Recently, a wave of panic swept the precious metals markets and there was talk about the end of the cycles of mega-rise in raw materials! And whereas some thought there was a bubble on gold, it was on silver that the bubble inflated, then burst: The Wall Street Journal talked about the sudden   fall in the grey metal which “ fell 12% in just 11 minutes when the fall was at its most severe. Spot silver saw its informal open at $47.863/oz before rising to a peak of $48.150/oz; it then sold off sharply to a base of $42.210 before stabilizing.

The move down is the first break in an extraordinary run for silver, which has more than doubled in price over the past six months as investors bet on rising prices from renewed industrial demand and as a cheap safe-haven alternative to gold.”.

A piece in the  Financial Times asked  “Did the Silver bubble just burst?”,  illustrating with a chart that “the grey precious metal has tumbled 20 per cent in a week”.

The feeling was that a rapid rebound would be unlikely as expressed by Phillip Klapwijk, executive chairman of the precious metals consultancy GFMS, who said of silver’s position, “I think it could be over on the upside for the next little while.”

The FT also explained the extent of the early May slump saying “Silver prices plunged for the fifth consecutive day on Friday(6th May) as the grey precious metal suffered its biggest correction since the billionaire Hunt brothers cornered the market in 1980.” As the week drew to an end they summarised “The reversal of fortunes for silver – which until this week’s 25 per cent drop had been up 56 per cent since January – has led a wider sell-off in commodities markets, which were heading towards one of their worst one-day falls on record.”

Market manipulation rumours were rife and silver faced additional challenges because of rule changes by the CME Group. “The volatility in silver has been exacerbated by a series of increases in margin – or the amount of cash that investors must set aside to trade each contract – by CME Group, which runs the silver futures exchange in New York.

CME has raised its margin requirements five times in the past 15 days. Investors must now set aside $14,000 per silver futures contract, worth about $180,000 at current prices. The rate will rise to $16,000 on Monday (9^th).”

The grey metal, with a predominantly industrial use, is traditionally much more volatile than gold.

So where does gold feature in all this?

According to the FT “gold has managed to remain relatively unscathed compared with its poorer cousin”

It remains on top, as always!

Silver has never been able to compete with gold

For a long time, these two precious metals have been linked by a ratio of 10 to 15.5. In the time of the Pharaohs, it was said that there was a ratio of 13.3 between gold and silver. In 440 BC, this ratio was of 13 during the Roman Empire it was set as 12.

In 1876, Henri Cernushi wrote in “The Bimetallic Currency” that “gold and silver are two natural and eternal currencies. Nobody can produce them artificially nor by decree and this is why they remain a trustworthy guarantee”. During this era most fiduciary systems fixed the parity between gold and silver at 15.5.
In 1840 Europe, the situation was tense because almost everyone felt that there was a tendency to believe that the ratio of 15.5 tended to overvalue silver.  Indeed the grey metal was abundant due specifically to heavy production in the United States.

These historical references are interesting because they are not too distant from geologist’s estimates that Silver is 17 times more abundant than Gold in the earth’s crust. This has given rise to some investors believing this ratio is the natural balance between the two metals and that one day we should somehow return to it.

Many traders, speculators, and investors focus on the gold/silver price ratio in determining which metal is under or overvalued. In recent weeks and months the ratio has collapsed from above 65:1. The ratio of gold to silver prices is at its lowest since 1980, and has plunged from 46 in January this year to 33

Throughout the twentieth century, the gold/silver price ratio went to nearly 100:1, occasionally dipped below 30:1, and only briefly hit a ratio of 17:1 in 1980.

Put against gold, silver does look distinctly volatile and vulnerable.

Simone Wapler (Editor of MoneyWeek France) writing in La Chronique Agora explains why this ratio dropped:

“The gold/silver ratio collapsed because gold, like silver, has been demonetarized. Silver even more than gold. The central banks still have some gold in their coffers, but not silver. Gold is always popular in the jewellery market, but aside from  monetary uses, the uses of silver are in decline (traditional  photography, silverware). For many silver is just a poor man’s gold. When one cannot afford gold, one buys silver.

However this argument although valid is not strictly true because of innovations that make gold investments even more accessible and in a way that is not restricted by individual budgets.

Investors no longer need to settle for second best when they can have the real thing.

It is now possible to start investing in gold by the gram including a savings account that encourages investment in physical gold (that you own outright) with a plan to start from as little as 1g of gold per month.”

Similarly this form of investment is finding increasing favour from businesses looking to protect their contingency funds against inflation and the risk of traditional portfolio investments that are vulnerable to sovereign and national debt issues. Holding physical gold as an owned asset has an increasing appeal   as an investment with security and profits.

But when the figures speak for themselves…

Simone Wapler also adds that “when gold goes up, so does silver, but to a lesser degree. When gold drops, so does silver, but to a greater degree”.   Furthermore, gold gains twice as much as silver during a rise yet silver loses twice as much as gold during a fall. Before the bubble on silver this rule was proved, clearly meaning that something was going on. The sharp current correction reminds us that there was an unfounded rush on silver- and today the rate should be around 25 euros. Above that it is overheating.

If you are not convinced, here is a brief outline of the evolution in the rates for silver and gold, in recent days and over the last 5 years.

In short, when gold sneezes, silver catches a cold, and when silver starts to take take-off, gold reaches towards its peak!

Gold remains a safe haven

According to the French daily Le Monde, one reads that in spite of the fall in rates, “gold should remain protected by its status as a safe haven when faced with inflationary threats, and a prolonged decline in oil prices does not appear very likely. Worldwide demand remains solid and supply remains under the shadow of tensions in the Arab world, with light crude from Libya still cruelly lacking.”

In MoneyWeek France we are told that “Falls are necessary and compulsory in a large bull market we are more than ever convinced that gold has a promising future ahead. Let’s give time for the new world order to be created, for the former rich countries to become aware that they are the new poor and that they live well above their means… in short, there is still quite a while to go”.

Arguments in favour of gold

Indeed, gold has recorded a slight fall recently, but if you need additional arguments to be convinced of its role as a tangible asset;

• gold is “reconverting into money”: it is clearly not the case for silver
• silver has lost its status as a safe haven contrary to gold
• silver is a rare industrial metal, very volatile just like other raw materials.   Let us take for example palladium: the market for palladium remains confidential and prices extremely volatile. The production of palladium is concentrated within Russia and in South Africa. This concentration of production confers a certain instability in the market with regards to price and reliability of supply. And uncertainties with regards to its provision have even caused the price of palladium to rise in October 2010, reaching its highest level since June at 605.13 dollars an ounce. Demand is increasing consistently, mining development is limited, a hold by the Russian State on reserves and lack of investors: such are the characteristics that have led to the palladium market finding itself in deficit.
• silver is not a product for protection against crisis. It is rather comparable to platinum which had fallen in 2008 because the automotive industry was at its lowest point (noteably platinum is used in catalytic converters)
• silver is increasingly rare and difficult to revalue. Silver is a non-renewable resource and experts agree that by 2021 -2023 the exhaustion of silver supplies will be final.  In any event, silver is a metal which cannot be synthesized and for which no substitute exists. And even if the exact date of a drain in the metal market still remains on hold, in 2010, with a production of 19,300 tons, and demand standing at 25,200 tons, reserves are clearly running low. Remember that principle industrial uses consume the silver
• silver takes up space in storage, and savers prefer gold which in value and in volume is better
• because of its scarcity, industrialists are trying to replace silver as soon as possible. This  linked article deals  with the uses of silver in particular in the manufacture of RFID Tags for stock control and identity cards. If we imagine that one day industrialists find another metal or synthetic to replace this need what leeway will remain for silver? This article is based on a completely biased study of silver. All industrialists say if one day they are able to do without silver, they will do so because it is expensive. The use of gold in industry itself remains limited compared to its use for investment purposes and jewellery.

This is exactly what one is looking for from gold, once again it becomes  a private currency, regardless of form.

Let us leave silver to those who want to get their fingers burnt with molten metal…

“A black swan is the illustration of a cognitive bias (error in decision-making or of behaviour adopted when faced with a given situation).

If one encounters or observes only white swans, one will quickly deduce in error that all swans are white and that is what Europeans believed, for a long time, before making the discovery of the existence of black swans in Australia, in the 17^th century.

In point of fact, only the observation of all existing swans may give us the confirmation or invalidation that these are indeed still white but taking the time and means to observe all swans on Earth before confirming that they are all white is just not possible.

It is thus preferable to make the hasty assumption that they are white, in the expectation of seeing the theory dropped by the observation of a swan of another colour.

Thus we create arguments by starting off with incomplete information, which leads us ending-up with false certainties.”

What is the relevance of this story to the economy and your investments?

Quite simple really. Read on and observe the trend emerging.

- The University of Texas uses gold for its cash-flow….
Important information that has gone unnoticed is that the University of Texas has just invested approximately 1 billion of its cash-flow in gold. You will find below the article by Bloomberg.

The Board members see gold “just as another money but one which cannot be devalued by an additional printing of notes”.

Interestingly, they asked to take delivery of their gold – 6,643 gold bars,  which is stored in a New York vault because of the fear of a Comex paper gold scam.

It should be noted that this university also trains economists.
So what should one think of such a strategy?  Only that more and more private individuals and institutions are starting to have increasing doubts on the continuity of the global economic system in its current make-up. It also suggests that those in the know prefer hard physical assets to “paper promises”.
Yet “experts” previously thought that this was unimaginable and impossible!

.

But that is not all. These last weeks have been exceptional in terms of alarm signals.

- Two year rates for Greece exceed 25% for the first time ever. It means that Greece is perhaps only a few days away from a re-scheduling of its debt over which inevitably world banks, starting with French banks, will ruffle a few feathers. For information purposes, it is the Crédit Agricole which is the most exposed to the Greek risk, with all banks being nevertheless concerned.
Yet “experts” previously thought that this was unimaginable and impossible!

- The monitoring of the US debt by the credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s,

For those who have not yet understood or who really do not wish to understand, the US economy remains the leading global economy. A US default in payment would lead the world into an economic chaos without precedent. Inveterate optimists tell us that they do not believe in it. The very same people who did not believe in a seism of a magnitude higher than 9, followed by a tsunami of more than 15 metres in height, coming to destroy 6 reactors of a nuclear plant… and which exposed a whole country to radiation if not making people tremble with fear over the prospect of the entire contamination of the Northern hemisphere.

Yet “experts” previously thought that this was unimaginable and impossible!

- So what else have we learnt? –  that the Morgan Stanley Bank has just made a voluntary default in payment of $3.3 billion on a 32 storey tower building which it owns in Tokyo. This repayment failure is significant because it was the largest of its kind in Japan and marked the latest fallout from a series of highly leveraged investments by Morgan Stanley, one of the most aggressive investors in worldwide property markets before the global financial crisis In short their loss seems of little importance to them because the value had plummeted and they just had to get rid of this building. What can be the motive of such a decision which is a historical first for this “venerable” institution?

Yet “experts” previously thought that this was unimaginable and impossible!

- To this we can add that CDSs (Credit Default Swaps) currently reflect an anticipation of cancellation of debt of some European countries able to reach 75% (CDSs act as “insurance” against the risk of bankruptcy).

Yet “experts” previously thought that this was unimaginable and impossible!

- And then there is China which wishes to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves and significantly reduce its holding in American dollars. Indeed, the depreciation of a currency is a means of refunding one’s debts only in devaluated monopoly currency. But it is done at the cost of the currency holder. Our Chinese friends no longer seem to want to be the guinea pigs and are looking to diversify into the Euro.

Yet “experts” previously thought that this was unimaginable and impossible!

- More dramatically, Mc Donald’s (the restaurant chain) launched a big campaign to recruit  50,000 jobs in a single day. Pathetic scenes showed to what extent the situation of many American families is disastrous. Almost 3 million people turned up to get work, some even camping the day before just to be sure of being interviewed. The situation simply turned to drama in Cleveland (click here to see video ) when a crazed driver ran over 4 people in the car park!.

Yet “experts” previously thought that this was unimaginable and impossible!

- And finally, on a lighter note, after the initiative by ex-footballer Eric Cantona even Mayors are having a go, at least the Mayor of the city of Ghent in Belgium for one, who has just taken  the decision to withdraw his funds from two banks, namely Dexia and KBC, in order to protest against the policies of these two institutions and has invited all cities to follow his example…

Yet “experts” previously thought that this was unimaginable and impossible!

It is now obvious that more than ever before how vital it is to adopt a particularly defensive investment strategy.

I invite all private investors to take their potential profits out of the share market and to quit the financial markets. Particular caution is advised with regards to all the securities of insurance companies and banks.
A share in gold of approximately 10% of the total financial assets is to be seriously considered in order to protect one’s financial assets.
It is also strongly advised to get out of bond investments, except from a speculative point of view, starting first with Euro funds in life insurance contracts. These Euro funds are overwhelmingly made-up (approximately 75%) of sovereign debt, i.e. government bonds. Imagine how vulnerable they are to default and complete collapse.

… and remember this is NOT impossible, unimaginable or unthinkable – it is highly likely to the point of being inevitable.

I do not know if you have noticed, but I find that lately we can see more and more black swans.

Yet, as everyone knows, swans are white…. until proved otherwise.

Translated and Adapted from an original article by Charles Sannat

Here at Goldcoin.org we have always been suspicious of the Politocrats, Bankers and Global fortunes that endlessly manipulate markets and misinform the masses through the mainstream media.

Let’s face it they all have one thing in common and one goal – looking after themselves by milking the masses to increase their own personal wealth.

Governments around the world tell their voters that they are “doing it for the country”, “thinking of the future, the families, the under-privileged etc. etc.”

They lie. The only interest a politician has is keeping the power, its privilege and saying whatever it takes to stay there.

In reality nothing ever changes even when the ruling party does because they’re all in it together. They talk of democracy yet if you are not born into privilege, educated with privilege and financed by the wealthiest (who you must subsequently appease with policies that suit them) you have no chance of ever approaching the dizzy heights of Government where you can begin to change things for the common good.

Even Obama, the charismatic President of Hope, had to bow to the rich lobby with backroom deals to ensure he got into the race for the top. Where does the money come from to organise the campaign needed? Unless you’re a multi-billionaire you have to play along. So where is the democracy? It’s always the same interests that pay the candidates bills therefore buying the White House and controlling policy.

Look at the British model – Cameron, Clegg, Osbourne etc. – all posh boys with a lifetimes supply of money, public school and Oxbridge education. Same before with Blair, Brown, Darling and the dark lord himself Mandlesson (the biggest hypocrite on the planet). What do any of these have in common with their voters apart from the same type of passport. How can they have the audacity to preach what is right for the country and “sharing the pain” of austerity when it will never affect their own privileged lives.

Have you ever met a poor politician?

Have you ever met a politician apart from Nelson Mandela who has experience of real life, who has known hardship and suffering?

The political class all over the world are the same – self-centred, greedy, hypocritical, power-hungry and serve themselves before thinking about their peoples or country.

Yet when they spout their prepared rhetoric they expect us to believe what they tell us, they even convince themselves that they know what they’re doing. They’re ready to take the credit at the hint of a success yet they remain completely unaccountable for all the failures and the misery they create. No such thing as performance related objectives and pay for them. How many failed politician end up as a well paid consultant, after dinner speaker or in the House of Lords like Prescott (Socialist in only the drivel from his mouth and very much Capitalist in his lifestyle, cars and bank account)!

The Rothchilds, Rockerfellers, Murdochs and other similarly rich and shady “families” control everything from Governments, Fiscal policy and of course the markets.

One particular example is the manipulation of the Gold markets. This has long been explored and proven by our friends at GATA and it is worth reading some of their factual proof at  http://www.gata.org/.

The Federal Reserve don’t want you to own Gold because they need you to borrow their printed bits of paper to make even more money for themselves. If they were a serious organisation would they have allowed a $14 Trillion + debt to run out of control? Would they be paying it off with bits of paper they keep printing (and therefore creating a devalued dollar by flooding the currency pool)?

In France, private investors hold more gold than the Bank of France and their affinity with the yellow precious metal goes back through history. The private investment in gold is continuing to increase as they arm themselves against this crisis. Eurozone sovereign debt issues are of great concern and people are taking no chances. The Greeks and Irish will default on their bailout packages and move to restructure. Portugal will follow.

The Euro will face a complete collapse or severe devaluation.

This is not a prediction but an eventuality. These three countries have no hope and no means to be able to cope with their debts and the austerity measures crippling their economies means growth is impossible. They face decades of misery, low standards of living and with inflation biting on daily necessities will soon be faced with civil unrest on an unprecedented scale.

However, a recent article by a prominent government adviser  in France shows the unscrupulous lengths they will go to. His name is Philippe Chalmin who is a Professor of Economics and sits on the Governments advisory committee. He gave a ridiculous outburst decrying and demeaning the value of Gold and called it “completely stupid”.

This from a country that survived WWII because of hidden gold.

This from a government puppet trying to put investors off the scent!

Similarly an article posted on the Marketwatch website by a Wall Street journalist, David Weidner, completely trivialises Gold. He should know better and his views are akin to a rabbit caught in the headlights!  You can see the detail via our friends at GATA here.

There is a stark contrast in the East where the Chinese are stocking up on gold. The Government, the Central Bank and private investors are actively being encouraged to buy. This shows intent to replace the weakening Dollar  by the Yuan as the world’s reserve currency and to back it in gold. The irony is that the biggest attack on the US Dollar is from The US Federal Reserve  by excessively printing bits of paper to buy off the US defecit.

The Establishment is petrified that people will ditch currency because Gold is a better protection against crisis and inflation – FACT.

The Establishment is petrified that people will stop investing in paper promises, stocks, shares, ETFs because they are all linked to debt and are vulnerable to collapse in a crisis – FACT.

The Establishment is petrified that they are losing control of the masses because we are not as stupid as they would wish and the real information flows freely and quickly via the net – FACT.

The Establishment is petrified that mere mortals like us are buying gold which leaves less for them and impinges on there “privileges” – FACT.

This is why don’t they want you to buy gold.

Greed, jealousy, protectionism, elitism.

Conspiracy and collusion by Con-men who seek to control everything.

So hit back and spit in their face

Buy what you want not what they tell you.

Beware of the mainstream media which is edited by those seeking to control.

Buying gold have never been so accessible and that scares them.

Buying gold protects your wealth against inflation and the effects of a crisis.

Central Banks, Governments and the Biggest fortunes in the world are all investing in huge quantities of Gold right now – do they know something you don’t?

Not now!

Here is a Goldcoin.org insight into the real problems facing Spain today provided by one of our esteemed colleagues at our Spanish blog linGORO.info.

The surreal panorama left over from the Spanish housing boom

In some parts of different cities in Spain, we are able to find landscapes which have a desolate and eerie feel. They leave us with a feeling of nostalgia for that time of bonanza which was enjoyed for many years but which will not return, at least not in the way it was.

In this section we will focus on the economy which fed on itself until there was nothing left. It originates from the property bubble which according to many was born in 1997 but which ended up by exploding in 2007, this being the year in which this country fell on hard times and it seems that we have still not reached bottom yet.

The problem, apart from having channelled all activities towards this sector, resides in activities which were neither ethical nor transparent and in which so many banks and local authorities became involved who were blinded by their desire to get rich out of this business and entered into a maelstrom of distressing activities such as: reclassifying non-building land, sudden spectacular increases in interest rates, excess credit, etc which dramatically accelerated the collapse of this wealth cycle.

We find urban areas with large plots of buildings which are half-built, forgotten by the bank responsible for their financing owing to a lack of liquidity alongside those which have been finished and are waiting for a buyer who, for the moment, is not coming.
And how will buyers come?, if there is fear in the air about what happened, not to mention high unemployment figures throughout the country and low purchasing power today, we cannot allow ourselves this type of investment, which apart from giving you a roof also gives you an increasing debt year after year to which you will be wedded for the rest of your life up to the age of 65.

The Minister of Finance, Elena Salgado, is guaranteeing that the same thing will not happen to Spain as happened to Portugal because it has done its duties, namely: raising taxes, increasing the age of retirement, freezing pensions, etc.

If this is doing things right then we must trust God to help us when they do things badly. For the moment we are waiting for alternative solutions to mitigate the damage caused by the property phenomenon. The generating of employment which is what will help the country move forward does not seem to be around the corner and, as a result, the queues of unemployed people going to the offices of the INEM to submit the necessary papers to receive assistance which barely helps them live, continue to grow. This is to say nothing of those who do not receive anything.

Speaking of this type of subject causes a lot of indignation because we see the future of many people who have great talent and potential being undermined by the erroneous actions of those who lead the country. Directly or indirectly the economic situation affects us all either because we are living it ourselves, or because we have friends, family or acquaintances who are going through it.

The best thing to do at this time as one door closes is to open another one ourselves. If we only focus on one thing (as did Spain with its exuberant construction programme) we shall be left waiting for a miracle to happen and unless you are a great believer, there are very few who have the opportunity to experience one and talk about it.

As a result we need to diversify talent, diversify professions and diversify safe investments (such is offered to us by gold at this time) which give us a little peace and tranquillity knowing that at any time they may help us to get over the hurdles that lie in our path. There is no doubt that this is the best plan B we can have at this time.

Translated from an original article by Lizette Paternina

Here’s a Goldcoin.org look at some beautiful Spanish Gold coins with terrific potential for investment.

Alfonso XII 25 pesetas coins

Without doubt the Alfonso XII 25 pesetas coins are on the list of the most important coins in the history of Spain.
His life started with the coup d’etat on 3 December 1874 by General Pavía which brought about the end of the Republic and the establishment of the “Regency Ministry” by Antonio Cánovas, whose commitment was to re-establish the Bourbon monarchy.
All this effort culminated in the arrival in Spain of the son of Isabel II, who had ascended to the throne three years earlier while in exile.

With the Bourbons again at the helm, a new period started to strengthen the pesetas after 10 years of being minted only in copper and silver. This in turn saw the rebirth of the process of manufacturing in gold thereby demonstrating the maturity and growth of the new monetary system which over this period exceeded some 30 million coins.
Design of the new gold coins to be put into circulation occurred three months after the arrival of Alfonso XII by means of a Royal Decree.

Seal of Guarantee for this Currency

There were very few people involved in the design of this coin which propelled the kingdom’s economy for more than a decade. In concrete terms, there were seven experts over this period who were tasked with guaranteeing the quality of the product. Their duties required the printing of their initials on each coin, thereby certifying the process, the exact weight and its authenticity.
The nominated engraver was Gregoria Sellán Gonzalez who saw his work live on in the design of the coins of Alfonso XII and in the first two struck by his son Alfonso XIII.

The seals on these coins are the following:
Engraver: G.S. Gregoria Sellán Gonzalez

Assayers and Weigh Masters:
DE M: Eduardo Diaz Pimienta, Julio Escosura Tablares and Ángel Mendoza Ordoñez
EM M: Julio Escosura Tablares, Mauricio Morejón Bueno and Ángel Mendoza Ordoñez
MS M: Mauricio Morejón Bueno, Pablo Salas Gabarrell and Ángel Mendoza Ordoñez
MP M: Mauricio Morejón Bueno, Félix Miguel Peiró Rodgrigo and Ángel Mendoza Ordoñez

Description and wording on the Alfonso XII 25 pesetas coins

ALFONSO XII (1874-1885)
Year: 1876
Gold: Ley 900 milesimas
Diameter: 24,09 mm
Weight: 8.08 gr.
Striated edge
Description
Obverse: ALFONSO XII – POR LA G. DE DIOS 1876/76 (between stars with six points). Head facing right. G.S. (Gregoria Sellán) shown at the bottom of the neck. Pointed fringe.
Reverse: REY CONSTL-DE ESPAÑA D.E. 25 PESETAS. Crowned, draped arms in the collar of the golden fleece and covered under the Royal cloak with the arms of Castilla, León, Aragón, Navarra and Granada; in the centre the Bourbon coat of arms. Pointed fringe. (Information extracted from Book: Gold Coins from the Collection of the Bank of Spain).

ALFONSO XII (1874-1885)
Year: 1881
Gold: Ley 900 milesimas
Diameter: 24.11 mm
Weight: 8.07 gr
Striated edge
Description
Obverse: ALFONSO XII – POR LA G. DE DIOS 1881/81 (between stars with six points. Head facing right. G.S. (Gregoria Sellán) shown at the bottom of the neck. Pointed fringe.
Reverse: REY CONSTL-DE ESPAÑA D.E. 25 PESETAS. Crowned, drapped arms in the collar of the golden fleece and covered under the Royal cloak with the arms of Castilla, León, Aragón, Navarra and Granada; in the centre the Bourbon coat of arms. Pointed fringe. (Information extracted from Book: Gold Coins from the Collection of the Bank of Spain).

The manufacturing of these coins started in 1876, with the King’s image being reversed in order to distinguish them from the copper and silver coins. In 1962 a special commission was made by an American company based in Switzerland who made a prepayment both for the stipulated costs and the profits. Original stamps were used with the print date of 1961 and 1962 appearing between the stars.
On the edge of the coins there is an engraving of 27 lily flowers comprised of three groups of nine each.
For the manufacturing proofs and quality check on the engravings, copper coins were used which were subsequently destroyed to avoid them being put into circulation after being gold plated.

	Run	Rarity	BC	MBC	EBC	SC
1876* (18-76) DM M	1,281,474	C/C	16,000	21,000	24,000	28,000
1877* (18-77) DM M	10,047,885	C/C	13,000	18,000	21,000	25,000
1878* (18-78) DM M	5,000,000	C/C	15,000	19,000	22,000	26,000
1878* (18-78) EM M	3,192,442	C/C	16,000	20,000	23,000	27,000
1879* (18-79) EM M	3,447,644	C/C	16,000	20,000	23,000	27,000
1880* (18-80) MS M	6,862,947	C/C	14,000	18,000	21,000	25,000
1881* (18-81) MS M		RR/RR	1m.	2m.	3m.	4.5m
(Table extracted from the Book: The Peseta,  Basic Catalogue by José Maria Aledón)

In 1881, it was decreed that the king’s image be updated and the result of this shows a great difference compared to the initial one from 1876. Such differences were not so noticeable in the mints from 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879 and 1880 where only slight changes can be seen to the head and features of Alfonso XII.

	Run	Rarity	BC	MBC	EBC	SC
1881* (18-81) MS M	4,266,234	C/C	16,000	19,000	24,000	28,000
1882* (18-82) MS M	413,741	E/E	35,000	18,000	65,000	140,000
1883* (18-83) MS M	668,855	E/E	30,000	19,000	70,000	145,000
1884* (18-84) MS M	1,032.744	E/E	30,000	20,000	45,000	100,000
1885* (18-85) MS M	502,613	E/R	95,000	20,000	140,000	375,000
1885* (18-85) MS M	491,143	R/RR	180,000.	2m.	375,000	1.1m
(Table extracted from the Book: The Peseta,  Basic Catalogue by José Maria Aledón)

After his death, all the coins (with the exception of the 2 pesetas) continued to be minted upon the order of his wife, Maria Cristina of Habsburg, until 1886 when his son Alfonse XIII was born and a year later Sellán made the first design with the image of the successor and thereby resumed the task of manufacturing the coins, a period which saw the issuing of the 20 and 100 pesetas coins.

Why do we consider that this is a good coin to buy?

The 25 pesetas coin is one of the most popular in the catalogue of gold coins which are currently in circulation in Spain, and which are also in demand from individuals from other countries who are interested in its historical and financial value. Given that it is one of the most known, its premium can increase considerably in times of crisis, thus acquiring values which are attractive and well-positioned in the world of offer and supply, which happened with the Napoleon in France, for example, and which can reach a premium of 100% during times of crisis.

We should recall that the premium is the difference between the price of the precious metal from which the coin is made and its market price, and that its value depends on many factors which we have explained in our article: “The Premium on Gold Coins”.
It is a type of coin destined to be saved in the future given its good condition and quality.

Translated from an original article by Lizette Paternina

The interaction of the world’s markets plays an important role in the fluctuations and evolution of the Gold Price. Politics, economic policies and strategies, world events and currency changes can all have an effect on the demand for Gold as investors, private and institutional look to protect their wealth resources. At Goldcoin.org we champion the safe haven that gold and gold coin investment can offer in these troubled ecomonic circumstances where we have rising inflation, instability across the world and are on the verge of a new period of severe financial crisis.
Here’s a snapshot update from our regular expert analyst Bill Downey who explains where the gold price is, where it might be going and some of the factors that are affecting it.

In Tuesday nights website update — initial resistance in gold was listed at 1464-1468 and the high so far is 1467. Second tier resistance for today was listed at 1474-1478 — and that would be the area to watch if we can continue to move higher today.

Initial support was listed at 1444-1455 and the low so far today is 1453.60

London Gold Fix $1461.25 -$8.25

While the June gold contract saw an initial downtrend overnight, gold prices have recovered above the prior session’s closing value in the early Tuesday US trade action. Gold appears to be partially undermined by declining oil prices and a dampening of overall inflationary fears.

News that a major commodity trading brokerage firm was recommending profit taking in commodities, may also be undermining the gold market slightly. However, another key brokerage firm suggested that gold would outperform most commodities directly ahead and that might help gold prices stand up to the partial liquidation wave in some commodity prices.
Indian gold prices were slightly weaker overnight and news of another quake in Japan applied some minor pressure to gold and other commodity prices overnight. While the trade balance report from the US can drive gold prices, expectations for a slight narrowing of the US trade deficit might be seen as a negative to gold prices, especially if that report lifts the greenback and adds pressure to the bond market. If that would be the case — we think it would be temporary. The US dollar is under pressure again today and the Euro has now traded at the 145 level — a very IMPORTANT price point.

While the gold market generally saw dovish comments from the Fed yesterday, dialogue from the Fed’s Hoenig today might be add to the downside tilt as they are trying to “TALK” their way into making the markets think that there is not going to be more stimulus. So that is the one thing that could return gold to testing the lower areas from last night.

Equity markets in Asia and Europe were weaker during overnight trading and early indications are for the US stock market to open today’s session with moderate losses as Alcoa reported lower than expected earnings and Japan raised the danger level of its on-going crisis. The Japanese Economics Minister said that last month’s earthquake and tsunami would likely have a larger negative impact on the Japanese economy than earlier projections. A proposal by the African Union to end the Libyan conflict was rejected by rebel forces. The German CPI during March was up 2.1% year-on-year, in line with forecasts. A survey of German economic sentiment during April was 7.1, lower than estimates. The UK CPI during March was 4.0% year-on-year, lower than projections. The UK Trade during February was 6.78 billion Pounds, a smaller deficit than forecasts. Major US economic numbers to be released this morning include the February International Trade Balance, as well as Export and Import Prices at 7:30 AM, and surveys of store sales will also be released during the session. In addition, Fed Regional President Dudley will give a speech during the session. The first leg of the Treasury’s monthly refunding, the 3-Year Note auction, will have results announced at 12:00 PM CENTRAL time.

Going to the gold charts:

Last nights low was right at the dotted trend line on 30 min chart we published on the website and as long as the 1444-1455 area holds the trend remains up. The market is NOT AS BULLISH as it looked when we entered the week — and even though gold has come back 13 dollars from the low — we’re not out of the woods just yet on this pullback. The 1468-1470 area is probably the most important price point to watch today. We want to see gold above 1468 on a closing basis to add more potential that the pullback is complete. Until then — we can’t rule out more downside pressure today.

It seems like the 9am-10:30AM EST period today might be where the rubber meets the road — and that time frame is when gold would be the most likely to try and pullback.

In summary — the trend is still up —but not as solid as last week– the 1468-1470 area is resistance. Support is the 1444-1455 area. We still favor the bulls —- but we might remain in the 1450-1470 area today in price.

by Bill Downey

Don’t forget Exclusive Free trial to Goldcoin readers on Gold Trends.net
Login: demo-feb Password: spot2see

The most detailed info that GoldTrends.net publishes is available on the web site via paid subscription.

People often ask if it is the right time to buy gold?

Quite simply it is always the right time to buy gold if you are looking to protect and preserve your wealth.

Sure the price can vary but the real value in owning physical gold is that it is your outright property which cannot be wiped out during a crisis or financial collapse. So think of a stocks and shares investment (or any other “paper” investment) the day after a crash – now think of physical, tangible gold assets that you own the day after a crash. The difference is obvious – one is worthless and may even lead to debt, the other has inherent value that will still be sought and can therefore be traded or sold.

Buying gold nowadays is simple and accessible to everyone.

You do not need to physically possess gold at home to fully participate, indeed quite the contrary – keep it safe, keep it in a vault and keep it accessible to sell whenever you choose.

For further information click here.

Here at Goldcoin.org we regulalrly feature expert Analysis from Bill Downey of Goldtrends.net to keep readers up to date with possible moves in the market.

Bill’s comments are drawn from a wide variety of sources and provide an up to date overview of the evolution of the gold price.

Here what Bill is saying:

In Sunday nights website update — resistance for today was listed at 1483-1490 and the high so far is 1476.50 — support was listed at 1458-1463 and the low so far is 1464.50

London Gold Fix $1469.50 -$1.00

Late Sunday night in the US and early in the Asian Monday trade saw commodities on the rise. However, news of a possible Peace deal in Libya and another 7.1 earthquake in Japan seemed to prompt a pause in oil price upside and in other commodity markets.

News of ongoing inflows into gold derivatives at the end of last week is lending to gold support so its generally a sideways choppy action we are undergoing this morning. The reversal in oil prices seemed to shift the attitude in a number of commodity markets this morning to a more sideways movement. With the big rise last Friday in commodities, it looks to be profit taking at the moment and not a start of a downtrend.

The Bretton Woods meeting hosted by George Soro’s over the weekend has calls for the US dollar replacement — but that was to be expected. The G20 meets in Washington DC on the 15th of the month and it would be interesting to hear the conversations that will take place there. With that meeting coming up at the end of the week — it is possible that gold may stay have some restraint later in the week, but the overall short term trend is still up.

The US Dollar is slightly bouncing this morning back to the 75 level but remains at key levels on the long term charts.

The Commitments of Traders Futures and Options report as of April 5th for Gold showed Non-Commercial traders were net long 230,758 contracts, an increase of 16,775 contracts. The Commercial traders were net short 287,091 contracts, an increase of 23,006 contracts. The Non-reportable traders were net long 56,332 contracts, an increase of 6,229 contracts. Non-Commercial and Non-reportable combined traders held a net long position of 287,090 contracts. This represents an increase of 23,004 contracts in the net long position held by these traders.

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit near the Tokyo area today, causing water pumping at the Fukushima plant to be shut down for 50 minutes. Major banks in the UK were told to raise their capital levels and separate their retail operations from investment banking activities. Chinese Exports during March were up 35.8% year-on-year, while Chinese Imports during March were up 27.3% year-on-year, both of which were above market expectations.

Going to the gold chart — the breakout from a five month trading range last week is in play and while there is consolidation today from last Friday’s upmove — it does not look like a downtrend is beginning at the moment.

A new red line on the chart shows the short term FIRST support for this weeks action near the 1455 area on a closing basis. Additional support would be the 1444-1450 area on intra day pullbacks. THus the two key areas are the red trend line —and the lower purple line on the up channel. As long as price is above those price areas — the trend remains up. Resistance is the upper purple line near the 1490 – 1492 area.

In summary, todays consolidation in the 1460 area is normal after a nice upmove from last Friday and the bulls still have the short term advantage. First support will be the Red trend line — and resistance for the remainder of today looks to be in the 1473-1478 area. A pullback in the 1445-1455 area this week might provide an area for finding initial support. The bulls still have the advantage at the moment and the action does not at this point indicate that the trend has turned down — but rather is consolidating in the 1460 zone.

by Bill Downey

Don’t forget Exclusive Free trial to Goldcoin readers on Gold Trends.net
Login: demo-feb Password: spot2see

The most detailed info that GoldTrends.net publishes is available on the web site via paid subscription.

People often ask if it is the right time to buy gold?

Quite simply it is always the right time to buy gold if you are looking to protect and preserve your wealth.

Sure the price can vary but the real value in owning physical gold is that it is your outright property which cannot be wiped out during a crisis or financial collapse. So think of a stocks and shares investment (or any other “paper” investment) the day after a crash – now think of physical, tangible gold assets that you own the day after a crash. The difference is obvious – one is worthless and may even lead to debt, the other has inherent value that will still be sought and can therefore be traded or sold.

Buying gold nowadays is simple and accessible to everyone.

You do not need to physically possess gold at home to fully participate, indeed quite the contrary – keep it safe, keep it in a vault and keep it accessible to sell whenever you choose.

For further information click here.

Here at Goldcoin.org we have regularly championed this view which is explored below in an article written by our guest writer Angela Brown.

With the present condition of the United States, most people are looking for ways to boost their income resources and protect their savings. As the debt level is rising, more and more people are finding themselves drowned in an ocean of credit card debt. While some of them are choosing debt management as an option, some are trying their luck in the investment industry to augment their income and help themselves come out of debt. Inflation is a general increase in the price of commodities when your money is worth less. Well, you need not fret as there are ways of safeguarding your savings by investing in gold. Gold has been a haven for the most fearful investors to protect their savings from financial crisis.

How can gold act as a hedge against inflation?

In case of inflation, the prices of commodities rise and this reduces the value of money. $1 will be able to buy fewer amounts of things during inflation. The pressure that is created on the Federal Reserve in America and the European Central Bank in Europe ensures that money has lost its value. The side effect of such inflation is that more money is injected into the economy but with lesser worth.

Gold, the most precious metal, in recent times is seen as the safest haven for investors who are spending sleepless nights due to the fear of a crisis and the devaluation of the money. Most often you will see that whenever there is a decrease in the value of a dollar, the price of gold will rise. A falling dollar is most often directly proportional to the surging gold price. As an investor, therefore you can certainly invest in gold to stay protected during any financial circumstance. Inflation can not take a toll on your financial life if you have already invested your money in gold.

As gold is bought and sold in US dollars, any decline in the value of the currency will lead to a price rise. The US Dollar is the world’s reserve currency and the primary medium of all transactions. But without the backing of gold, the US dollar is worth nothing more than a fancy piece of paper.

Gold has often been referred to as the crisis commodity as it has the capacity to outperform all the other investment forms. The very same factors that can have a positive effect on the other investment vehicles can have a positive effect on gold. Therefore, if you’re a debtor who wants to invest money to make money, you can try gold investment and stay protected against all financial odds. You may also try getting help from a debt management program to combine your payments and repay your creditors.

If this article has encouraged you to think about gold please consider the following;

Protect your wealth in Gold and protect your future –  LinGold.com makes Physical Gold Investment accessible to everyone, 24/7, on-line in real time and offers innovative ways to start investing such as the World exclusive LinGold Savings Plan.

Powered by DebtConsolidationCare

BLOG DIRECTORY, Submit blog free, Promote Blog, Best directory

We have long since championed the benefits of investment in Gold coins because of their dual leverage – gold price and premium. We have also explained the concept of premium differential (elevated premium during a crisis – normal premium) and the potential of certain coins to have significant investment qualities because of their elevated differential.

Well the Half- Napoleon 10 Francs is one such coin which can have a premium differential of 80%. These coins can literally be worth almost twice their price in gold content because of their high premium. This makes them attractive gold investments and they are always in demand.

Innovative Gold Investment

We have previously talked about a World exclusive innovation by our friends at LinGold.com which is called the LinGold Savings Plan. This has made physical gold investment accessible to many more people and encourages saving – in gold bullion.

We already loved this concept but now they have taken it further.

They have now added a unique product to this Plan using the Half-Napoleon 10 Francs. They have taken a batch of 100 coins which equates to a pure gold content of 290g and then made sections available in 1g portions. These can be bought for €43 and kept as part of the LinGold Saving Plan (LSP) which offers vault storage free of charge.

This means that Members can now benefit from the premium differential of Half Napoleons as part of their LSP and without needing the means to buy coins outright.

All individual grams are uniquely coded and ownership certificates are provided.

Anti-inflation and anti-devaluation

Again the benefits of being able to save in physical gold bullion or gold coins is that you are protecting your wealth in the safest refuge against a crisis and notably the precious metal that allows you to protect the value of your wealth against inflation and the devaluation of currency.

History has confirmed this time and again – when crisis hits it is those people protected by durable, valuable assets that survive the best. Paper currency eventually becomes a worthless piece of paper, good for burning, but Gold has been and always will be the real measure of value.

Why? Because you cannot print more of it to suit your politics – and its properties and finite quantity will always bestow real worth on its owners.

To start saving in gold now and for further information visit LinGold.com.

In last nights website update resistance was listed at 1437.50-1446 and the high so far is 1439. Support was listed at 1419-1425 and the low so far is 1430.

London Gold Fix $1434.50 +$2.00

There is a lot of cross current news this morning moving gold.

Gold prices were showing some positive action initially overnight despite minor strength in the Dollar versus the Euro and a few others. The gold market got marginal support from suggestions from the US Fed Chairman Monday night who labeled inflationary pressures as transitory, as that seemed to suggest that the Fed chief was a little less confident that inflation would indeed remain in check. In other words, the trade seemed to take the Fed comments overnight as a sign that inflation pressures were being acknowledged but were not fully entrenched yet. However, the Fed Chairman also suggested that recent price gains were probably temporary and that left the gold market somewhat confused. Indeed — he looked nervous during the discussion.

The gold market garnered some support from news of a credit downgrade of Portugal overnight, especially since the ratings suggested that the status of that debt remained under review.

Gold traded in the 1434 to 1439 area up until the London open. However, outside market action have limited gold prices early in the trade today, as some commodity markets like corn corn and soybeans started out on a softer footing–at least initially.

The gold market was also undermined by news of further Chinese tightening action overnight. The Chinese moved 25 basis points on lending and deposit rates and that event probably increased overhead resistance in the US gold market this morning near the 1440 area. Still — the last few rate increases from China had almost no effect — pretty much about what we’ve seen so far today. Over the last four hours — gold has tried to break below the 1430 area. Each hour has

The gold market will also be watching the GOP budget proposal release later this morning, as aggressive deficit reduction efforts could also be seen as a limiting development for gold prices. Paul Ryan has rolled out the plan and the big number is 6.2 TRILLION DEFICT REDUCTION OVER 10 YEARS —– The proposal was just released — so it will take a few days to see how the market absorbs this and how the debate unfolds.

Meanwhile the US BUDGET DEFICIT CEILING runs out FRIDAY — and the politicians are going back and forth in threats to not extend the ceiling on the Republican side.

While equity markets in Asia were mixed during overnight trading, stock indices in Europe are generally lower this morning. The Dollar was slightly higher against most of the major currencies during overnight trading, although posting a substantial loss versus the Pound.

A credit ratings downgrade of the sovereign debt of Portugal by one level this morning. Euro zone Retail Sales during February were down 0.1%, lower than expected. Major US economic numbers released this morning include a survey of US non-Manufacturing industries grew less than expected, but it wasn’t a barn burner.

GOING TO THE GOLD CHART — today we show the daily chart and the short term cycles we follow on the website. Orange circles are when the stronger trends usually peak — and the blue circles are when the weaker trend usually ends. While not all points work — take February for example — there is enough to at least keep an eye on developments. The trend is still up —- watch 1439-1444 as a key area.

On the downside — there has been a test every hour since 7AM EST of the 1430 area but so far it is holding— and that puts SUPPORT for the remainder of the day at 1425-1430. As long as price is above that area — its still up.

In summary —- the trend remains up —-We think that 1439-1444 is the PIVOT PRICE AREA TO WATCH — and closes above 1444 would increase the potential for the upside. PRICE ALWAYS RULES — but these short term trends need to be watched going into Wednesday. AS LONG AS PRICE HOLDS 1425-1430 support today — continue to favor higher.

by Bill Downey

Don’t forget Exclusive Free trial to Goldcoin readers on Gold Trends.net
Login: demo-feb Password: spot2see

The most detailed info that GoldTrends.net publishes is available on the web site via paid subscription.

Here at Goldcoin.org we have previously discussed the moves in Utah to introduce its own gold currency, Gold currency is making a comeback! In Utah, they could soon be buying a hamburger with gold! and noted that progress was made by the passing of a bill in Utah Gold Currency a step closer.
However, Utah is not alone.

There are no fewer than 12 other States which are pushing for a return to gold currency by introducing bills before the Legislature in the form of the ”Constitutional Tender Act”.
The 12 States are:
Colorado
Idaho
Indiana
Montana
Missouri
New Hampshire
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont
Virginia
Washington

The “Constitutional Tender Act”

The United States Constitution declares, in Article I, Section 10,
“No State shall… make any thing but gold and silver coin a Tender in Payment of Debts”. This means that no State can make something a “tender in payment” (which means they cannot “make something an offer as payment”) for any debts, which would include debts owed by and to the State.
However, EVERY State in the United States of America HAS made some other “Thing” an offer as payment – they have by law declared that they will accept, and pay out, Federal Reserve Notes for any debts owed by or to them.
Therefore, every State is in violation of Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution.
Thus the need for the “Constitutional Tender Act” — a bill template that can be introduced in every State legislature in the nation, returning each of them to adherence to the United States Constitution’s actual legal tender provisions.

Most importantly the bills are aimed at protecting the people from the continued devaluation of the dollar and almost certain hyperinflation which is due in the future.
It is also seen as a way for States to insulate themselves from the policies and practices of the Federal Reserve which seems to be pursuing the inflationary practice of monetizing the national debt to address the consequences of runaway federal spending.

The Privately Owned Central Bank

Did you know that the Federal Reserve is a private institution with link shareholders? Most folk believe it is a federal agency.

Fed shareholders earn 6% interest “by law” and as for reserves, well they have none. The only thing the Fed does is create paper and charge the government interest for doing so. It also has licence to print “paper money” that is not backed by assets. The more it produces the more the value of the dollar is diluted. The $800 Billion it has printed for QE2 are merely bits of paper with ink on them that eventually some average Joe will be charged interest for using or borrowing. In reality the money doesn’t exist just the debt it creates.

Individual states have not issued legal tender for over a hundred years so why now?

Because the weakening of the dollar by the Fed to essentially reduce the size of the national debt has also eroded the savings of citizens, the price of their houses, the worth of their pay cheques and eroded their purchasing power at a time when inflation is rising but wages are stagnant. Enough is enough.
History is on the side of the people here. In the original drafting of the Constitution the Founders disliked “paper” money so much they provided specific wording against it.
The transcript of the debates in the original Constitutional Convention shows the attitude of the Founders toward paper money was one of disgust. In debate one delegate, Roger Sherman, called for the insertion of an absolute prohibition against states issuing their own paper money.

Mr. Wilson and Mr. Sherman moved to insert after the words ‘coin money’ the words ‘nor emit bills of credit, nor make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts’ making these prohibitions absolute…

Mr. Sherman thought this a “favourable” crisis for crushing paper money.

The Founders voted to adopt Sherman’s “crushing” of state-based paper money.

As for the federal government, the original draft of the Constitution included language permitting the federal government to issue unbacked paper money. The Founders objected strongly to this power. The objections were summed up by delegate Oliver Ellsworth:

Mr. Elsesworth thought this a favourable moment to shut and bar the door against paper money. The mischiefs of the various experiments which had been made, were now fresh in the public mind and had excited the disgust of all the respectable part of America. By witholding the power from the new Governt. more friends of influence would be gained to it than by almost any thing else. Paper money can in no case be necessary. Give the Government credit, and other resources will offer. The power may do harm, never good.

Those who wrote the Constitution decisively stripped the federal government of the power to issue inconvertible paper money. And stripped it stayed… until, temporarily, during the Civil War. Saving the Union was of transcendent importance.
For most of American history dollars were convertible into gold or sometimes silver.
It is a 20th century innovation to have unconvertible money

On April 19 1933 Franklin D Roosevelt took the US off the Gold Standard and Americans had to exchange their gold for paper dollars at $20.67 an ounce (so a dollar was approximately equal to 1/20th of an ounce of gold). This was the start of the Great Confiscation which lasted until 1975.
In 1945 The Bretton Woods Agreement created a “Gold exchange standard” whereby the US promised to fix the price of gold to $35 an ounce (the dollar therefore was worth 1/35th of an ounce). The dollar therefore became the world’s reserve currency and was used for international trading and commerce, notably for the quotations of oil. Therefore all other currencies were effectively pegged to the dollar and therefore gold. At this point “paper” money had a reference value and theoretically could be exchanged as originally intended for a specific weight in gold.

However, in 1971 Richard Nixon suspended the convertibility of the dollar into gold because of the huge US debts following the Vietnam War. This was another nail in the dollars coffin. The gold price was approximately $41 an ounce ( so a dollar was worth 1/41th of an ounce). This also effectively unhinged all the other currencies from a gold standard as they had all been pegged to the dollar. The Demonetization of gold was completed by the Jamaica Agreement. This meant currencies could freely float in value up and down which they did. It marked the first time in history that only Fiat currencies existed (i.e. unbacked currency).
President Nixon announced this as a temporary suspension.

Nixon Lies again and again

President Nixon made certain promises to America when he suspended convertibility of the dollar. August 15, 1971:

“I have directed Secretary Connally to suspend temporarily the convertibility of the dollar into gold ….

Now, what is this action–which is very technical–what does it mean for you?

Let me lay to rest the bugaboo of what is called devaluation.

If you want to buy a foreign car or take a trip abroad, market conditions may cause your dollar to buy slightly less. But if you are among the overwhelming majority of Americans who buy American-made products in America, your dollar will be worth just as much tomorrow as it is today.”
The dollar has actually lost 3848% of its value when measured against Gold since Nixon declared this.
An ounce of gold is today quoted at $1420 (rounded up) which means that a dollar is technically only worth 1/1420th of an ounce compared to 1/41th of an ounce when Nixon made his declaration.
This steady erosion of the worth of a Dollar is exactly why there are calls for a return to gold currency or gold-backed currency in 13 States with others already contemplating the same.
One can understand the concerns and the choice between paper dollars or a piece of gold to preserve your wealth seems self-evident.
Just in case let’s check the value of the Dollar expressed in Gold.

Value of US Dollar expressed in Gold (ounces)
1933	1945	1971	2011
1/20	1/35	1/41	1/1420
0.0500	0.02857	0.02439	0.00070

From Confiscation until Bretton Woods 12 years later the Dollar lost 175% of its value against gold (an average of 14.58% per annum).
From Bretton Woods created the standard until Nixon removed it 26 years later the Dollar lost 117% of its value against gold (an average of 4.5% per annum).
In the last 40 years since Nixon unhinged the Gold Standard, the US Dollar has lost 3484% of its value against gold (an average of 87.1% per annum).
In a total of 78 years since confiscation in 1933 the US Dollar has lost over 7142% of its value against Gold (an average of 91.56% per annum).

So the period of greatest stability for the Dollar was with a Gold Standard and Confiscation still in place.
The most unstable period for the Dollar was when neither of these was in place as is the case today.

If the Dollar continues to falls by at least the average for the last forty years, bearing in mind that current world events could add to its woes, then it would be worth 0.00009 ounces of gold or 1/11111th of an ounce within a year – that gives a gold price of $11,111 an ounce.

It is especially pertinent when one considers the strength of an investment over time – Gold is anti-inflation and anti-crisis. It will always maintain real value, worth and purchasing power which can be traded and wilfully accepted in exchange for the necessities of life. This cannot be said for paper money which as history has proved time and again eventually becomes a worthless piece of paper whose only real value is its calorific heat value for burning!
This illustrates exactly why the peoples of Thirteen States are leading the charge to convert to a gold currency that maintains real value rather than be chained to the US Dollar which will only be of value for fire-lighting very soon.
It is inevitable that currency must be established against a fixed reference for it to have any real value and this road will always lead back to Gold as history has proved.
If you’ve never bought Gold before then maybe now is a good time before your savings literally go up in flames.

No-one has a crystal ball to look into the future. However, this did not stop Rob McEwen, Chairman and Executive Director of Minera Andes and US Gold Corporation, from voicing any doubt in his belief that if the current trend continues the price of gold might reach $5,000 an ounce over the next three to four years.

McEwen based his predictions on the constant demand for gold from sovereign states, central banks and investment funds which are quoted on the stock market. Moreover, he justified this time frame and the forecast of $5,000 based on the historical price of metal and the ratio for the Dow Jones share gold index since 1970.

“Gold is used as an insurance by poor governments”, stated the executive during a mining conference being held in Hong Kong. What is certain is that no-one is in a position to say that McEwen does not put his money where his mouth is: this businessman has ensured that some 90% of his own personal assets are deposited in physical gold and he added that he owns a 31% shareholding in Minera Andes and 20% in US Gold Corp, both based in Toronto.

Currently the price of gold is over $1400 an ounce owing to the fear of investors about the situation in Libya and Japan. Since last year, the doubts caused by a global economy not managing to recover from the international financial crisis which broke out in 2008, has made gold into the asset preferred by investors who are looking to get out of “paper money”.

In these times, the economic uncertainty has become more accentuated owing to the risk of default by Portugal which is in the middle of a political and economic crisis which has led to the fall of the Prime Minister José Sócrates. According to some European sources, the financial rescue of Portugal will cost in the region of $100 Billion.

Last nights website update listed resistance at 1437-1446 and the high so far is 1436.50 — support was listed at 1419-1425 and the low so far is 1413.

The big factor supporting gold recently has been inflationary expectations, which were given a boost yesterday by strong rallies in grains and livestock as well as ongoing strength in crude oil. Comments yesterday from the Wal-mart CEO that consumers face “serious inflation” seemed to be laying the groundwork for higher retail prices ahead.

With a new month — and a new Quarter — the Media is really spinning the data of a US economic recovery as the new hires came in at a plus 212K this morning. The spin of course is that the feds are going to be able to stop printing and supporting the economy……….and to carry it further, they will also begin to talk tough on how they are going to curb inflation — when in fact they are the reason for inflation. Media is spinning that the stock market had its best quarterly gain in 13 years, and manufacturing is having a great year and the unemployment rate is going down. This spin of course is to lead the market to one conclusion — that the feds could increase interest rates…………….to which we say………….. not at the moment.

Underneath it all —- the US Dollar — has rallied very strong against the yen again this week in what must be considered intervention. But it has been enough to rescue the dollar from its precarious position on the charts.

The news has produced a hard sell off in the metals so far this morning. One item we discussed last night was that the short term stronger cycles were due to peak between today and this coming Wednesday. But since the Metals usually exhibit strength at the beginning of a new month — the key now will be to see if Gold can stabilze here and regain it’s composure going into today’s close. This has also often occured on these report days for the metals so it is not out of the question for gold to bounce back as the day wears on — and is another factor we discussed in last night’s update.

Going to the chart — we can see that today’s sell off was once again a 4th TEST of the 1410-1412 area and another hit on the lower purple channel line.

Perhaps more important is the failure for gold to have closed above the 1436 area we’ve been watching for. This remains an important price point. Support is the 1410-1415 area for the remainder of the day —-and resistance is the 1423-1429 area and then 1436.

In summary — a bounce back from the lows is underway — and if gold can remain firm and push up into the close it will keep the trend up. Any close below the lower purple line will put the upside in question.

From a historical standpoint — short term trends are due to peak in the first week of April — and last into mid month. Closes below the lower purple channel line will add to that potential. We’ll pick it back up next week. Lets see if gold can push back up as we move into the close. As long as we remain above the purple channel line — the trend is still up.
What we want to see now — is a strong finish for the metals.

by Bill Downey

Don’t forget Exclusive Free trial to Goldcoin readers on Gold Trends.net
Login: demo-feb Password: spot2see

The most detailed info that GoldTrends.net publishes is available on the web site via paid subscription.

In last nights update resistance was listed at 1427-1434 and the high so far is 1439. Support was listed at 1409-1417 and the low so far today is 1420.20

London Gold Fix $1431.00 +$12.00

With the US Dollar down this morning and oil up sharply, commodities have gotten a lift but the gold market also rose off the World Gold Council’s 2010 Indian gold consumption peg of 963 tons, and of a longer term demand forecast for India from the World Gold Council that pegged demand to reach 1,200 tons by 2020.

While the gold market has benefited from talk of favorable Indian wedding demand, evidence of a huge wheat crop and a very large sugar crop, coupled with extremely high historical prices for those crops, probably increases the purchasing power of a noted portion of the agrarian population in India. With the World Gold council also suggesting that Indian demand for gold will rise 3% annually for the next 10 years on the idea of strong Indian gold demand.

Iit is also possible that gold prices will took direction from a USDA grain report, which suggested bullish prices for Corn and Soybeans.

A report out at 11:30 pm est today on Ireland banking is being awaited by the markets.

The Feds had to release data on who received all the discount window lending. Over 900 pages have been released. This should be ripe discussions over the next few days.

Going to the gold chart — yesterday’s price pullback finally touched the lower purple trendline and for the third time this week — the lows were established near the 1410 area. Prices remained firm all night setting their lows in Asian trade and price has been rising in quick bursts with stair step consolidations since the London session. Resistance for the remainder of the day is the 1440-1444 area and support is the 1427-1430 area.

In summary — the trend remains up — a close above 1444 would increase potential of higher prices into early next week. A close above 1436 would also keep things positive going into Friday.

by Bill Downey

Don’t forget Exclusive Free trial to Goldcoin readers on Gold Trends.net
Login: demo-feb Password: spot2see

The most detailed info that GoldTrends.net publishes is available on the web site via paid subscription.

We have previously reported at Goldcoin.org in Chinese queue at malls to beat Bernanke’s inflation with gold that the a Chinese Gold rush is underway from investors who are looking to beat inflation and devaluing currencies by buying and hoarding gold bullion and gold coins.

In January 2010, China recorded an inflation rate of 1.5%. But just 12 months later, the rate of Chinese inflation has climbed to 4.9%.

Rising inflation has sent food and property prices in China skyrocketing.

The price of food in China has increased 10.3% on an annual basis. The price of grain rose 15.1% and fruit prices were up 34.8% since January of last year.

Chinese inflation has been fuelled by an economic stimulus during the financial crisis two years ago of $585 which has resulted in excesses of liquidity in the economy.

The Chinese Government has tried to curb the inflation with measures such as raising interest rates several times and tightening lending requirements but so far this hasn’t worked. Even worse is the fear sweeping through the Chinese economy that inflation could go out of control and even lead to hyperinflation.

This has already prompted Chinese citizens to buy gold and their appetite for the yellow metal is insatiable.

This trend is not only set to increase but possibly explode into action following recent reports that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is actively recommending that over 1 Billion Chinese citizens buy gold as a way of preserving and protecting their wealth against inflation, economic crisis and the falling values of major currencies .

This recommendation was given in the Financial Markets Review from the PBOC and its publication coincided with the decline of several major currencies against the value of gold notably, the Swiss Franc fell 2.5%, The Japanese Yen 2%, The Pound Sterling 2% and of course the US Dollar  which fell 1%.

Chinese buy almost half the Gold produced in the world

According to the gold-specialising Swiss Bank UBS the Chinese demand for gold in the first 2 months of 2011 exceeded  7.05 Million ounces.

This unbelievable demand is the equivalent of 47% of all gold produced in the world during the same period. So the Chinese are buying almost half of the world’s gold production.

If this continues then the Chinese are set to buy in excess of 42.3 Million Ounces of Gold this year!

To put this quantity into context it is more gold than China’s Central Bank officially stores in its reserves.

The Financial Times recently quoted a senior executive at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ICBC, who spoke of the “voracious” appetite for gold in China…

China’s largest bank started a physically-backed gold savings account in December with the World Gold Council. Account openings have already surpassed 1 million, with more than 12 tonnes of gold already stored on behalf of investors.

Zhou Ming, deputy head of ICBC’s precious metals department, said the nation’s largest bank sold nearly 250,000 ounces of physical gold in January — the equivalent of 50% of all the bullion ICBC sold last year.

Added to this is the continuing diversification out of Forex by the People’s Bank of China into gold and other precious metals. They have around $3 Trillion which they would like to change because the weakening dollar is eroding its real value. How much gold will they need for $3 Trillion?

We know that China has been accumulating gold surreptitiously by buying up its own domestic production.

This suggests that increasing gold production was part of a long-term strategic plan to become a global leader in gold investments among governments.

The World Gold Council even reported:

Some market participants believe that China may also be continuing to buy local mine production, which it has done regularly in the past. There is certainly no shortage of experts, both domestic and from overseas, advising China to do so.

The World Gold Council estimates China’s gold demand could double in 10 years as more investors embrace precious metals.

But even in the short term, the expected demand for gold in China over the coming month will be enough to put significant strain on global supplies.

According to Tom Bulford  “China has spent the last decade buying every ounce of gold it can lay its hands on.

In fact, the Chinese have increased their deposits by 1,054 tonnes since 2001.

That’s 76% more than it was buying just a decade ago!

And it’s not just the Government we’re talking about here.

Ever since private gold ownership was legalised in China…and the Shanghai Gold Exchange opened – regular Chinese citizens have also started buying up gold in a BIG way”.

Quite simply, the Chinese seem to want to buy ANYTHING gold…

…gold coins…gold bullion…even foreign gold miners.

In fact, according to Want China Times…

“Chinese state-owned gold miner China National Gold Group announced… that it will step up overseas mergers and acquisitions in an effort to increase its gold stockpiles by 100 tonnes this year.”

Chinese production figures

China Produced $35 Billion in Gold in 2010

According to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, gross output from domestic production increased 67% to 230 billion yuan ($35 billion) in 2010.

Of this, China’s gold industry earned 5 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) in profit — 78% more than in the previous year.

China’s gold mines produced 9.9 million ounces of gold in 2010 — an increase of 7% over 2009.

Meanwhile, total domestic gold output grew 9% to 12.0 million ounces. (source WGC)

India is also encouraging Gold acquisition

Traditionally there has always been a strong demand for gold in India  with its specific seasonal demands for weddings and a cultural attachment to jewellery. However, they are also strengthening demand in Asia which is fast becoming the most important Continent for gold investment.  Gold is selling extremely well to the ordinary citizens looking for wealth protection and preservation. There are over 460 Post Offices that sell gold direct to the people. India also has public companies that offer credit to anyone wishing to purchase gold – in other words you can get a loan to buy gold!

This incredible demand throughout Asia is sure to impact the price of gold which may not have been factored in to the so-called expert calculations/ predictions/guesses.

Gold Price set to go skyward with Asian demand and World events

Similarly there are other significant factors that cannot have previously been factored in to annual gold price predictions such as;

• The continuing European Sovereign debt crisis with Portugal the latest Eurozone country in difficulty,
• The on-going Japanese catastrophe following the Earthquake, Tsunami and nuclear crisis,
• The popular uprisings in North Africa and around the Middle East with Syria and Yemen on the brink and the conflict in Libya worsening by the day. This has drawn military (and therefore financial)  resources from France, the UK and the US which have their own deficit problems and now has involved NATO countries.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to see how all of this can be paid for or accommodated in a World Economy already faltering.

It is no wonder that the Chinese are hedging against another crisis and with their ever increasing hoards of gold they are aiming to back the Yuan with gold and ultimately replace the Dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

We are heading for a spot of $1500 within weeks – and then…..$3000+

In view of the colossal demands for gold already discussed, the possible collapse of the dollar and the unknown outcomes of other world events a crisis bigger than 2008 looms large and we cannot predict which event will trigger it but be sure that it will happen. When it does make sure you have copied the Chinese and secured your wealth in the only safe haven for the crisis ahead. Buy Gold and buy now before the price takes off exponentially surpassing $2000 and even £3000 an ounce before the end of the year. The worthless dollar, hyperinflation, extraordinary demand and debt crisis dictate the course of gold to re-establish itself as the only real measure of currency and wealth. When the dust settles and re-evaluations have been made just pray you have gold as it will be worth upwards of $3000 an ounce.