These videos were posted with the most recent at the top. It should be best to work from the bottom up.
December 26, 2023
"Forever Stamps Work. How About Forever Dollars?"
I remember when the US Postal Service First-Class stamps went from six cents to eight cents. I was still single digits in age at that time. Yet, I was mathematically savvy enough to realize that this was a monumental 33% overnight inflation in cost to send a first-class piece of mail. This was even more dramatic than 2022’s Dollar Tree overnight price change from $1.00 to $1.25. BTW, I was able to do some heavy shopping in Oregon the day before Dollar Tree executed their maneuver in that state, as Washington preceded Oregon by a couple of days. And I saved on sales tax as well – it was definitely worth the trip!
Returning back to the stamps issue, in 2007, the US Postal Service implemented an economically sound idea – the "Forever Stamp." Since then, you could buy stamps for a First-Class letter, stick them in your wallet, and still have THE SAME PURCHASING POWER months and even years later. The "Forever Stamp" was inflation-proof. And it still works! The average person understands and appreciates this concept.
So if "Forever Stamps" work with postage, why can’t we do the same with money? Inflation is eating away at the purchasing power of the green dollar bills in your wallet. The serious inflation we are experiencing is a direct side-effect of Nixon’s detaching the US Dollar from Gold in 1971. According to the US Constitution, gold is true money for the US. It has preserved its purchasing power for pretty much all goods and services the past 5 decades, just as the “Forever Stamp” has preserved its purchasing power in the postal industry. Therefore, in order to implement "Forever Money," we should stick gold in our wallets. Now, it is really not practical to stick a gold nugget or even a one ounce gold coin in our wallets. This is where Goldbacks come into play.
When introduced a few years ago, Goldbacks were noted as an enticing collectible. I published one video article on them back on June 11th that you may want to watch to get you up to speed on what they are. Several in our group have been motivated with the "collectible" mindset to purchase them, some even before watching that article. However, their true purpose is so far beyond being collectible objects.
In the opinion of Benjamin Shaffer, Goldback Inc. Merchant Services / Legal Counsel, the ultimate objective of Goldbacks is to build an alternative economy/currency. "This is the most liquid format of precious metals… EVER!" Now this is sound money, as opposed to the unbacked US Dollar that we have been bamboozled into trusting in the past 5 decades.
Goldback creator Jeremy Cordon recently sponsored a Tuttle Twins episode for a concerted effort to educate the young regarding sound money based on inflation proof, true money that is practically divisible to "pocket change" denominations. The value of using Goldbacks as a sound currency is humorously encapsulated in this one statement: "Video: Tuttle Twins... Dark Dumpster Derek Returns... Gold" (looping 14 second clip) This clip paints Goldbacks as inflation-resistant, and thus they are a great candidate for "Forever Money"!!! The complete 11 minute video is quite fun and totally worth watching here: "Video: Tuttle Twins... Dark Dumpster Derek Returns... Gold" (11 minutes)
Do you feel you can’t afford to buy a one ounce gold coin to use as money? Or even a ¼ ounce coin? I bet you can purchase a 1/1000 oz gold currency bill. Young kids can even purchase them and store them in their piggybank. They found their way into some Christmas stockings belonging to grandkids of people in our group! The kids watched the Tuttle Twins video right before they got their Goldbacks! How cool is that?
Precious metals expert Andy Schectman admits Goldbacks are better than Federal Reserve notes, but he is concerned about the premiums. My take is that the premiums are justified by the incredible technology of creating such a small fractional style of gold. "Video: Coffee with MarkZ and Andy Schectman. 12/20/2023" (Just 50:45 to 52:00) He is right about Goldbacks being better than the Federal Reserve notes, but it looks like he is wrong about the amount of extractable gold within them. People have successfully done so. Independent tester Mike Adams has proved there is 102% to 107% of the amount of gold touted within each Goldback: "Article: Mike Adams’ lab tests reveal"
It is important to realize the difference between Goldbacks and currencies backed by gold. The Goldbacks have gold embedded in them, while gold-backed currencies are merely pieces of paper representing a government promise to pay you gold. What percent of the US dollars in circulation were backed by gold? I can’t find great details to this investigative question, it falls way short of 100%. I’ve heard just 20-40% at times. Regardless, even with gold backed currencies, we are trusting in our government that will not provide full audits and have suspiciously lost seven Fort Knox audit reports. Which is wiser: having faith that the government holds less than 50% of the value of your dollars in gold or having 50% of the gold in your hand? Don’t you think an oz of gold in the hand is worth at least two in the Fort Knox bush? Keep in mind there is significant technology in the making of the Goldbacks and thus there is a significant premium like in 1/10th ounce gold coins.
Now, who controls the value of Goldbacks? Not the government! That sounds like a good idea to me. Merchants who accept them control the price which is better. The value with respect to dollars tends to increase as the price of gold increases. And there is a website that tracks and averages the accepted value of Goldbacks from many of the merchants that accept them. "Website - Exchange Rate" To some degree, we are taking the control of the currency out of the hands of our federal government. The Nixon detachment of the dollar to gold swung the door wide open for the federal government to control the value of our money. Lynette Zhang emphasizes this in the following clip: "Video: The Economic Diary" (looping 56 second clip)
Inflationary effects of a Fiat currency system is a huge problem. The question is, "Are you going to just sit back and be a victim, or step up and be part of the solution?"
So the first question that needs to be answered is, "Why would I want to carry around Goldbacks in my wallet?" Let’s take a look at the track record of Goldbacks. When I first became an Authorized Partner with UPMA in June of 2023, the Goldback value for the average merchant was $4.01. Now, six months later the value is $4.33, which is right at an 8% increase. That translates to over 16% per annum. I’d say that Goldbacks are doing a great job of meeting and beating inflation! So it makes perfect sense to carry around Goldbacks in your wallet as "Forever Money."
The next question to answer is, "As a consumer, why would you want to spend Goldbacks at a cooperating merchant?" Well, considering you can purchase them through UPMA at a 7-8% discount, you increase your purchasing power right out of the gate! Also, some merchants actually grant discounts when customers pay in Goldbacks.
Now, switch over to the other side of the transaction and ask this, "As a merchant, why would you want to deal with Goldbacks?" Well, if you value gold as more financially secure than dollars, then of course you would want to get paid in the tangible precious metal. Beyond that, consider the routine when inquiring if a customer would prefer getting their change back in gold or in paper money. Something magical happens when someone holds Goldbacks in their hand for the first time. That exhilarating experience should strengthen the customer loyalty. And don’t forget about the 7-8% discount you received when you purchased the Goldbacks from UPMA! Also, many merchants purport that the transactions in Goldbacks circumvent certain tax implications. I am not going to attempt to validate that statement; I’ll leave that up to your CPA. Also, if you are a merchant desiring to accept Goldbacks in one of the five states where Goldback Series have been issued (UT, NV, NH, WY and SD), you get free advertising on goldbacks.com’s website. Those of us in Oregon and Washington will have to wait a few months for that benefit to kick in.
The rest of the country is making progress in regards to particular states adopting Goldbacks as a viable currency system of "Forever Money." Here are some examples.
In Utah, over 600 merchants accept Goldbacks. These are mainly small businesses with a strong walk-in customer base. Farmer’s Market and tradeshow vendors are also great candidates for Goldback transactions. Also, GoldATM.com is in the process of installing a hand-full of Goldback ATMs in Utah! "Video: Introducing GoldATM" (Just 1:14 long) GoldATM.com has 5,000 GoldATM's available for deployment in businesses, airports, etc. in 2024, and beyond! You can bet they will eventually come our way.
A little closer to home, Idaho signed up 50 merchants earlier this year in a matter of just a few weeks. Most of them are in the Panhandle, where patriotic sentiment is strong.
$40 million worth of Goldbacks were sold during this year, 2023. It is estimated $100 million will be sold in 2024. Institutions that sell the Goldbacks are having a hard time keeping them on the shelves!
Our current currency system is flawed and takes serious advantage of us. It needs to be replaced. Goldbacks are a better system and will eventually be a viable replacement in our area, unless the U.S. Government comes up with a more trust-worthy system – but I definitely wouldn’t bank on that!
You may inquire what I am doing to promote such a paradigm shift in this area? First, this week I am declaring my software company as a Goldback accepting merchant. Second, I will be paying my proof-reader in Goldbacks as of this week. (She just read this, so I think she is smiling as of a few seconds ago!)
Regardless if you sell burgers in Washington or bookkeeping services in Oregon, you will be promoting sound money in your community. If you provide coffee in Washington or Construction in Oregon, your clients will most likely smile when they realize you deal with Goldbacks. It doesn’t matter if you sell firearms in Washington or French Poodles in Oregon, there are several ways for you to increase your bottom line.
I believe our group is savvy enough and powerful enough to jumpstart the adoption of Goldbacks in Oregon and Washington. We are pushing 150 on our email list, with most of them in those two states. So let’s declare our businesses, small or large, as Goldback acceptors with UPMA. It is time to start abandoning the existing currency system designed to steal from us and migrate towards a sound money system that makes more than enough sense.
Nov 25, 2023: "Times of the Signs"
In last month’s article, I made reference to the "Road Closed Ahead" sign. It was safe to say that the road was impassable somewhere along it, but we didn't know if it was just around the first blind corner or a few miles down the road. So the stock market did not crash last month, thus it was not "just around the first blind corner." But the sign at that intersection is still there, warning us it is not safe/prudent to take this path. The economic signs are still present even though we have not experienced an event of concern. I love the way Andy Schectman paints the picture of "little by little by little by little, then all at once": "Trade of the CENTURY! Everyone Is Wrong About Silver in 2023, Andy Schectman" (looping 60 second clip). Can we always determine how much time these signs are prognosticating? NOPE, but we know it has to happen sometime.
Many of these signs flat out defy logic. THEY JUST DON’T MAKE SENSE! Things like the government and media stating that the economy is great, while the US is assuming record-setting credit card debt. Or that the high-flying stock market is breaking the fundamental rules, while silver is less than ½ its all-time high from 1980. Whether these logic-defying data points are just some sort of brainless mass-mindset errors or deliberate deceitful propaganda ploys by only a few powerful entities, the fact remains that the existing patterns cannot be sustained. Time is running out before these signs manifest into earth-shattering reality. BIX WEIR quotes that we are running out of time as the silver market rigging ploys appear to be ending; "SILVER ALERT!..., Bix Weir" (looping 43 second clip). We must also keep in mind that the bigger (in discrepancy) they are, the harder they fall. The longer we have to wait before it happens, the more mind-boggling it will be when it does. Our "Ninja" friend likes to paint this picture as a scary rollercoaster ride: "JP Morgan Warns Get Your Money Out Of The Bank, Real Estate Ninja" (looping 59 second clip).
There are many signs warning us something catastrophic is coming, but we don't know the amount of time that it will take for it to manafest. Peter Schiff forecasted the 2008 real estate crisis a couple years prior to that historic event because he saw the signs early. Many ignored him and mocked him. Yet he held his ground because the circumstances didn’t make sense. "UNSTOPPABLE HOUSING MARKET CRASH..., Sachs Realty" (looping 33 second clip). When the current signs started springing up a couple years ago, it looked like we were ready to count down years. More new signs are now surfacing imply we should be counting down months, maybe weeks or even days. I hope we all take adequate action preparing for these earth-shattering changes before we should shift to measuring with an hour glass or a stop watch! Be ready, because we don’t know the "times of the signs."
Yesterday I drove out past Sandy to a little community called Brightwood. On the main side-road this community was on, there was a sign that said "Road Closed Ahead." 30 seconds later I encountered an intersection that had barricades blocking off half of one direction. The other direction was free and clear. I was intrigued on what was beyond the barricades; I could have bypassed them and gone down the road for who knows how far. I was curious why it was closed, but I trusted the signs and went the other way.
There have been many alarming signs pertaining to the global financial situation popping up in recent times. The fundamentals of the stock market do point to a major "correction" or even "crash." We have been in that territory for a couple of years now. As the suspect data behind stocks and the negative external influences have been getting more and more pronounced, the market seems to have been magically "defy gravity" and floating upward… in a very counter intuitive manner.
Biblical time analyst Bo Polny boldly bookmarked the end of this month as potentially a historic market event. He expects this event to be another “Black Monday” event. Please note that he uses timelines to determine monumental events that should happen, but he doesn’t know what the event will be. He nailed on the nose when the bottoming of Bitcoin would occur last year, projecting that something would happen at that time. He did not know that the FTX bank collapse would be the catalyst, he just projected a major drop at that time and then the reversing bull market based on timeline patterns. He was spot on in expecting the Israel war to breakout earlier this month. On the flip side, he was anticipating the market bubble to burst at other times through the past few years that did not manifest.
And here are some of my observations from Friday on what "signs" I saw that could be warnings of the "financial road closures" that may be just around the corner:
Road Sign #1) The 2 week decline in the DOW Jones, and especially noting Friday’s action.
Here is a chart of the price action for the past two weeks:
The DOW has dropped 5% in two weeks. During Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s sessions demonstrated that it was trying to reverse and recover to show the market is healthy. Well, Friday’s steady decline all day said it was probably not capable of doing so. The drop was the biggest of the two weeks, and it appears to be pointing toward more significant declines the next two trading days. My technical analysis led me to prepare for a 2-3% drop the next 2 days. It will take a “Black Swan” event to send it down the 10% or so that Bo is projecting.
Road sign #2) Silver’s unexpected Friday afternoon increase - with no supposed news.
On many occasions, the stock market and the silver market will behave in counter-intuitive ways. This is one of the best indicators that the markets are being manipulated. The first half of Friday’s action had silver and the markets going the same direction. Instinctively, that is not supposed to happen. Then right at noon (East Coast Time), silver started to surprisingly increase with no news. Please note the volume bars are highlighted. I DON’T THINK I HAVE EVER SEEN THE VOLUME DOUBLE/TRIPLE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE DAY WITHOUT ANY NEWS PROVOKING IT. It is like the big money guys were buying up silver because they “felt something was eminent” regarding this weekend. Now silver was behaving as you would think it should with the market dropping.
Road Sign #3) Jamie Dimon starts cashing out.
Jamie Dimon is the CEO of JP Morgan, the largest banking company. It was announced on Friday that he will be selling off 1 million shares of his stock. This is a big deal. Bankers don’t do things like that when times are good. Here is a 10 minute clip on this topic. "Jaime Dimon Just Revealed A Banking Crisis May Be Imminent" (10 1/2 minutes)
Please note that the shares are going to be sold months in the future, but I found it scintillating that it was announced on the day of these other signals.
Will something significant happen this week? The signs that I see say it will probably be at least noteworthy. Will the market experience historic hits on Monday and/or Tuesday? I don’t know, but I am prepared. I believe the stage is set and that such devastating events are just around the corner.
June 14, 2023: "Silver and Banking"
As mentioned in previous video articles, the Chinese word for "bank" is "silver house." Decades ago, this was pretty accurate in the USA where you could take a "Silver Certificate" dollar bill and go exchange for a silver dollar. In 1878, the US government started issuing silver certificates that people could exchange for silver coins,
as paper is much easier to carry than metal coins.
So, in essence, the bank was where silver could be housed for you. Unfortunately, in March of 1964, the US treasury stopped redeeming the silver certificates.
So is it currently practical to store your silver at a bank, as in a safe deposit box? Some people will choose to do so, especially when they have 10's or hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of precious metals that they don't feel comfortable storing "around the house."
Here are some downsides of storing in a safe deposit box:
Accessibility: The bank is not open 24/7. They are shut down for almost 90 hours on 3-day weekends.
Security: In January, a video article titled "Is Your Silver Stack Safe?" was posted. This article notes rare incidents where the bank does not secure it well.
Recoverability: "Every year, a few hundred customers report to the authorities that valuable items — art, memorabilia, diamonds, jewelry, rare coins, stacks of cash — have disappeared from their safe deposit boxes… when a bank is clearly at fault, customers rarely recover more than a small fraction of what they’ve lost — if they recover anything at all." That is a quote from this NYT article: Article: "Safe Deposit Boxes Aren’t Safe." Contents of a safe deposit box—including cash—aren't protected by FDIC insurance, which only protects money in deposit accounts.
Hopefully you viewed and absorbed the previous video article that discussed Goldbacks. The brilliant legal minds that developed the Utah Goldbacks are the brains behind a fabulous group called United Precious Metals Association (UPMA), a Limited Cooperative Association, operating exclusively on a non-profit basis. Their goal is to promote the wide circulation and use of gold and silver ("specie") legal tender within the USA by setting up "savings accounts" using gold and silver.
However, this is not a bank. Thus there are no federal guidelines or oversight, no "Patriot Act" policies or no need for a SSN - WHAT A SHAME!
With UPMA, it is like you are exchanging "Dollars" for "Dollars"... just onto a different platform (species). It is a bit like exchanging foreign currencies, but using Silver Eagles and Gold Eagles instead. Their calculations are based on the fact that Silver Eagles are US minted as "one dollar" and Gold Eagles as "50 dollars." They reference/evaluate "silver dollars" and "gold dollars" based on applying those conversions.
Most of us in our AGPDX group are heavily in the silver buying mode. That is pretty easy. But what about when you have to sell some silver to pay for unexpected bills? Quickly selling silver at a great price seems to be quite a bit harder than buying at a great price. With UPMA, you can redeem your ASE's for fiat money at strong UPMA member price, which is traditionally at the upper end of the spectrum!!! This sets UPMA apart from any other program I've seen.
Here are the important points of my evaluation of the UPMA system:
* STATUS QUO FEATURES & FEES ^
0.6% a year storage fee - cost of keeping your metals safe and secure.
Currently about a 10% fee on silver if you send them your ASE's to process into the network, thus into your account. It is probably best to buy from them rather than send your own ASE's to them.
1% fee to send funds to a merchant after the first 100 silver ounces/dollars in a 30 day window
* PLUSES *
Full scale security
100% backing by physical metals. No fractional reserve banking here!
100% guaranteed by Lloyds of London against loss, theft or damage.
Extensive Audits publicly available (unlike Fort Knox)
Much easier to set up since it is not a bank account (takes about 5 minutes)
No federal oversight since it is not a bank account
When liquidating or redeeming metals from your account ($10K limit per 30 days), no fee for a check sent to you or an ACH to your bank. It just takes a 5 minute phone call for either.
Member to member Transfer - Immediate! Yes, it is that fast!
Member to merchant transfers are free for the first 100 silver ounces in a 30 day window
48-hour notice for physical possession to pick up or shipped to you
46,000 members strong and 11 years of credibility
Assign beneficiaries for those that also have accounts (they don't need to have any deposits in their accounts)
Members with $50K accounts are allowed during audits
* DOUBLE PLUSES ^
0% spread on buy/sell - you sell back at a price you probably cannot get anywhere else! Hassle free!!!
Member to member Unlimited Transfer - NO FEE!!!!
* MINUSES ^
$1,000 limit at a time on ACH deposits
Limited number of merchants in the network at this time - about 50
High Premium at this time (if you send paper dollars to purchase silver already in the network)
Sending them silver that is not in the ASE format is not practical (bars, rounds or foreign coins)
Liquidating large quantities (over $10K) through their network in a given 30 day period will cost you extra.
It is easy to see that the pluses outweigh the minuses in a "heavy" way! UPMA also provides optional debit cards that can be funded from your UPMA account metals holdings. The $10 monthly fee is waived for accounts doing net monthly deposits above $1,000, or total holdings valued above 1,000 Gold/Silver Dollars. This allows you to get access to your funds in a day or two. Please note that it does take a bit of footwork to set this card up for your account. And since a banking institution named "True Link" accommodates this feature, they will need your SSN.
The UPMA "price" of a "silver dollar" (basically an ASE) does include a healthy "market-related" premium. You can always find a better price by shopping around, but you get their exceptionally high price when you sell it back. This is the beauty of a 0% buy/sell spread, something that AGPDX always attempted to get close to and usually got down to a percent or so with a significant effort, and a few days wait time and sometimes driving half way across town.
So what if the premiums come down after you buy? Well, you would lose about the same amount if you were holding your ASE's in your personal possession. UPMA may not provide the very best return for your money on silver in the long run, but it provides incredibly easy liquidation at an exceptional price, ease of transfer to other memebers along with high-level security built into an off-site storage vault.
From our AGPDX perspecvtive, it needs to be reinforced that it is not a good idea to send them your rounds and bars and other foreign coins that you have been stacking. If you want to reduce your physical holdings and increase the amount in your UPMA account, it is better to sell your silver through our AGPDX group and then purchase and send ASE's to UPMA.
IN SUMMARY
The UPMA network is great for those that feel they need to store a portion of their metal holdings off site yet still have quick access to their funds.
If you don't want to be burdened with the time, hassle and haggling of selling your silver for a decent price, the UPMA network should be a perfect solution for you.
It may not be practical to activate/utilize their debit card if you just have a few hundred ounces of silver in your account - stick to requesting checks or ACH transfers to access your funds uless you are adding US $1,000 per month of net new holdings in your UPMA account or until you hit the 1,000 ounces ("silver dollars") level.
The system does not do a great job of accommodating large transactions like six-figure down payments for a house at this time, but if you can live on $10K a month it should be a great fit.
Is UPMA a perfectly "counter-party risk free" operation? No, but their system appears to be much safer than a bank safe deposit box and rivals any precious metals depository institution like Brinks.
My strong opinion is that you should not have all your silver in one place, even though it may have some great benefits. I believe that people should have plenty of silver on hand in case the whole banking system or internet goes down.
It makes sense for everyone in our group to establish a free account. It doesn't need to be funded, but you should have it established and ready to roll for when it is needed.
UPMA appears to be the best institution out there that is re-establishing a "banking silver house." All you need is an email address, a physical address, and a computer/phone to sign up: Click here to sign up!
Good ol' APMEX does a great job of summarizing the creation and growth of the goldbacks in four states in the US. Please note that Utah has lead the way of reestablishing gold and silver as legal tender.
The concept is simple enough that you don't have to be double-digit in age to understand and love the implementation of goldbacks. This video is extremely fun to watch so try to view whole thing: "What are gold backs?", Ren Stocks (6 minutes)
As alluded to in the first video, almost half of the 50 states have or are working on legistation accommodating gold and silver for monetary transactions and holdings. At this time, Oregon Article: "Oregon House Committee..." and Texas Article: "Texas Bill Would Create..." are on that list, but Washington is not yet. Are we there yet? No, but legislation is pointing that direction.
Now the federal government has been distancing itself from gold and silver the past 60 years. Many states see the writing on the wall regarding the imminent demise of the dollar and are wisely taking measures to financially protect themselves and their citizens with precious metals. Could it be that the federal government is trying to undermine the whole economy? They wouldn't be TRYING to do that, would they???
That is what is happening inside the US borders. What about beyond the boundaries of our country? How might other countries be protecting themselves from the demise of the dollar and runaway inflation? Zimbabwe has recently released a gold-backed crypto currency: "Gold Backed Digital Currency" (looping 38 second clip)
Banks in China are now setting up gold savings accounts that allows citizens to transfer back and forth between dollars and gold: "China’s NEW Way To Buy Gold" (3 1/4 minutes) This is an important concept that should be a great segue into the next video article to be release in a matter of days!
Will gold pave the way to the escalation of silver's price? The wizard of Oz might suggest we follow those yellow colored bricks. And here is how China (part of the BRICS countries) could cultivate this process by confiscating gold: Vince Lanci: "...China Just Made Gold Money Again" (looping 31 second clip) thus leaving silver behind for EVERYONE to scramble for: Vince Lanci: "...China Just Made Gold Money Again" (looping 43 second clip)
March 26, 2023: "Banking Failures and Crypto as an Alterative?"
You may have heard me say that the Chinese word for Bank is "silver house." That was determined long before the internet and crypto currencies. If they were to create the word now, maybe they would call it "crypto house" as technologically cryptos can be used as sound money that can bypass our faulty and corrupt banking systems.
With the bank failures this month, money started to pour into precious metals and to cryptos. The cost of silver went up about 20% the past two weeks while the price of Bitcoin increased a comparable amount. Here is a 20 minute video that takes a very well-balanced view of why several banks failed, which banks could follow suit and why cryptos are a great alternative to banks: More Bank Runs Coming!? Which Ones Are At Risk!?
There are always risks regardless of where you hold your wealth. The last three minutes of the video does a great job of spelling out and comparing the risks between banks and cryptos, as it looks like the first is crumbling and the second is advancing towards replacing the first. This process, if it ever does get completed, will not happen overnight, but rather might take several years.
March 11, 2023: "Inflation: Anti-Robinhood"
I'm sure you know the adage about Robin Hood. And I am not talking about the stock trading platform, but rather the classic story. Well, inflation is just the opposite: It steals from the poor and gives to the rich. This video is one of the most awesomely insightful and concise productions about inflation, taxation and economic cycles that I have ever watched. It is only 13+ minutes, so I highly recommend watching the whole video: The Uncensored Truth about Inflation - How Inflation Enriches Politicians and the 1%
When you realize that inflation was allowed to run rampant after the dollar was taken off the gold standard (which is sound money), you can easily surmise that this stealing from those living paycheck to paycheck and giving more value to those that have valuable assets was by design.
On a side note, I thought it was deeply insightful when the end of the video explains how the recession and depression are parts of the cycle is like withdrawing from a drug addiction. This is expected to be a painful process for those that got carried away when easy money is available, but necessary to get them into a healthy economic routine.
January 2, 2023: "Is Your Silver Stack Safe?"
Is it safe in a safe? That almost sounds like a Dr. Seuss question. BTW, "Seuss" is his middle name.
Several newbie stackers have asked "Where do you store the silver?" Well, one obvious place is a safety deposit box at a bank. There is a small portion of the population that doesn't, and here is one story that validates their concerns. NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! - STORE YOUR PRECIOUS METALS IN A SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX! (first 4 minutes) In the event that the banking system collapses and silver goes to the moon, then a "safe" at home makes quite a bit of sense. Then it is accessible at night, weekends and holidays. But how safe is a safe in an event of a fire? Here is a quick video on that topic: Stack burns in house fire!!! (just 4 1/2 minutes)
Now there are good reasons not to have all of your valuables in the safe in the house. So here are some suggestions on where else and how to hide your silver around the house: Tips on Hiding Your Gold and Silver Stack (less than 14 minutes)
One last tip I heard a year or so ago is to not have your precious metals hidden where you have cash stashed away, because dogs can be trained to sniff out the cash. All in all, it is your responsibility to ensure your silver stack is safe.
December 26, 2022: "Let's Get Physical!"
And no, we are not referring to Olivia Newton-John’s long-running billboard-topping song in 1981. We just get this notion to do so with precious metals from following the big money.
One of our newest comrades basically asked why we should be concerned about stacking physical silver rather than just sticking to ETFs and mining stocks on the market. Banks and big money investors have been purchasing precious metals on the COMEX and LBMA for decades and having it stored on site at those locations. There is additional cost to have it delivered, so that is one motivating factor to keep it at those sites. But what has the trend been lately?
Let’s start with ETFs. Are they as stable and secure as you think? Here is one of my experiences when the price of oil did the mind-boggling drop in 2020. I loaded up on a leveraged bullish ETF on oil. With the unprecedented drop in the price of oil and actually going negative, it was obvious the price would eventually have to increase. A day or two before the price started to rise again, that ETF closed down. Since it was a leveraged ETF, there was really no way for it to "house" double or triple the amount of oil correlating to the amount of dollars that people like me dumped into it. It seems obvious that “they” know the price was going to rebound and that would have made a killing for those that were in this ETF. Well, when they decided to shut it down, they froze the price and made arrangements to return to the investors based on the price on that day. However, they did not process the funds for several days. In that very short time frame, the ETF would have returned some 70-100%. When we got our funds returned, we got the price from when oil was at rock bottom. Amazing! The ETF managers did not have to pay out gains that were obviously a few days out. And the opportunity to jump into another ETF or stock dwindled when it took about a week to get funds back. Albeit it was a small, not very reputable ETF operation, its price was not backed up by any storage of a commodity.
Bix Weir is a strong advocate of a pending complete shutdown of the financial systems (banks, Wall Street and cryptos). Here he discusses the wisdom and trend by the big money to have silver acquisitions physically delivered. ALERT! Silver OTC Derivatives are DISAPPEARING! End Game is Here! (6:30-7:45, 1 1/2 minutes) His thoughts here support the common mantra of "If you can’t hold it, you don’t own it."
So why grab physical silver? Isn’t it interesting that Andy filled a $50 Million order in physical gold and silver in the summer time to the Texas billionaire, who didn’t want to take the easy route and buy SLV and GLD ETFs.
Here is an extrapolation of my oil ETF experience that could happen with silver: The futures prices on silver are totally manipulated. Suppose "they" smash the spot price down to $10. But premiums skyrocket because of supply and demand. So you cannot get silver for under $20. I have been preaching for almost two years that we could see physical silver at twice the price of the spot price because the spot price is rigged. So you go put $1,000 into SLV, where the price would probably be about $8 per share (it is right at $2 under spot for certain legit reasons). The next day, “they” smash it down some more to $8, thus $6 on SLV. “They” then request delivery and get their silver for about $8 an ounce then the SLV managers decide they need to shut down the SLV and they will send you compensation at $6 per share, but you will not get it for a week. Then “they” release the suppression on the price of silver and let it go up $5 per day. By the time you get your money back (actually only 75% of it, $750), the spot price is up to $30 per ounce and the physical price that includes premiums is pushing $50. You won’t be happy. Had you bought physical silver, your $1,000 would have turned into about $2,500. Yep, you won't be happy! Enough said.
Get your physical silver!
November 1, 2022: "When Should I Sell My Silver?"
One of my former athletes would commonly ask me the most profound questions. He asked that question in the title a few weeks ago. In this posting, we will explore several mindsets, strategies and possible future opportunities regarding when/how to unload/utilize your silver stack.
First we must discuss some definitions. The first one is "inflation."
The term inflation initially described an increase in the proportion of currency in circulation relative to the amount of precious metal that constituted a nation's money. The "inflation" of the amount of dollars in the economic system causes an increase of prices, as more dollars were available to acquire the same amount of goods and services. Currently "inflation" refers to the increase of prices, the effect rather than the cause. But for the rest of this posting, we will use the current definition of inflation unless otherwise noted.
Next we will discuss the definition of "easy money," which is "money obtained by dubious means or for little work." When Nixon took us off the gold standard, easy money could then be printed without being backed by gold. It is easy to print money. It is even easier for the government to send a check or "electronic money" to someone’s bank account. So all of those stimulus checks probably do not even have printed dollar bills to back them up. No wonder the banks don’t have enough cash to hand out now a days.
Side note: Bit Coin is not easy money. There is "work" performed in mining BTC, paralleling the work done in mining gold or silver. However, many alt-coins are "easy money" as there was really no significant work in creating them. There are certain situations where you purchase alt-coins with BTC, which some day will be a much better measuring stick that the US dollar.
Now, when we talk about inflation, we do so regarding prices compared to the dollar. It is not that products have become more valuable, but rather the dollar has been slowly losing its power, and much more rapidly these past two years. This would not have been so dramatic and intense if the US dollar was still on the gold standard.
Most estimates say that the dollar has lost 95% to 98% of its purchasing power over the last 100 years, while gold has not. It may have lost some, but at least not near that much. We are seen runaway inflation because we are using the wrong measuring stick, the ever-weakening US dollar (which is becoming more and more weak due to the original definition of inflation as the government "prints" more and more dollars with ease). If we would use gold as a measuring stick, inflation would not be a major concern over the years. The dollar has been a "fiat" monetary device since Nixon took it off the gold standard in 1971.
Now we are ready to explore answers to our title question...
I usually tell people that they need to hold on to their silver for at least 2 years. But that is a very basic and vague suggestion. Bix Weir repeatedly states that he will not sell his silver until it is 1 to 1 with gold. He is using gold as his measuring stick, not the US dollar, which does exhibit wisdom. His desired ratio is extreme, but it has happened long ago as discussed in the posting below and could happen again.
Unfortunately, there may be times when you need to sell some of your silver. Some of you have had to do so, sometimes just a few weeks after "buying" it, and actually made a few dollars. This would have been very difficult without our system in place because the spread on the dealers’ buy/sell prices are usually 12-15% or more, depending on the format of the silver. The second point in the AGPDX mission statement is "To Accommodate cost-effective transactions for those that want to buy and sell physical silver." Within our AGPDX community, we cut that price spread down to about 2-3%, which can frequently be recovered in a week or so. Our system allows for low-risk, short term silver acquisitions when buying/selling with a dealer does not!
Here is the main video for this article: Video: If Silver Hits $50,000 Per Ounce I'm Not Selling - Here Is Why. Consider watching the whole video. Our narrator starts off at minute one (13 seconds) stating that gold and silver are money. This allows him to bringing up a point similar to what I proclaim in that you do not "buy" silver, but rather you exchange your dollars, a depreciating monetary object (because is it subject to the initial definition of inflation) for silver (something that is not “easy money”). Then he proceeds to state that he will want to acquire products or services with his silver rather than trade it back into an inflationary fiat money. At minute number two (21 seconds), he reminds us that energy is needed to get our human hands on silver. I am sure that he will consider selling once the US dollar goes back on a gold standard.
I believe that the most profound strategy to implement with silver when it goes ballistic is to borrow against it. That is what wealthy people do with their wealth. People take out HELOCs on their house to buy other properties. Sometimes they will pledge a certain amount of stock shares to secure property acquisitions. Here is our Economic Ninja friend with this thought: Video: This Is Their Plan (40 seconds) I am not aware of common mechanisms in place to help accommodate borrowing against silver, but I am sure that they will manifest as the demand increases.
I will end on this note: jumping forward in the video to the 2 1/2 minute mark (2 minutes), Exter’s Pyramid (below) is discussed. I used this graphic once when I initialized the website. He does a great job of discussing the flawed hierarchy of our current wealth system. When this whole system gets turned up-side-down, then Silver will be king! Then it will probably be worth more that gold per ounce, and Bix Weir will start exchanging his silver for gold!
October 20, 2022: "Gold v. Silver"
Put one cubic centimeter of Gold and one cubic centimeter of Silver in a wrestling ring and which one will come out on top? Since the gold would weigh almost twice as much as the silver, so I would think the edge would go to AU.
When we compare them in the financial arena, matching them against each other based on volume may not be fair, so we will look at them based on weight. The current spot price of Gold is just over $1,600 while Silver is just under $19. The This Gold to Silver ratio is frequently analyzed and is now pushing 90. This is near record high. However, keep in mind that the real price ratio is a bit different since the premiums on Silver are a much higher percentage than that of Gold. That reduces the buying ratio to just under 80.
Most people laugh when they are told that Silver will be priced 1 to 1 with Gold, or even higher. Bix Weir has been claim for years that it will be. People think that could never happen. Well, those people would get this question wrong on Jeopardy from Tuesday this week, October 18, 2022: JEOPARDY! 10-18-2022 Jeopardy! October 18, 2022 FULL EPISODE (13:52 to 14:06 - just 14 seconds)
The first paragraph states "Temple inscriptions suggest that for much of Egypt’s history, silver was valued more highly than gold." I bolded the "suggest" in this quote. Please note that the article goes on to say that sources of Silver were obscure for them.
Relating the "scarcity factor" to today, it is important to note that Silver is getting harder and harder to pull out of the ground versus Gold. Here is First Majestic CEO Keith Neumeyer commenting on such concerns: JPMorgan spoofing convictions don't 'tell the whole story' (from 1:27 to 2:02)
When will Silver go 1 to 1 with Gold in the financial arena? When it is set free from the price suppression, mining scarcity dramatically increases and the demand for Silver escalates as it is essential to technological advancements, when Gold is not! The final feature listed is the key for Silver to eventually win the battle against Gold, however, it may take a decade or two. It has happened before, and could happen again!
October 3, 2022: "Weak Weeks: Time to be Strong"
Last week was weak in regards to the stock market. This week, many anticipate that much more weakness will be exposed in our worldwide banking/financial system.
Here is our Economic Ninja friend with a projection for the coming week. The focus is on Treasury bonds Six Days Left... but he does voice a plug for silver at 9:05.
One additional piece of data that I picked up from Bix Weir that signifies this illicit game the banks are playing with Silver could be ending any day now is that the remaining open contracts on the COMEX (the silver pricing system) is less than 400. Normally they do thousands each month with plenty to spare!: SILVER RED ALERT! COMEX Silver Deliveries Have Shut Down! Silver EFP Transfers Crashing!! (from 6:35 to 9:15)
Now the way to be strong when the economy is weak is to be prepared!!! This next video, also from the Economic Ninja is a long one, so I will first start with two quick take-aways:
Here is his "Preparation Point" It's Happening Now! (from 6:10 to 7:00)
Here he makes a point similar to my own short mantra about the illusion of the greenbacks: It's Happening Now! (from 21:00-22:00). My mantra is "Dollars Depreciate. Silver Appreciates. #SwapDollarsForSilver"
In that second point, he mentions that there is a shift of power from dollars to silver when the economy changes. He mentioned that where we are heading, "Silver is King." On a different website, I alluded to the audiobook of "1900, or, THE LAST PRESIDENT" where I was especially intrigued at the ranted statement of “Silver is king. Silver is king.” as it is present at the 11:11 mark in a video! I found my copy of the book and those words are on the middle of page 11. If you have caught wind of my connection to the number eleven, you should be smiling right now!
In this video, Ninja does pour out his heart. Watch the whole thing if you have the time. He shares he has had the same kind of mission I have had, just on a bigger scale. The energy needed to do the weekly emails and the website articles are not for me to prosper, but rather for me encourage you to come along with me and be prepared for what is coming.
Last week, the market took a 3% plunge. Because of the 2 years of research I have done knowing that there would be weak weeks like that, my portfolio had double digit returns! Yep, I beat the supposed inflation in one week. Today was a pretty good day as well since silver jumped up big time. Now that is a good feeling! However...
It also brings about some uneasiness because I know a lot of people were hurt big time last week. I don’t want that to happen to those around me. And I think there will be even weaker weeks, but I have presented strategies to be strong and prosper during these times. And many people on the list have not prepared. But there is still time, but one must hurry now.
Another benefit of the AGPDX website and emails are a few new faces that I have linked up with. This is also a neat side effect of building the program. I am glad you are connected with us and are prepared for what is coming. Share this with more of your friends so they can be as well. Thanks for joining in and preparing to be strong when the weeks are weak!
September 20, 2022: "Going, GOING, GONE!"
Here is the question to ponder this month: "Where are the masses of silver relative to where they were in 2021?" To help us answer that question, we will explore this video. You don't have to watch all 40 minutes if you don't have the time... I will have links to short clips in the paragraphs below, so skip down there if you need to: Video: "SILVER ALERT! Urgent Information for All Silver Warriors! Silver Inventories Disappearing FAST!"
The opening statement of "All the inventories are being drained of silver right now..." is made at 1:35 (Just 5 seconds)
Why and how quickly are they being drained? To start with, we will look at the "Going" part of the title, where the death of the queen caused a quick draining of certain types of coins and raised some premiums about a buck basically in one day: from 2:54 to 3:45 (Almost a full minute). This is a small, but obvious event in the world of silver.
Now we will consider the "GOING" part of the title. Since it is all caps, it will obviously be much bigger in scope. There are two major inventory housings of silver in the world. The first is the COMEX (Commodity Exchange Inc) and the second is the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association). Transfers from one to the other do happen, but throughout recent months both are being seriously drained: from 15:15 to 20:10 (Almost 5 minutes)
Those of you that know me well, know I love those charts! So let's put some numbers to the graphs. About 70% of the COMEX has been drained in the past one and a half years. That means it is aiming towards zero inventory in 7-8 months. The LBMA is a bit better off in that it has been lowered by 20% year to date. At that rate, they will be completely out in 3 years. I find that it is intriguing that India has upped the ante by nearly a factor of three and has imported 250 million ounces so far this year. WOW!!!! Silver in inventories is definitely "GOING" and going in big chunks.
Last month I posted an article about the potential change to a BRICS world reserve currency. Well, Andy Schectman discusses a potential scenario stemming from such transformation that could cause the silver to be "GONE!" in a matter of minutes: from 27:48 to 33:10 (5 and a half minutes).
THE SYSTEM IS FLAWED! IT LACKS INTEGRITY AND SOUND JUDGEMENT! WHEN IT GETS FIXED, SILVER WILL START GRAVITATING TO ITS TRUE VALUE! AND IT WILL BE SHOCKING!
I also want to point out that Andy also comments on the banks being "long" on silver to a degree that he has never seen before. That means that they now will not mind if the price rises. So since they basically control the price, it could happen any time now!
So silver is not "GONE!" yet, but that scenario is pending. Now how many ounces of silver will you be sitting on when it is "GONE!" and countries and big industries will be paying exorbitant amounts to get their hands on what they need?
August 29, 2022, 4:00pm: "Things are Gonna Change"
One of my favorite Christian music artists of the 90's is Bryan Duncan. One of his songs on his "Slow Revival" album was a song entitled "Things are Gonna Change." If you would like to listen to it, here it is: Video: "Things are Gonna Change"
It is obvious that our global financial system is in a serious state of change. The questions are "What is it going to change into?" and "When and how quickly is it going to get there?" Many anticipate that we wll be returning to a gold standard, or something tied to precious metals. Here is a video listing some of the recent advancements towards that situation: Video: "Russia's New BRICS Gold Standard Could End Gold & Silver Price Manipulation" (all 6 minutes)
The US Dollar has been the reserve currency of the world for right at one century. But no reserve currency has lasted for ever, in fact most last about that long!!! This next video has a vast array of good info in it (thanks for sharing it Evan), but I just want to focus on a short minute of it regarding the chart on reserve currency history, showing that the dollar's reign is coming to an end: Video: "This Is Why Inflation Has Not Peaked and Rates Will Rise!"(27:22-28:06)
When the dollar does die, or even just having the world reserve currency transition to another currency, precious metals are a smart thing to be holding. Now, will it happen as a slow transition, or will it take place over night. There are many that thinking it could happen quickly, like overnight, with a shutdown of the banks and days of financial uncertainty following it. There are lots of signs that support this theory.
So when will it happen? In the next 2 years? I definitely in that camp that the current signals strongly support the event occurring in the next 2 years.
What about in the next 2 months? I would say a strong maybe on that. It is quite feasible that it is this close.
How about in the next 2 days? Probably not. That would be Wednesday and many think it will happen on a weekend. So a resounding "probably not" is in order.
And what about "2sday", AKA "Tuesday"? That is tomorrow, so extremely unlikely.
And can we consider "2day", AKA "today"? Less likely than winning the lottery since there are only a few hours left of "2day."
But the best question to ask is "Are you ready?" Do you have your 100 oz or 1,000 oz of Silver? Or however much you need to preserve, and potentially multiply, of your wealth! The signs say it is changing and so be ready! Doing nothing could be devastating. And remember, you are not buying silver, you hare exchanging a depreciating asset (the dollar) for an appreciating asset!
July 24, 2022: "How Many Houses Can A House Full Of Silver Buy?"
This article will combine two insightful videos I saw this past week in a creative and fun way. The first part of the title question was inspired by the recent news that a Texan billionaire hinted that she may be buying a billion dollars worth of silver. Here is a video featuring Andy Schectman, CEO of Miles Franklin: Video: "Did A Billionaire Buy $50 million in Silver Eagles? - Andy Schectman" (The first 10 minutes or so is about the billionaire's orders)
So the order this month was for $50 Million in gold and silver. But she hinted that a total of a billion dollars may be on the horizon. Where would you put a billion dollars of silver? In your house? Could your house store that much silver? Those were intriguing questions so I decided to do some calculations.
To begin with, let's start with a monster box of American Silver Eagles, which contains 500 ASE's. They are about 1/3 of a cubic foot. Please keep in mind that there is some non-silver spacing inside the box. My house can hold about 80,000 monster boxes because it is a 4 bed 2.5 bath that has 10 foot ceilings in the basement level. A billion dollars of monster boxes would be about 65,000 boxes. So my house could hold that much with some breathing room.
To further our solving of this story problem, we will use a typical 2,000 sq.ft. house in Portland going for $500K. There are a few of them out there for that price. Using 8 ft. ceilings, we can calculate the volume to 16,000 cubic feet. This will hold nearly 50,000 ASE monster boxes, currently worth about $775 million. Since the house is 1/2 million dollars, the silver inside of it at this time could buy 1,550 houses like it. Again, please keep in mind that there is some non-silver spacing inside the box, thus more ASE's could be in the house if they were not stored in the monster boxes.
The other video that spurred on this question is one from Rafi Farber, a regular on Arcadia Economics: Video: "Rafi Farber: A House for 75oz Silver is Realistic In the End Game" (All of it. It is not that long.) Here Rafi goes through the argument that it is feasible that you could buy a house for 75 ounces of silver upon the breakdown/reset of the financial system based on house/gold prices a century ago in Germany and applying a historically practical gold/silver ratio of 15. He doesn't use ASE's which are about 25% higher in price as common rounds, but we will neglect that factor for now.
There are 25 million ASE's in our example house! If 75 can buy one house in his projected scenario, then the total lot can buy 1/3 of a million houses. NICE! That is about 10% more than all of the houses in Portland!
One additional note regarding the Billionaire order video: I have been saying for a year or so that it is possible that we could see $25 spot price (which is controlled by the banks devious actions) and a $50 price tag on silver rounds (which the supply and demand influences) if a few more orders of that size transpire soon and truly decimate the supply. Be ready!
May 3, 2022: "Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble"
The phrase in Macbeth is really "Double, double, toil and trouble." However, the "Bubble" replacement is most likely relevant to our current economy and stock market situation. Is it truly a big bubble getting ready to burst? Could it be as big as the 80% dot com crash two decades ago? Possibly!
Could we really be in the biggest bubble in history? With the addition of stimulus packages prompted by the pandemic, it is much bigger now than it was in 2019! WE just may be living in a "Double Bubble!" There are a few other quotes and facts disclosed in this video worth mentioning. The speaker make reference to "fake money" like Robert Kiyosaki did in the Saving 101 article (13:12-13:27). In 1980, gold price was equal to the DOW; and we will probably return (21:35-23:40). And he predicted 3 years ago the crash would be prefaced by accelerating money printing (26:11-26:50)
So 2025 was the target a few years ago. When will the bubble burst? More than likely, it has just started. There is a great chart (most of you know I really like those charts) in the first two minutes of this video: Video: "Bank of America's Crash Warning that a Mass Exodus is Coming" The market has lost a sizable chunk of value this year, but is much more coming? Probably!
Let's take a look at the first 4 months of this year with this typical stock example. Here is a chart of then and now:
Asset Then Now Change
Microsoft $350 $280 -20%
Silver Eagles $31 $37 +20%
In December, Microsoft hit an all-time high of about $350 and is now about $280. At the beginning of the year, I was able to get American Silver Eagles to a few in our group for about $31 and have had buyers as high as $37. Some of the dealers were over $40. Microsoft is down 20% while the Silver Eagles are up 20%. Those that bought in January are already happy, and I believe that we have only just begun! Trading in this stock for the American Silver Eagles would have been a 40% swing to the good in just 4 months.
Now, there are some other big name stocks that are down much more than just 20%. Amazon, Facebook and Netflix are down 27%, 37% and 66% respectively since January 1. It is happening!
Do you see how silver is acting as a hedge against a declining market and economic chaos? It should continue to happen. In this video, it is stated that the typical advice to hedge with precious metals is 10-15% of your portfolio: Video: "Rick Rule: This Is Your LAST Chance To Become A Millionaire - My Most Sincere Advice To You" (First 2:30). My own opinion is that Silver will out-perform gold when this happens and you will come out way ahead with just 10-15% hedging. Just think if you were hedging with 20-25% of your portfolio!
BONUS MATERIAL I - May 16th:
Could the worst case senario be painted in this video: Video: "People Have To Prepare For The Biggest Crash Ever!! -Gregory Mannarino" About the only thing worse would be a complete evaporation of the stock market that some hint could happen, a bit like the Luna crypto did last week. Are you ready? Do you have much of your assets in your personal posession?
BONUS MATERIAL II - May 24th:
So what actions can be taken to protect or even capitalize on a Market Crash and High Inflation besides trade your dollars for Silver? Here are some market strategies to consider:
Short stocks or the whole market:
Short stocks can be risky, and you can lose more than you put in if a stock more than doubles.
You should be experienced market trader to try this.
Buy Options to the down side (Puts)
You can control the risk, but the rewards can be multi-fold. And unlike shorting the stock,
you can't lose more than you put in.
Buy Inverse ETFs:
ETF's are traded like stocks, and some go the opposite way of the market/sector. Examples...
PSQ is an inverse of the NASDAQ. The NASDAQ went down 2% today,
and PSQ went up 2% today
Some ETFs use leverage to magnify the gain or loss. My favorite here is SQQQ which
has triple the magnitude. Since the NASDAQ went down 2% today, SQQQ went
up 6% today - this is a great way to hedge your positions in a bear market.
Thanks to this, my portfolio was positive today.
Gold and Silver Mining Stocks
Gold and Silver are supposed to go up when the market goes down, but since they are
rigged, you can never be sure. Mining stocks will typically yield 2-3 times the
loss or gain of the metal.
Commodities ETFs
WEAT is based on the price of wheat. It is up over 50% year-to-date. With recent wheat
shortage predictions, I just might grab some of this for myself.
For oil price, there is a double leverage ETF (GUSH). I did grab some last week and is up
about 9% so far. We should have grabbed some last December as it is
up 120% since then. Now I am making money when gas prices increase.
ETFs are precarious as some do not have the substance to back them up, so long term
investments could turn sour one of these days. Both stocks and ETFs are somewhat suspect
and the whole market could evaoprate rather than crash. Then ETFs would mean nothing :(
So be careful.
April 5, 2022: "The Eagle Premiums have Flown the Coop!"
Premiums on American Silver Eagles are going crazy! Today the price of silver went down, but the price on American Silver Eagles at most major dealers has gone up about two bucks per coin. The premiums are rising to unprecedented because the wholesalers that provide the Eagles to them have had to raise the prices. Why? Because there is a shortage. Keep in mind that the spot price is not affected by supply and demand... it is a fake price. That is why the Eagles' premiums are going crazy!
Shortly after watching the video, I did check our most reputable dealer here in Portland and they also raised their premium about two bucks in the past 24 hours so that there standard quoted price was now over $39.
But as you know, we are always looking for better than average prices, and there are still some small quantities lying around that are a buck or two less than the standard pricing.
However, the way things are going with the premiums, this will probably be the last month that will be practical to purchase American Silver Eagles for under $40, even if the spot price of Silver does not increase.
April 2, 2022: "Newly Coined Phrase: Reverse Bank On It"
For decades, we have used and believed the phrase "You can bank on it." But now that it has become evident that the banks have been swindling us for decades by advocating that we should save money with them while inflation slowly eats away the purchasing power, it is time to stop trusting the banks and become your own bank. And that means we should probably do the opposite of what the banks say to do.
Now the banks are telling us to trade in our coins that have metal content for the green pieces of paper that are not backed by gold or silver, like they used to be: Video: "SILVER ALERT! US Mint Push to Return REAL MONEY" (10:10 to 16:27)
The value of the copper and nickel metal in pennies and nickels currently being minted is more than their "face value." So it costs the US Mint a whole lot more than a dollar to create a dollar's worth of those two coins (thanks to the inflation the banking cabal has cultivated). So they not only don't want to create more coins, they want to have you sell them back at a discount. How about that!
So our newly "coined" phrase is to "Reverse bank on it!"
From here on out, do exactly the opposite of what the bank recommends. Go down to the bank and trade your green pieces of paper for solid pieces of metal that have perpetual value. And here is my ranking on coins to hold in your personal bank in preparing for a potential banking system meltdown:
#1) Pre 1965 dimes, quarters, halves and full dollars. These are 90% silver and you will be "fortune"-ate to have these in your hand in the future. Make sure you have a some dimes in the loot, as per the previous article below. Now, you won't be able to get these at the bank.
#2) Nickels! Any US nickel will do as the valuable content was not removed from these coins in 1965 like they did with the coins mentioned in #1. I think you will be able to buy your loaf of bread for 6 nickels just like you could in the 1960's. Some resources are saying that we will return to 1965 prices in a good economic reset, and it makes since that the unchanged nickel should have the purchasing power of 50 years ago, because that is how valuable the metal in the coins should be.
#3) Pre-1982 Pennies! These pennies are 95% copper. They are now only 2.5% copper and the rest is zinc
#4) Other coins. They will be more valuable than the dollar bill. Half dollars are great to have since they have more metal content than the smaller, newer one dollar coins.
The bottom line is to do exactly the opposite of what the bank (and US mint) recommends and go swap your depreciating assets of green dollars for appreciating metals and hold them in your own bank.
March 19, 2022: "It's about Dimes!"
This article should probably be sub-titled "Dime Time" as we discuss how important having a handful of pre-1965 dimes can be in the case of the pending economic apocalypse. "Dime time" is when the dollar doesn't matter and Silver is triple or quadruple digits, and you need to purchase/barter for an everyday item or provide change. At that time, a 10 oz bar or even an American Silver Eagle is just too large of undividable value.
So what should you do if you happen to come across a large lot of pre-1965 dimes? Here is what I do when I have the extra time...
#1) Separate the Mercury Dimes from the Roosevelt Dimes. You probably won't see any or many Barber Dimes, but do the same for them. Some people will pay a slightly larger premium for Mercury Dimes over the Roosevelt Dimes.
#2) Search through the Mercury Dimes for any 1916 dates. You will need very good eyes or a magnifying device! A "D" mint on this coin makes it worth hundreds of dollars. The 1921's are also a good find as they are worth $20-100.
#3) Isolate the Pre 1920 dimes. Even in fair condition, they should bring in double the value of the typical dime.
#4) Set apart the Mercury Dimes in excellent condition. Those can bring in an extra dollar or so from coin collectors.
Are we in "Dime Time" yet? By no means. But the number one priority is to make sure you have some pre-1965 dimes so you are ready for that time.
March 11, 2022: "Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels"?
About a century ago, stores would give out wooden nickel promotional tokens that were only valid at their store. The phase "Don't take any wooden nickels" became a lighthearted reminder to be cautious in one's dealings. Some of those wooden nickels are sold for a few dollars as collectibles. And with what lumber prices did last year, maybe “nickels” made out of wood would be a good investment!
It has retraced quite a bit, but it is still 50% more than it was last week and worth more than a dime. This article says that the value a decade ago of the nickel metal in a nickel is about 7 cents: "Hoarding Nickels as Metal Prices Soar" It also proposes that soon it could/should be worth 34 times a nickel, or over $1.50. The logic follows that of Silver coins. Taking the silver out of coins in the 1960’s allowed for the inflation we have experienced for decades. They took out the valuable part of the dimes, quarters and dollars, but they did not take out the valuable part of the 5 cent piece, the nickel metal. So the “value of a nickel” has the potential increase somewhat like the value of a Silver dime.
What happened this week on the pricing of nickel could very well be the "opening act" for the big Silver performance. Will "U.S. coin nickels" outperform silver this year? Probably not, but it is likely to be extremely lucrative, especially in the collapse of the US greenback – the dollar bill has been losing value dramatically while the coins appear to be worth hoarding in an economic catastrophe.
Will silver be the next metal to go ballistic??? Maybe so. Here is some commentary Rafi Farber: Video: "Is Silver about to 'go nickel'?" Please note that much of his content is fairly advanced, so he might lose some of the Silver Rookies.
What to do in the mean time? Save those nickels! You can even go down to the bank and get rolls of nickels, but they may limit you to $20 worth or so. So what every you get your hands on, hold on tight (or sell it when it skyrockets and buy Silver with it)!
They took the valuable element out of dimes, quarters, half and full dollar coins, but not nickels and pennies. They were left alone. So what about pennies? The video discusses both. : Video: "Time to Start Hoarding Nickels? Copper and Nickel Prices SOARING!" Pennies will be harder to hoard based on volume to value ratio, but they are currently up 200% of the expected value, or 3 cents. So we must rephrase Benjamin Franklin's supposed quote to "A penny saved is two additional cents earned."
February 27, 2022: "Saving 101"
When I decided to develop this website a year and a half ago to educate family members, friends and other associates, I wish I would have seen this video. It probably would have been the first one I would have posted. I LOVE IT!
I love how he contrasts "God's money" with "fake money." I laughed when he talked about "fake teachers" because we have a non-fake teacher in our group that does try to teach kids about silver vs. fake money (thanks Scott for your efforts). I have heard others say that in the future, you will not measure your wealth by how many dollars you have, but rather by how many ounces of gold and silver you have. You won't care how much you paid for them, just how much you own.
The chart shown at the 12:10 paints a picture regarding the silver price suppression. $15 was about the price of a silver round when we started this just in the summer of 2020. We are up about 80% since then, but there is a whole lot more to come, most likely the next few months.
When I was in college, I was well disciplined in my daily study habits. Many others were not. When finals came around, I was ready because I had accumulated a wealth of knowledge from studying every day. The others had to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to cram for the final exam. One of my other teammates and I went bowling the night before because we did not need to cram.
With the pending economic crisis we are in, those of us that have been stacking silver for months or years are ready (although that does not mean we have stopped). Those that have not should strongly consider "cramming" and start saving the right stuff! We need to save the right stuff!
February 13, 2022: "What's it Worth to You?"
In late August and early September of 2020, there was a series of articles justifying a progressively increasing of Silver price all the way up to $200 per ounce. That was just at the start of the stimulus packages. Now let's take a look at what Silver should be worth to you. Actually, you can consider what Silver is worth to other people/institutions because that will be the going rate.
However, it did not point out that the price of the Dow Jones is thought to be highly inflated. And as many experts are anticipating a larger correction, some think it could be as large as 60-70% correction. If that materializes in the next few years or few months, then Silver would only have to go to 1/3 of the $1,387 to meet their expectations, or about $450 an ounce. This video discusses such a drastic stock market crash: Video: "60% Stock Market Crash? A Nasty Bear Market Is Coming Warns Dan Ferris - Stansberry Research" (First 2:35)
For a much deeper dive into what Silver should be priced at, Chris Marcus hosted a great video in last year's Silverfest II with a panel of a handful of longtime Silver experts. (Thanks Chris!) This video is rather long, but fun for the detailed oriented people like me. Thus I will summarize their conclusions of the proper value of Silver based on their several derivations: The lowest "range" was between $240 and $2,400. Yep, that is a broad range, but for of the 5 singularly target prices fell in that range. Those values were $300, $323, $1,958 and $2,000. The second of two ranges was declared to be $500 to $5,000. The one singularly target price that did not fall into either of these two ranges exceeded both of them by thousands of dollars per ounce!!! The value was $8,000.
For those that are new to this arena and are questioning what action to take regarding this info, there was one paramount question with a great answer near the end of the video. It was as follows: "How much (in assets) should I have in silver?" and the clever answer was "Whatever you do not want to lose!" Here is the start of the 50 second clip that declares this concept: Video: "How much is Silver actually worth?" - Arcadia Economics (46:40-47:30)
January 15, 2022: "Anniversary Approaching"
At the end of January of 2021, we started experiencing a "Silver Squeeze." As Silver approached and touched $30, something bizarre happened. As everyone was buying at record levels and supply was running short, all of a sudden the price DROPPED over 10% in the first 3 days of February! That is not the way it should work. What really took place almost 1 year ago?
The world has been keeping its eye on defaulting of Evergrande bank in China and the potential ramifications on a global economic failure, but let's take a look a little closer to home. It looks like Bank of America could have been behind the highly risky (illegal for banks?) massive slamming down of Silver last year. And it looks that they may have to "pay the piper" in a massive way in weeks to come. This situtation may bring about the $600 short term silver price that many are projecting. Here is some discourse about the situtation from Bix Weir: Video: "SILVER RED ALERT! BofA's Silver Analyst PANICS & Begs People to Short 800Moz of SILVER!! (First 11 minutes)
Could the piper get paid at the end of this month? Will Bank of America be the "fall guy bank" that releases Silver from the historic price suppression? Bix appears to be giving a long-term forecast that is mind-boggling as well in this video. HOLD ON TIGHT!
Banks have failed before, and there are signals that it may happen again soon, or use their leverage to coerce you into policies and conditions that get very scary. This video from a year ago is not very succinct, but the first 23 minutes does have a bit of valuable info in it if you want to collect some more valuable info on this topic: Video: "Take Your Money Out Of Your Bank" with Simon Dixon (first 23 minutes)
The "Economic Forecast" is looking very stormy. Time to batten down the hatches!
December 12, 2021: "It's About Time (According to the Data?)"
From the "What's it Worth to You? video below, we should all be convinced that the price of Silver should be 3 or 4 digits, rather than a paltry $22! So when will it get adjusted to a reasonable price? Time will tell!
But there is a "internet data mining genius" out there named Cliff High that is usually spot on in regards to predicting prices and time frame. He was extremely accurate with respect to the $60,000 price on Bitcoin this past spring before it was hammered down by 50%. He, along with several others that think the first major price target will be $600. He believes that we have entered the phase of a few weeks that will bring Silver to that $600 target. Here is the discussion: Video: "CLIF HIGH, BIX WEIR -THIS TIME IS VERI DIFFERENT" (try 48:58 to 57:30 and 1:10 to 1:21))
So according to the assessment from a genius, the time is upon us!
This is a fun "debate" (but not really a debate as they all agree that it is worth many times more than the current "price") with a handful of experts that have spent decades digging deep into the system and the numbers. It is nearly an hour long, but latching onto the info in that one hour could make you a fortune!!!
When it sinks in that Silver is a hidden treasure, then it might be time to be in synch with the Biblical Parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13:44-46, but in a financial realm rather than a spiritual realm.
October 24, 2021: The Diminish of Silver Supply from Mining Resources
Here is another quick video with the Economic Ninja and one of his cohorts.
Here is a quick summary: A decrease of housing in China will cause the need for construction metals, thus decreasing mining operations. Since Silver is a byproduct of other mining operations, many will decrease production or maybe even shut down. That will diminish the flow of Silver into the supply over the next few years.
So even if we do see a major increase of the price of Silver based on a pending revaluation of currency, the longer range projection on the price should be increasing, thus a fabulous long term hold.
September 4, 2021: Legend/Fresh Blood: Long Term Persective
Wow! It has been almost a year since I have posted on the video page. So here is something fresh...
Robert Kiyosaki is a legend in the financial world. His take on assets is to buy undervalued assets and hold long-term. Here are some of his comments on Silver:
Now the "New Kid on the Financial Block" is Economic Ninja, a successful YouTuber that is diversified in many economic arenas. Statements from him are a fresh take as he is not labeled as one of the "Silver Bugs" so his words might hold more weight. The following video is awesome regarding the long-range forecast for Silver:
This video is worth watching all the way through. So the Silver hold is not necessarily a "get rich quick" play (although it could happen almost overnight), but it is an incredible long-term play. So hold on, and hold on tight!!!
October 27, 2020: Economic Reset II.
The pending potential reset is not just being forecasted on economic and prophetic channels, it is being discussed (and exposed) on political channels as well. And, "YES," it apparently has ties to our 2020 CV-19 crisis.
There is a pending shift/reset in the Ecomomy. The existing economic structure/progress is definitely on the downhill cycle of existence. Many have been surprised that it has lasted as long as it has. Here is a quick video from a Billionaire on what we have experienced, where it is heading and how to prepare for it.
Although this site's focus is on Silver, the pending Silver explosion upward may coincide with flat out "Economic Disaster" and the colapse of the dollar. Here is a good video that itemizes essential needs in that case, of which precious metals is one of them:
Jim Willie, Gold-Eagle, has a PhD in statistics. This guy has the same Gold target as Steve Penny, but goes all the way to $400-700 for silver. His demeanor is not as smooth and pleasant as Steve Penny, so endure as much as you want. Penny used math to get his $15,000 and Willie has apparently heard from the inside track the same figure.
You've got to love this guy, Steve Penny. He is humble enough to declare himself to not be a genius, but wise enough to look at the data and develop a proper plan. His 'data-supported' 2026 target for silver is $300. This whole 35 minute video is worth your time!
This is a long video filled with lots of Technical Analysis. No need to memorize all the details, but the logic by this expert is sound to support the serious bull market coming. It was supposed to have a 'Part II.' When it surfaces, it will get posted within this area. So skim through this Part I so you are ready for Part II.
