Category: Economics & Investing

I often get e-mails from readers stating that are leery about investing in precious metals.  They complain that the markets are “too volatile.”  In the short term the metals markets– particularly for silver and platinum–are indeed quite volatile. (Witness yesterday’s 28 cent dip.) But it is important to step back and look at the big picture. Forget the daily fluctuations. Instead, look at the 120 day moving averages (DMAs). Next, study the 5 year and 10 year charts at Kitco.com.  Back in the late 1990s, investors were piling into the NASDAQ, gobbling up high technology stocks in a speculative frenzy …

Dr. Gary North writes in the latest issue of his REALITY CHECK e-newsletter: “If you get confused about money, the Federal Reserve System, and all this fractional reserve banking stuff, I have a solution. It’s the best 45-minute documentary on the Federal Reserve System that I have seen. The good news: it’s free. Google is launching a new service. You can post videos on line for free. This means you incur no bandwidth expenses. This is a deal! To see how well this works, click here: http://snipurl.com/fedvideo“ OBTW, if you do not yet subscribe to Gary North’s REALITY CHECK e-newsletter, …

Jim, I have been thinking about my 401(k) money that I can’t get to till I am 59-1/2. I have done some homework on it, and here is what I have found out. Our Federal Government has confiscated the gold eight times in the past. When they do, they pay face value. Double Eagles are $20.00, that’s it. Talk about taking it in the neck! There is a way to put gold into an account, where it is stored for $100.00 per year, in the owner’s name, but it seems one cannot get [numismatic] pre-1933 gold coins (which are non-confiscatable) …

James: Bill in North Idaho’s letter intrigued me, so I did some digging and thought you would be interested in what I found. The FinCEN FAQ is pretty clear that the requirements of being a ‘dealer’ only applies if you buy and sell more then $50,000 in one calendar year/tax year, so if you’re buying up bullion and not selling it (i.e. hoarding it) you don’t count as a ‘dealer’ so this specific ruling doesn’t touch you. What it does do, is make most people selling lots of gold/silver/jewels into ‘dealers’ which means they file IRS form 8300 and report …

Jim, It looks like our rulers are going to tighten the noose on reporting requirements for bullion purchases to chip away at anonymous buyers effective January 1, 2006. See:  http://www.fincen.gov/faq060305.pdf   FDR started the ball rolling in 1933. See: http://www.the-privateer.com/1933-gold-confiscation.html. This FINCEN ruling may be the precursor to the next confiscation coming down the pike. Instead of “hoarding”, the new buzzword is now money-laundering prevention. As with guns, the strategy is to attach names and addresses to potentially confiscated goods to facilitate asset seizure and forfeiture.- Bill in North Idaho

Mr Rawles, I just wanted to send you a note suggesting another dealer from whom to buy $1,000 face value bags of [pre-1965] junk silver. I am not affiliated with him in any way, just a happy customer. The dealer is Hannes Tulving, [in southern California.] His web site is: http://www.tulving.com. In my experience he deals in primarily in bullion, and very little in numismatic products. I’m a very happy customer and have referred several people to him over the years. – E.L.

I enjoy most of what Survival Blog puts out, but the Puru Saxena article is a bit misleading. Mr. Saxena seems to be a bit confused into thinking that 1) all inflation is the same and that 2) control is the same as eliminate. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy is, has been since its inception, and will most likely continue to be creating inflation. This is not at issue, as the Fed is happy to point out. What Mr. Saxena seems to say is that control over inflation should equal eliminating inflation. The Fed strives to keep inflation within a …

James, I hear that silver spiked again today. I’m very glad I took your advice and bought a half-bag of junk silver last month! It was as easy as you say. I just called the local coin dealer with the biggest ad in the yellow pages. Their price was about $200 cheaper than Swiss America’s. Would it be worth the bother to clean the coins? Virtually all of the coins are quite dirty. My main purpose in storing these coins will be for future barter, if necessary. I’m guessing they would be more attractive for barter if cleaned up. If …