Saving In Gold

Since I'm still heavily into the stock market, I am more than pleased with those investments this week. Of course I realize they will tumble when the next tarriff is announced or whatever, but the dividends are reliable.
 
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Don Alaska said:
I think the pull back was expected by those who know. When things rise quickly there is always profit taking.
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This was still an extreme and rapid move. Of course for the most part it was in the paper market, which drags the physical around.

Retail physical silver is a rough road right now. It caters to the lower end of the economic spectrum. Now many of them need to sell or could use some of the profits from the recent run up, but buybacks had already dried up for them at high prices. Once it started dropping they couldn't get out. Many of the local bullion brokers shut their doors to silver.

The coin shops are a bit like an umbrella that only opens on sunny days.
 
Jacob Petersheim said:
I hesitate to link more video here, but the first minute and a half here gives enough summary to be of use:

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The financial system isn't really what we think it is, and more changes are nearly upon us.
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It depends on who "We" is... Because I've been saying that's what was happening ever since Internet Banking became mandatory whether we like it or not. Even if you never had a computer, all of your life histories, including your financials, criminal records (or the lack there of), medical records, driving records, everywhere you have ever lived, etc., it's all online. And you can't get access to over 90% of it without a fight.

For example, I grew in a clearing in a cornfield in rural northern Illinoizz "Village". If I went up to our "Crows Nest" that my Dad built into the roof when he remodeled the house in the mid 1960s, you could see for miles from up there. No matter what direction you looked, all you could see was cornfields. It was a tiny town of 600 people and thousands of farm animals, with no street lights, no traffic signals, no banks, no police and a small volunteer fire department. To say I knew nothing beyond was what was taught in school about the world would be an understatement. And Boredom was free.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford, a former NPS Ranger, campaigned in Yellowstone. I worked at the Old Faithful Inn at the time. I was 20 years old and it was only the second time in my life that I had been west of the Mississhippi. So when it was announced to the park employees that the Secret Service was coming and that all employees except NPS people who had already been vetted, would be subject to a "thorough Presidential Security Screening" because the POTUS was going to be visiting the park.

I had never done anything, so I passed. But when they got their results the Secret Service Agent that was talking to me says something like "This is quite a criminal record you have." I said "I don't have a criminal record." He laughed and said "Yes, you do. Did you really kick the Principle of your grade school in the b***s when you were in the 5th grade?" I said "Yes, Sir. He was trying to take my guitar." He just laughed and said I was done.

Two years later President Jimmy Carter visited the Grand Tetons, and I was working Jackson Lake Lodge and had to do Presidential Security Screening number two. I passed that one too. My point is, that was in the late 1970s, 50 some odd years ago, and they knew everything about me. There was no Internet back then either. So now they wouldn't have to wait 20 minutes for the search results.

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Axel Slingerland said:
My point is, that was in the late 1970s, 50 some odd years ago, and they knew everything about me.
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Yeah, I had a similar experience with the US Navy, which wanted to recruit me into their nuclear program. They had my grades, SAT and ACT scores, and Summer and school year employment background. Part of their effort was a tour of a nuclear powerplant, and they cleared me for that in minutes.

They ever kept after e in college, repeatedly calling me in for interviews and recruitment pitches. I was bouncing around between cheapo housing of various kinds. They always sent me mailings and even had my phone numbers for years.
 
Did you enlist? I took an AFEES test in high school, and scored 99 on it. The Marines hammered me like they did you. But one of my brothers was a Marine Corps Drill Sergeant (and such a lovely fellow) that I said there was absolutely no way I would ever join the Marines. I am a firm believer in "US Marine Corps. The first ones in, the last ones carried out." But they know I had an interest in Electronics, and told me about all the training I would get. I still said no.

I chose the Army, and they told me the same thing. You know what I learned about electronics while I was in the Army? You connect the black wire with the black wire, the red wire to the red wire... Which is hardly electronics. Then I did a little research on my MOS. It was 92Y. When my Dad heard that he laughed and said I had been tricked by the Recruiter. 92Y was the same job he had in the Army. Unit Supply Specialist. I was a Supply Sergeant. So much for being an Electronics Specialist.

However, years later I worked with a guy who did join the Marines and was actually trained as an Electronics Specialist. He was the Head Technician at a computer company in San Jose, California. (AKA Silicon Valley...)
 
I resisted, despite a lot of temptations in the forms of "guarantees" of all sort of things from "forgivable" college tuition money to advanced degree funding and fast-tracking of rank, etc. etc.

Not that funding for my education wasn't attractive, I never had money nor did my family. But I didn't want to be more "meat for the machine" and in any case I couldn't stomach any of the "being a team player" philosophy of suffering fools gladly.

Of course I then found myself in a career that was mostly within Civil Service. 35 years of biting my tongue. :ROFLMAO:
 
The best analysis of causes for the crash in precious metals and similar assets yesterday was Trump's announcement of his pick for next Fed Chair.
 
According to what I am seeing, it was a manipulation of the market so banks could cover their contracts. An 8-Sigma move is what it is being referred to. It may move into the stock market now. The banks tried to create a panic so people would sell and lower the price so the big guys could fill their coffers before it goes back up again. We'll see what happens now
 
Jacob Petersheim said:
Of course I then found myself in a career that was mostly within Civil Service. 35 years of biting my tongue. :ROFLMAO:
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My uncle was a Postman. One of my cousins who was trying to get everyone in the family to go to college, a noble effort to be sure, was trying to convince him, and asked him "What is so great about being a Postman?" He just smiled and said "Special Deliveries." :ROFLMAO:
 
It looks like they are going to put in a new person to replace Jerome Powell. President Trump has called him a person “from central casting”, leaving people wondering just what he is alluding to.
One idea is that they have to crash the market to build a new one that is gold and silver backed, but so far I think that no one actually knows whether that is going to happen or not.
 
As I posted, it appears the recent collapse in silver and gold was deliberate to allow the banks to get out from under some of their obligations without going kaput. Trump mentioned early in his term that he would like to go back to a commodity-based Dollar to save it, but I think he now realizes how difficult that would be. I think he is looking a crypto to serve the same purpose, but that is just another fiat currency rather than a commodity.
 
I'm not sure.

Something weird happened in Asian markets a few days before and the suggestion is that this triggered a cascade of stop-loss sells. Asian markets were closed when New York went nuts, so when they open "Monday" (Sunday night for us) they'll have their first opportunity to react in turn. This would mean another drop, perhaps even a large one.

It seems like there are many different levers in many different hands with many different goals.

In this case it seems to have been a liquidity problem. People found themselves unable to sell and get cash.
 
Despite the size of the "crash" in metals, it only represents 7 days of price retrenchment. It's hard to understand why some people have been overreacting to it.

But they ought to be more concerned about a further deep fall. That would likely pinch far more small holders of precious metals.

When you buy, there's a markup. When you sell back, there's a discount. This is "the spread" and you want enough appreciation to cover that plus inflation in order to come out even.
 
I'm not sure how many people noted the announcement of Project Vault a week ago.


I think that guy is off-base on a few points, but he gives a brief general overview.

We do know that silver refiners are way backed up processing scrap and the other forms of "collectible" silver that retail dealers send them after buying it off the public. There is some solid evidence they are tied up processing mining concentrates under contract, which could be why they can't be bothered right now with the retail stuff. I hve to wonder whether those contracts are creating product for Project Vault reserve holdings.

The basic idea is something like the Strategic Oil Reserve but for metals and rare-earth minerals used in industry.
 
I listened to an interview with an Irish guy who went from finance into precious metals after 9/11 happened. Today he owns a retail metals online dealership and vault service.

The average person might be surprised to find out how important and significant the US Dollar is (and remains) around the world. US taxpayers really do carry much of the planet on our backs ever since WW II (if not before).

This guy expects the Dollar to fall in buying power to 1/20,000of a troy ounce of gold (it is presently at about 1/5,100 right now). Because of this he thinks a common unit of gold will soon become sizes measured in grams rather than ounces!

A common sub-fractional gold coin today is the Mexico Dos Peso "restrike" (a new coin minted with an old 1945 date). These 90% gold coins contain a little bit more than 1.5 grams of pure gold, or slightly over 1/21 troy ounces. This is a tiny little coin, much smaller than our dime. With dealer markup ("premium") these are selling for around $275.

The smallest US Mint bullion gold today is the 1/10 troy ounce gold Eagle.
 
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