Letter Re: Morgan Silver Dollars

Dear Editor, In one of your guest articles today a gentleman mentioned that the old Morgan dollars are almost one ounce of silver. This is incorrect, and this rumor has been used by numerous unscrupulous dealers in the past to cheat customers. I’ve worked in the precious metals business for four years now, and I hear many such horror stories. Please let your audience know that the old Morgan and Peace dollars only contain .7734 ounces of silver, closer to three quarters versus a full ounce. – R.L.


Easy Fire Starting, by A.H.

Next to water, fire is one of the most essential needs for survival. No doubt you have six different ways to start a fire you call favorites and another twenty more you could use in a pinch. Here’s a twist on an old tried but true method. I first learned this method from Boy’s Life many, many decades ago. I wasn’t even a Boy Scout. (They didn’t want me, but that’s another story.) Anyway, I’ve always liked this method for it’s simple elegance. However,, I thought of one tweak to make it an awesome choice. Making the traditional fire starter …


Recipe of the Week: Glazed Corn Beef, by J.T.

Ingredients: 3½ to 4 lbs corned beef Water 2 Tbsp prepared mustard 1½ tsp horseradish 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar ¼ cup molasses Directions: In a pot, cover corned beef with water. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours (making sure the water always covers the meat; add more water if necessary). Drain the cooked corned beef and place on a broiler pan or oven proof platter. Combine mustard, horseradish, wine vinegar, and molasses. Brush sauce on all sides of meat. Brown in 400° oven for about 20 minutes or until it begins to brown; brush with sauce several …


Letter Re: Purchasing Power

HJL: That was a great article series. I personally work to create things with my knowledge, skill, and labor that will ride with inflation. Since I do it myself, my labor goes into the thing that rides with inflation without being taxed. I’ll also note that insurance companies watch very carefully what they will have to pay to fix your car or your house and adjust rates accordingly. My income is a percentage of that premium. My income is therefore indexed. The other side of the coin is that when business activity drops by half, like it did in contracting …


Letter Re: Older Swiss Franc Note Invalidations

HJL, Having experienced some disappointments with foreign currencies both in minor personal matters and in business (as well as some successes). Repeated mention of the Swiss Franc here on SurvivalBlog piqued my interest. When I first became involved in currency, I took a look through the souvenirs my family brought back over the years. I was happy to see a 10 SFr note there. My presumption was that surely this must be something! Disappointment followed shortly thereafter, when it turned out to be nothing more than a piece of colored paper by that time. There is one fact regarding the …


Purchasing Power: Past, Present, Future- Part 5, by L.M.

If one was to purchase gold and silver as insurance and track the spot price at kitco.com on an hourly or even weekly basis, one is missing the purpose entirely. Do you review your health, home, or automobile insurance policies weekly? Of course not. You review it before you purchase it, put the policy in a safe place, and bring it out when you need it. Then there is the camp that loves to argue that silver and gold are a worthless store of value and that good stocks with good dividends are the way to protect your purchasing power …


Letter Re: Fingerprinted To Sell Gold Coin

Dear JWR and HJL, It appears I have missed something along the way. I recently went in to a local pawn shop that a year ago was a coin and jewelry shop. My husband and I have purchased from the coin and jewelry shop a number of times and I had sold a gold necklace once. You surrender gold and get cash; it was that easy. The same owner turned it into a pawn shop. This time I went in to sell a single gold coin, and the owner took my drivers license information and my thumb print. I was …


Purchasing Power: Past, Present, Future- Part 4, by L.M.

The real currency of the world has become trust. Dallas Fed chairman Fisher stated, “Fiat money is a game of CONfidence and faith and if these are lost it is over.” (emphasis added) Did he really just admit that this is a CON game? I thought we were supposed to play our part in this grand charade and pretend it had value? What is the matter with him? What in the world does this even mean? Sadly, we are past the time in history when being honest was considered noble and right! Governments are past it, and soon people around …


Letter Re: Airedales

Mr. Rawles, Regarding the article about Airedales, I literally re-lived my childhood reading it. My family has had many Airedale dogs over the past 30 years. These beautiful dogs are the “class clowns” of the dog world. You couldn’t ask for a more faithful, protective, humorous, and friendly dog. And they will turn incredibly vicious to protect their owner or if they are challenged by other dogs. I recall as a young boy my father walking our Airedale when a German Shepard, that was much bigger and not on a leash, came racing over to attack our Airedale. Our little …


Purchasing Power: Past, Present, Future- Part 3, by L.M.

Largest Theft in History As expected, Ms. Yellen smiled last week, announcing no change to the Fed’s extraordinary policies. For the last eight years, she has been aiding and abetting the largest theft in history. Thanks to ZIRP (zero-interest-rate policy) and QE (quantitative easing), every year, about $300 billion is transferred from largely middle-class savers to largely better-off speculators, financial asset owners, and the biggest borrowers during that period– corporations and the government. The financial press, nevertheless, finds something vaguely heroic about enabling the grandest larceny ever. Bloomberg says, “Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen braved mounting opposition inside and outside …


Purchasing Power: Past, Present, Future- Part 2, by L.M.

“We have, in this country, one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board. This evil institution has impoverished the people of the United States and has practically bankrupted our government. It has done this through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it.” – Congressman Louis T. McFadden in 1932 (Rep. Pa) They finally told the truth about who really owns the currency, though not in plain English. They do not explain their actions nor their comments on the economy in plain English. One has to deduce and …


Letter Re: Protein Sustainability

Hugh, I would like to offer some additional information about Aquaponics. There are numerous articles available here on SurvivalBlog about this subject, even a Category for it. So this is info in addition to what’s already here. As mentioned, one of the main potential problems is pumping water around the system. Pumps can take quite a bit of electricity, and they can clog. When they do, (not if, but when) your fish die. There is a gentleman in Hawaii who has invented (patent pending) a system that can greatly reduce the electrical use and is about as clog proof as …


Purchasing Power: Past, Present, Future- Part 1, by L.M.

How did I end up here? Now I can feel the noose tightening! I learned about the gallows early. I began to notice in the late 80s. Perhaps that is when I became self-aware, no longer like a Jack Russell that has no fear fighting a German Shepard, not one who has no idea how big he is or that he is a dog. A Jack Russell even considers you to be part of the dog pack. Are you willing to become self-aware or perhaps you prefer the pack. “It is easier to fool people than to convince them that …


Recipe of the Week: Dumpling Soup, by G.L.

Ingredients: 1 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 (1 3/8 oz) pkg onion soup mix 6 cups water, hot 2 carrots, peeled and shredded 1 stalk celery, finely chopped 1 tomato, peeled and chopped 1 cup packaged biscuit mix 1 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped 6 Tbsp milk Directions: In a slow cooking pot, sprinkle beef with dry onion soup mix and pour hot water over the meat. Stir in carrots, celery, and tomato. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until meat is tender. Turn control on high. In a small bowl, combine …


Letter Re: Just In Case: Preparing for the Evening and Day After Election 2016

JWR, I took your advice to heart. I’m actually not waiting for election day and am assuming the worst case scenario (a Hillary win). However, one issue I have been worrying about, and I rarely hear anyone discussing it, is the possibility of the government cutting off ammunition and reloading supplies (especially powder). As far as I know, there is only one powder manufacturer in the U.S. The rest are in Canada, Germany, and France. It seems it would be extremely easy for a president to issue an executive order to cut off sales to the commercial market or at …