of world market capitalization). This disconnection is partly explained by the increase in the costs of production for mining companies and the difficulties encountered by countries which are politically unstable (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire).

“Khrysos (Gold) is the child of Zeus, neither moth nor rust devoureth it; but man is devoured by this supreme possession” (Pindar, c. 522-422 BC).

Gold companies should eventually be seen as worthwhile value but for the moment it is physical gold that is benefiting from investment because it is a real, tangible asset that you own and not just a promise.

On Goldcoin.org we have always preferred physical gold to “paper gold” for many reasons, but if one were to cite a single reason it is that the providers/suppliers of  ETFs (Exchange Traded Fund) can fail themselves as a Company which means you lose everything as you do not own a specific piece or pieces of gold, they do. On the other hand, if all ETF holders asked to recover in physical form their investment in gold, it would be impossible because they have sold more ETFs than they have Gold– sound familiar? It is the equivalent of Fractional Reserve Banking but applied to gold because these providers work and think like banks – and we know where that type of mentality led us to!!
Unbelievable Shallow Arrogance
Finally, as we approach the eve of the US debt deadline it is worth paying note to the despicable behaviour of so called elected democratic representatives who would be chastised in primary school for the same childish squabbling. Worse still is listening to them speak as they grandstand before the world’s media playing out their silly games. They sound like caricatures from the Simpsons with their phony accents and voices and yet we are to believe these are the best the “greatest nation in the free world “has to offer – I pity regular Americans who are governed by such an inconsiderate bunch of self-interested marionettes. Here at Goldcoin.org we have previously discussed the true nature of these politocrats in “Conspiracy, Collusion and Con-men – Why don’t they want you to buy Gold?”

As they push ever closer to the deadline it seems that they actually want the US to default and let’s face it so should we all – it’s about time the Fed and the Financial giants got their come-uppance by losing everything so we could start again and hopefully with something better- honest would be a start. Their brinkmanship may just backfire as the markets decide to take them down anyway even if they agree!
We have previously referred to this in “Financial Meltdown and Black Swans – Myth or Reality?” .
Should the Dollar collapse, which is an increasing possibility even when they introduce QE3, Americans and the rest of us should prepare for hard times not yet witnessed by most of the generations alive.

To give you an insight we suggest  reading “The chaos of a currency collapse” and multiply the effects by millions!

The stage is set for the Chinese Yuan to take the place as the World’s Reserve currency and the American politicians are doing their best to make sure it happens!!

The strengthening demand for physical gold investment is no accident as more and more regular folk know they need to protect themselves before the chaos and crisis ahead.
Don’t miss the opportunity, buy some gold now as insurance against losing everything when the Wall St bell falls silent!

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Thoughts
"For a mountaineer, the important things are the effort, the posture and the muscles. The rope that holds him serves no purpose when everything works but it gives him a sense of security. In the same way, all gold does is ensure confidence; it's a safe haven."