Posted on

Top CEOs Issue Warning to Prepare to a Recession

FindBullionPrices.com

Top CEO’s of major global companies including JP Morgan, FedEx and others are sounding alarm bells as a warning to investors and shareholders of the tsunami of financial woes ahead.

Shares of FedEx sunk more than 20% following an announcement to expect lower earnings combined with a bleak forecast of a softening of global shipping volume.

During a recent CNBC appearance, FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam warned that the global economy may be entering into a worldwide recession.

A similar message came this week from the World Bank discussing some of the risks of a global recession occurring in 2023 with suggestions for policy changes to assist Central Banks.

CEOs, economists and bankers continue focusing on infinitesimal changes to key interest rates and macro-level KPIs to determine the direction of the economy while many have already been facing economic hardship brought on by the pandemic lockdowns, job losses and the failed economic policies of the myriad of career politicians in Washington, D.C.

Many hardworking Americans already live paycheck to paycheck. And many are already struggling with with inflation and huge increases in the price of groceries and gas.

With more than 42% of Americans having less than $1,000 in savings and another 10% with no savings at all, more than half of all households are at serious risk of facing significant financial hardship in the event of a job loss.

Across many metropolitan areas have risen drastically in recent years and recent reports from the Fed show the level of total household debt has reached more than $16 trillion, with sharp increases in mortgage, auto loans, and credit card balances.

Prepare For Financial Hardship with Silver Bars

In 1929, the key interest rate from the Federal Reserve was lowered to 6% in a failed attempt to boost the economy.

While the recent decade is in some ways reflective of what occurred leading up to the Great Depression, today’s circumstances have even the illustrious leader of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, making starker suggestions that there’s potential for something worse than a recession coming, leading some media to suggest consumers prepare for very difficult economic times ahead.

Growing up during the Great Depression ingrained a generation with being frugal, the value of hard work, advancing through determination, and putting away savings in the form of hard money like gold and silver coins.
Roosevelts Executive Order 6102 that seized the gold from the economy was one of the efforts that helped recoup some of the debt brought on by the rampant spending and consumer debt that led to the Wall Street crash that began in September of 1929.

The themes of money, capitalism and corporate greed that caused the Joad’s tragedy and hardship in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, have analogous comparisons for many families that are already struggling in the aftermath of pandemic.

The rampant spending from long-term career politicians in Washington has been another contributing factors leading to more than 1 million people exiting the Democratic Party and registering to vote Republican this year as voters have lost faith in the long-term bureaucratic swamp in Washington.

Lessons taught by the generations that lived through the great depression are valuable today. Using precious metals as a alternative to a savings account at a bank has become a popular way for many people to have some extra financial security.

Having even a small stack of silver or gold stored at home can provide a financial cushion to soften the blow when unexpected expenses pop up.

Prior to the pandemic there were a variety of low premium and offers from various online bullion dealers to buy silver and spot price.

With supply chain issues continuing to keep premiums higher than they had been in the past, it is still possible to find deals to buy both gold and silver at low premiums.

Some of the best values are typically found in larger sized generic silver bars such as 100 oz silver bars, 10 oz silver bars and silver kilos for those looking to maximize lower premiums.

Other sizes of silver bars, such as those weighing 1 troy ounce or 5 ounce silver bars will have higher per ounce premiums because the cost to manufacturer bars is similar regardless of the size of the bar.

Posted on

Numerous Criminal Convictions Proves Precious Metals Price Manipulation

FindBullionPrices.com

As controversy and scandal continues to plague the LBMA and banks affiliated with the bullion trading cartel, the Eurasian Alliance is pushing for the creation of a new bullion trading system that offers a new pricing infrastructure to help facilitate emerging markets.

The most recent scandal at the LBMA includes the criminal conviction of former Board Member and JP Morgan Chase Managing Director Michael Nowak.

JP Morgan Chase is one of the largest private custodians of gold and other precious metals in the world for both private investors and many governments.

In managed vaults located in London, New York and Singapore, the bank reportedly holds gold valued in the tens of billions of dollars. (Bloomberg)

In 2020, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department, JP Morgan Chase entered into an agreement with the government that they operated two distinct schemes of fraud.

The first fraud scheme that JP Morgan Chase admitted to operating involved tens of thousands of documented futures trades for silver and gold contracts across the various markets that JP Morgan Chase participated in.

The second fraud scheme involved thousands of instances of unlawful trading in the markets for U.S. Treasury futures contracts and in the secondary (cash) market for U.S. Treasury notes and bonds.

JP Morgan Chase paid a record fine of close to one billion dollars to the SEC to settle the case. Criminal charges were brought separately against numerous executives and directors, including Nowak, which led to his resignation as an LBMA Board Member.

During the criminal trial, prosecutors proved that Nowak, along with a group of other senior executive within the precious metals trading desk routinely spoofed orders and manipulated the prices of commodities across global trading markets. (BullionStar)

Nowak helped to provide the bank with significant profits by spoofing precious metals trades along with a handful of other senior executives who have also been convicted, pled guilty or are still awaiting trial.

Several investigations into the Precious Metals Trading Desk that began during the previous decade failed to find any wrongdoing at the time leading to some speculation about corruption within the ranks of the SEC and other regulatory agencies responsible for oversight of trading practices.

Since the year 2000, JP Morgan Chase has paid more than $36 billion in fines for violating banking laws in the United States. (GoodJobsFirst)

In recent years, JP Morgan Chase has admitted to being a criminal enterprise which has bilked millions from investors and governments by manipulating the prices of both commodities and US Treasury Bonds.

A similar spoofing ring was also operating at Deutsche Bank from at least 2007 until 2015 which resulted in criminal convictions and prison sentences for several. (Justice.gov)

Executives from Bank of America / Merrill Lynch were recently convicted in a separate spoofing scheme that operated from at least 2008 until 2014.

Numerous other traders and executives from various investment banks have pled guilty to similar charges related to manipulating the prices of gold, silver and platinum since 2015.

While numerous key individuals have been brought to justice, the leaders of these organizations continue to be rewarded with gigantic bonuses for operating criminal enterprises that helped to manipulate the world economy into a recession.

These are just a few examples of how widespread the corruption that has become integrated into the corporate bureaucracy that helps to justify the creation of an alternative market for precious metals.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Finance from Russia forwarded a proposed new international standard for the precious metals market that would normalize the functioning of the industry.

Posted on

Beginning the Dollar Debasement in the mid-20th century

FindBullionPrices.com
Bag full of Junk Silver Quarters

After the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, the US economy continued a slow debasement that coincided with the introduction of fiat paper currency. After the gold confiscation in 1933 by Roosevelt, the amount of currency in circulation began to increase exponentially.

According to data from the St Louis Fed, the amount of USD circulating during the 1920s remained steady at around $4.5 billion. During the 1930s, the number of dollars in circulation began to steadily increase, before skyrocketing during World War II to over $27 billion.

Prior to 1965, most of the coins that circulated throughout the United States were minted from an alloy of .900 pure fine silver. Historically, this alloy is known as “coin silver” and it was regularly found in colonial America for use in utensils, serving ware and other household items. In 1837, the US Mint began to issue various denominations in a 90% silver alloy.

Today, it’s difficult to believe and even harder to quantify that billions of silver coins were minted on behalf of the Treasury and circulating throughout the economy prior to the debasement of the dollar during the 20th century.

Junk silver is the simple term given to circulated silver coins from this era that have little to no numismatic value to collectors. These coins maintain their intrinsic value due to their silver content.

Circulated 90% silver coins can be purchased at most local coin shops, pawn brokers and some antique stores. Investors looking for the lowest premiums on junk silver are stacking large quantities of circulated coins. It’s not junk at all and is very easy to identify and authenticate with some basic information.

Despite these coins being readily available from local suppliers, still the most popular option is to make regular purchases from the lowest priced online bullion dealers and having bags of coins shipped directly to your door or stash location.

Coinage Act of 1965

Debasement continued on June 3, 1965, when Lyndon Johnson sent a special message to Congress requesting immediate legislation to remove silver from dime, quarter coins and to reduce the silver content in half-dollar coins.

The Coinage Act of 1965 was introduced by Senator Absalom Robertson, a Democrat from Virginia who staunchly opposed Civil Rights. He was also the father of televangelist Pat Robertson.

The composition of the half-dollar coin was reduced to 40% and a new coin was designed around a structure core, encapsulated by a silver alloy cladding.

The core alloy at the center of the coin would be minted of an alloy containing 21% silver mixed with base metal. The surrounding face cladding of the coin would be minted with an alloy containing 80% silver for a smooth and durable finish that could better withstand wear and tear that occurs with circulation.

This legislation helped to keep the silver prices artificially low by eliminating the use of silver in circulating coinage and dumping additional silver onto the market. The era of this price manipulation continued until silver hit a low of $12.08 in May 1967. Within one year, the price of silver has rise to $21.67 an ounce.

The Coinage Act of 1965 transferred millions of tons of silver from the US economy into industry.

At the time, silver was being consumed in mass amount by technological advances in photographic film on both the consumer level and in medical and industrial imaging. As the industrial consumption of silver continued to grow, so did silver prices.

During this period, Kodak had become an important innovator of photographic films and other imaging technologies. These advancements led to the mass consumer adoption of cameras and photography, in addition to be used by the military and intelligence agencies.

Photographic and X-Ray films included silver halide grains and crystals sandwiched in an acetate film. The more time that silver halide crystals are exposed to light, a chemical reaction occurs that creates the dark shades and contrasting shadows that are made from the familiar black and white film.

Under the leadership of William Vaughn, Kodak invented and manufactured high-resolution, grain-dense photographic films for CIA that were used in imaging systems like those in the SR-71 Blackbird, U2 spy planes, and other aerial intelligence aircraft that were used during the Cold War. The use of film in reconnaissance activity until the advancement of digital satellite imaging.

Silver is also consumed by medical devices and button-sized and smaller batteries were invented for use in things like hearing aids and other common assistive medical devices.

Posted on

Moscow World Standard Driven by Corruption in the LBMA

FindBullionPrices.com

Gold reserves are a key component of central banking and are pivotal to the backing of and supporting a country’s currency, both for its domestic economy and foreign trade.


For decades, Russia has been increasing their gold reserves and central bank holdings.

The reported amounts of gold held in reserves have varied depending on the source.

The amount of gold actually held inside Fort Knox has been question asked by Congress many times. The answer is always the same. That’s classified.


Recent economic sanctions against Russia includes a ban from participating in the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA),  a global clearinghouse and trading association for large bullion transactions.


As early response to the economic war waged by the NATO allies, Russia began a program to buy gold from citizens in exchange for Rubles, effectively returning to a partial gold-standard.

The gold for Rubles program also helped to stabilize the value of the Russian Ruble in the international currency and exchange markets like FOREX.

The latest strategic move by Russia in the fight against the economic sanctions, Russia’s Finance Minister has announced that they will introduce a new “Moscow World Standard” as a new alternative to the LBMA.

According to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the Moscow World Standard is an attempt to stabilize and normalize the functioning of the precious metals industry.

Russia has positioned the new Moscow World Standard as an alternative to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) whose credibility in the eyes of the world leaders has been rocked in recent years due to a number of scandals involving price manipulation.

The most recent scandal involves the criminal conviction of Michael Nowak, a prominent LBMA Board member who was outsted from his role with the LBMA following his arrest in 2019.

Nowak was also a top executive at JP Morgan Chase.

In his leadership role as the Managing Director of the Precious Metals Trading Desk, a key position overseeing global trading operations which led to billions in profits to both JP Morgan Chase’s top and bottom lines.

Nowak was charged under the RICO Act. The government had enough hard evidence to support a case that Nowak was the kingpin in charge of a wide-spread criminal organization operating inside the JP Morgan Chase for almost a decade.

Numerous other executives from inside the JP Morgan Chase Precious Metals Group have also been convicted or have pled guilty for their roles and received reduced sentences in exchange for their testimony against the others.

Separate, but Related criminal investigations against other bullion trading banks and trading practices have led to guilty pleas and massive fines in recent years.

Ample evidence exists to support the Russian position that the LBMA and members of the organization have been involved in widespread fraud, price manipulation and exploitation at all levels. The reality is that this type of corruption can and does have long-term effects on the ebbs and flows of the economies in many smaller countries where precious metals are mined, but also some of the other elements such as Lithium, Cobalt and Magnesium which are considered essential and “critical elements” for current battery technology.

Many of the smaller BRICS countries already look to China and Russia for guidance, leadership and assistance on many financial policy decisions due to long-standing and established trading relationships and other international treaties that exclude many NATO countries. As many leaders from these countries have likely encountered difficulties when working within the confines of the system set forth by the LBMA Board of Directors.

Russia has been suggesting greater transparency to some degree for leaders of BRICS nations, many of whom have significant mining operations that are controlled through large private banks and companies affiliated with the LBMA.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/jp-morgan-gold-trading-boss-former-lbma-board-member-found-guilty-us-jury
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/lbma-board-member-jp-morgan-managing-director-charged-with-rigging-precious-metals/

https://www.sprottmoney.com/blog/The-Convicted-Criminals-of-JP-Morgan-Craig-Hemke-August-16-2022

Posted on

Zimbabwe to Issue Gold Coins in New Weight and Currency Denominations

FindBullionPrices.com

Earlier this year the government of Zimbabwe released a one troy ounce gold coin as a tool for the Central Bank to help keep inflation under control.

For many years the Zimbabwe economy has not only been the butt of many jokes, it has served as a very public example of how rampant and out of control inflation can destroy an economy and a fiat currency.

The earlier trial release in the issuance of gold coins to help with their fiat problems has been deemed such a success that they have announced the upcoming release of additional denominations.

The new Zimbabwe fractional gold coins will be minted on demand and will include tenth ounce, quarter ounce and half an ounce denominations. The coins will be available for buy beginning in November.

Posted on

JP Morgan Chase Precious Metals Traders in Decade Long Price Manipulation Scheme

FindBullionPrices.com

A multi-year investigation by the Justice Department has resulted in the convictions of two key leaders from the Precious Metals Trading Desk at JP Morgan Chase.

The two defendants, Michael Nowak and Gregg Smith were convicted by jury of wire fraud, attempted price manipulation, commodities fraud, and price spoofing involving a scheme that spanned for more than ten years and involved.

The crimes occurred during a span from at least 2008 until at least 2016. The convicted precious metals traders face more than 20 years in prison.

Several other traders involved in the scheme had previously plead guilty.

The guilty pleas and these most recent convictions provide proof to the long held belief that major Wall Street banks have been systematically manipulating the futures prices for profit.

JP Morgan Chase is also a major trustee and depository for major exchanges such as COMEX and others.

Evidence was presented during that trial that Smith placed an average of 20 spoofed orders a day over a 3 year period which accounted for 38,000 trades.

While some of the trades occurred prior to changes in the law in 2010, the Executives, Directors, Managers and Traders from the precious metals desk at JP Morgan Chase were directed employees to engage in illegal trading and price manipulation.

It’s difficult to determine the full extent of the scale of fraud based on the evidence that is publicly available, but it is reasonable to speculate that the overall value of the price manipulation fraud cost investors billions of dollars.

Details provided by the DOJ show that the convicted JP Morgan employees were well compensated for their crimes.

  • Defendant Smith earned $9,890,044 in total (salary plus bonus) compensation;
  • Defendant Nowak earned $23,700,074;
  • Defendant Ruffo earned $10,425,064;
  • Defendant Jordan earned $1,125,016 (2008–2009 only);
  • Donald Turnbull earned $12,727,350;
  • Stuart Piller earned $13,289,936;
  • Michel Simonian earned $4,515,111 (2008–2014 only);
  • John Edmonds earned $1,996,064 in total; and
  • Christian Trunz earned $2,720,049.

The systemic and widespread fraud at the JP Morgan Trading Desk is just one example of the corruption that continues to plague the finance industry which has likely been contributor to the creation of the most recent recession, bear market and related financial uncertainty in global financial markets.

The convictions and guilty please so far have shown that skirting the law has been part of the day-to-day business operations embedded within the workflow of the organization without any checks and balances.

According to public records, news articles and other information, JP Morgan Chase, under the leadership of Dimon has a long history of paying criminal penalties that have resulted from large scale crimes and financial fraud.

While Dimon himself has not been caught up directly in any of the recent criminal investigations, his compensation is tied directly to the performance of the company and he personally profited millions of dollars in bonuses during those years.

Investigations involving major Wall Street and Global Banks precious metals traders have resulted in criminal admissions and financial penalties for engaging in similar schemes.

The price manipulation schemes occurred in the paper trading markets which drives the physical prices of precious metals.

Posted on

Bitcoin Investors Buy Silver Bars as Fed Develops CBDC Blockchain Competitor

FindBullionPrices.com
10 oz silver bullion bars

The Federal Reserve is developing its own digital currency token, or CBDC. Bitcoin investors are worried that the government intends to track all digital transactions and are using their profits to buy 10 oz silver bars with bitcoin.

There are growing concerns that blockchain and new digital currency technology are not mature enough to handle issues around privacy, tracking and reliability. The technology is advancing at such as a rapid pace as the world shifts to a multi-polar gold-backed trading system.

Many experts, both critics and supporters are quick to point out that there are many huge risks that will be coming as widespread integration of the blockchain and related technologies continues this year in the economy.

It seems apparent that many are starting to believe that the current government intends to support the Fed in their push to usher in the FedNow platform. There are many risks to implementing a digital token to compliment the dollar.

In addition to being a globally accepted reserve currency, eleven countries have adopted the US dollar as legal currency either solely, or in conjunction with local currency.

Blockchain implementations also place heavy demands on an electricity grid that has shown in recent years to vulnerable to the weather, cyberattacks and other external threats.

According to a report from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the digital currency being developed in secret by the Fed will change the way Americans use money. Even big banks have concerns that the government’s blockchain implementation will strip away rights of millions of Americans.

Americans continue to be anxious, frustrated and angry from the complacency placed on the failing economy.

While it is currently difficult for the government to associate specific bitcoin transactions to individuals, the IRS and other federal agencies have been seizing cryptocurrencies and digital tokens at alarming rates.

Although it’s been suggested that crypto offers anonymity, there are growing reports that the IRS and other federal agencies have been employing special forensic researchers and hackers to find new ways track each purchase you make.

During the 12-month period from October 2020 to September 2021, IRS agents seized from than $3.5 billion worth of bitcoin from Americans in cases unrelated to taxes!

The pending blockchain implementations by the Federal Reserve is likely to bring about significant new regulations will have a major impact across the economy this year.

While the IRS claims that all of these funds were from criminal enterprises. Many legal experts have raised concerns that civil forfeiture laws could be used as a regulatory enforcement tool to continue the unlawfully seizure of crypto in similar ways gold was seized by the government in 1933.

Criminal charges are pending for some that have been accused of money laundering, the IRS is reportedly hiring at its fastest pace in history to allow politicians continue to fleece the American people.

Pending regulations in Congress continue to put many normal people at risk of being investigated by the IRS and other federal agencies.

New data shows that in January 2022 inflation may have been as high as 7.3%. Well above the previously reported number.

Wall Street analyst are mixed on their predictions for the upcoming interest rate hikes.

Based on what we’ve seen in recent months, including the highest rates of inflation in recent history, rising interest rates and uncertainty in the mid-term elections, our economic future is fraught with risks that investors need to act on before it’s too late.

Stock & crypto investors are transferring profits at alarming rates from their into other assets like precious metals. Precious metals is one of the most effective ways of balancing risk in your portfolio.

Crypto token are not proven as stable and reliable investments, nor are they a proven store of wealth.

Major Wall Street Banks share many of the concerns that giving the Federal Reserve real-time access to your purchase data is just part of a slippery slope that will strip away the right to privacy and the individual security of all Americans.

There is a growing amount of evidence that suggests much of the hype pushed by the mainstream media over the last few years has been largely propaganda.

A growing number of Americans believe many of the intention behind many of the misinformation campaigns in recent years has been to line the pockets of the political elite. This is an ongoing concern for millions of people as we approach the mid-term elections.

Many investors are taking their profits as crypto prices continue to drop.

Any pending digital currency implementation is likely to have a major impact on our money and invade privacy at the same time.

One of the most effective and simple ways to store crypto profits is to buy silver bars as a store of value.

Silver, historically is one of the most trusted and reliable stores of value for thousands of years.

Even today’s central and private banks use precious metals as a mechanism for storing wealth.

Many trusted and reputable online bullion dealers have made it easy to buy 10 oz bars with bitcoin as a payment method. Several dealers integrate Bitpay wallet and other wallet to payment gateways and exchanges to provide some assurance that transactions will occur with discretion and privacy.

FindBullionPrices.com compares the prices of silver bars to make it easy and simple for crypto and digital token investors to buy ten ounce silver bars with bitcoin.

Posted on

Central Banks Continue to Buy Gold throughout 2021

FindBullionPrices.com
Central Banks Continue to Buy Gold

Last year was a banner year for Central Banks wanting to buy gold bars and silver.

Recent reports from the Reserve Bank of India and other countries have shown that gold and silver continue to be a safe haven store of wealth in times of rising inflation.

The central bank’s gold reserves jumped from 668.25 tons to 743.84 tons in September 2021. That’s the largest purchase that has been reported by the Indian central bank since 2009. This increases the bank’s gold portfolio by more than 11% compared to a RBI report from September 2020.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also purchased 118 tons of silver in 2020 and 2021.

Economists believe that RBI is solidifying its portfolio by increasing its gold and silver inventory during a time when inflation is affecting all major fiat currencies worldwide. Buying gold has been a trend in central banks worldwide in recent years as economies continue to recover from shutdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The central banks of Thailand, Brazil, Singapore and Russia also reported large gold purchases in 2021.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore registered 26 tons of gold was bought by their central bank between May and June.

With economic outlooks from the Federal Reserve bleak, showing that inflation has continued to burden the US Economy, regulators are anticipating multiple interest rate increases from the Fed in the coming months as an attempt to reign in the rapidly increasing prices of basic necessities.

Recent economic reports released from the US Government show that consumer spending at levels needed to sustain the economic recovery.

However, with rampant inflation driving prices of everyday items to higher prices, the day to day frustration most American’s feel at the grocery store and gas pump has pushed the Biden administration approval ratings to new lows. Many central banks are also preparing for the future.

Many countries are looking towards cryptocurrencies as a way to help facilitate trade, with China pushing other countries including the United States to adapt as a way to prevent future supply chain disruptions.

Posted on

Federal Open Market Committee 2023 Agenda

FindBullionPrices.com

The Federal Open Market Committee is the part of the Federal Reserve that is responsible for managing open market operations.

The FOMC uses the three primary tools to influence the direction of the economy.

The Federal Reserve influences the demand for, and supply of, balances that depository institutions hold at Federal Reserve Banks.

This gives them control of the federal funds rate. The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which depository institutions (banks) lend balances at the Federal Reserve to other depository institutions (banks) overnight.

Changes in the federal funds rate trigger a chain of events that affect many other market factors. Those factors include short-term interest rates, foreign exchange rates, long-term interest rates, the amount of money and credit, and, ultimately, a range of economic variables, including employment, output, and prices of goods and services.

The FOMC holds eight regularly scheduled meetings per year.

At these meetings, the Committee reviews economic and financial conditions, determines the appropriate stance of monetary policy, and assesses the risks to its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth.

2023 FOMC Scheduled Meetings

These are the scheduled meeting dates for the FOMC in 2023.

  • January 31-February 1
  • March 21-22*
  • May 2-3
  • June 13-14*
  • July 25-26
  • September 19-20*
  • October 31-November 1
  • December 12-13*


* Meeting associated with a Summary of Economic Projections.

Posted on

Is it legal to own Precious Metals?

FindBullionPrices.com

For over 40 years, from 1933 until 1974, the US government made it illegal for citizens to own gold.

Thanks to President Gerald Ford, it is legal for everyone to own gold, silver and other precious metals since 1974.

History of Precious Metals Prohibition

In the early 20th century paper currency was far less common than today. Paper bills were often only available in large denominations commercial and interbank transactions. Much of the currency in circulation was coinage minted of silver and gold alloys.

Economies were still based on the gold-standard. The coins in circulation were minted of 21k gold, which is a mixture of 90% gold and 10% copper for strength and wear resistance during everyday circulation.

Gold coins before 1933 were minted in denominations that include the $2.50 (quarter eagle), $5.00 (half eagle), $10 (eagle) and $20 (double eagle).

In 1921, following the end of the first World War, the Morgan Silver Dollar was replaced with the Peace Silver Dollar. Both coins were composed of an alloy containing a mix of 90% silver and 10% copper. The amount of pure silver in each $1 USD coin being 0.7734 troy ounces.

Also during that time smaller denominations of coins, including the dime, quarter and half-dollar, we also minted from the same silver and copper mixture. The US Mint continued to issue 90% silver coins through 1964.

When clad coins began to circulate in 1965, some citizens remembered the gold seizure that happened thirty-two years early.

The roaring 20’s led to the Great Depression. Wall Street Banks, along with regional banks under purview of the young Federal Reserve system were happy to give out margin loans, unsecured credit in fiat currency.

During the economic hardship many people lost faith in the banking system. Instead of depositing cash into banks, many people turned to hoarding cash at home in the form of gold and silver coins.

During the Great Depression, Roosevelt used an obscure and obsolete piece of legislation meant to prevent the German government to profit from patents in the United States during the World War I as justification for his numerous Executive Orders to confiscate gold coins from the economy.

On April 5, 1933, after enduring several years of the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102.

With the swipe of his pen, Roosevelt made it a crime for any US citizen to own gold coins, gold bullion or even gold certificates, which were a form of gold-backed fiat currency that was exchangeable for gold. In exchange, the government offered citizens $20.67 in fiat for each ounce of gold that was surrendered.

All gold was ordered to be surrendered to the government. Within the first thirty days the Treasury was able to collect roughly one third of the $1,400,000,000 in gold that was in circulation.

Any person who failed to comply with the presidential order faced imprisonment and fines of up to $10,000. Many private citizens and investors were put on a list, targeted, arrested, prosecuted, fined, imprisoned and had their gold seized.

The order did exempt some items. Such as jewelry, numismatic collectibles, items used by industry, some professions and artists.

In defiance to the order, people drilled holes or attached hasps to the coins to convert coins into pendants to hang on a chain to meet the minimum standard of jewelry.

The seizures, arrests and prosecutions of those who did not surrender their gold continued for most of 1933. Roosevelt signed additional Executive Orders throughout the year.

One of which gave the Justice Department the authority to build a list of citizens suspected to be ‘gold hoarders’. Essentially acting as a government backed gestapo.

During the summer of 1933, agents from the Justice Department visited the homes of “known hoarders of gold” to confiscate more than $38,901,009 worth of gold.

The Emergency Banking Act of 1933 was supposed to help restore faith in the banking system and the economy after the Federal Reserve led the country into the Great Depression.

The prohibition on private ownership of gold continued for 41 years.

Nixon Shock

During the early 1970s, Nixon was facing rising unemployment, high inflation, the looming oil crisis and political foes. In August of 1971, the President called together top economic advisors for a secret meeting at Camp David.

Notable participants in the meeting included Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns and Treasury Secretary John Connally. Also present, then Undersecretary for International Monetary Affairs and future Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Following this meeting Richard Nixon authorized then Treasury Secretary John Connally to break the Bretton Woods Agreement that had defined the rules of international trade amongst many countries following World War II.

Without consulting any international leaders, the actions included the immediate suspension of the “gold standard”.

Nixon directed the Treasury Secretary to abolish the convertibility of dollars into gold through the London Gold Pool. This also removed the fixed price of gold from $35 an ounce to a market based system.

By 1973, the US gold standard that was established by Bretton Woods had been replaced. The new system based on free floating exchange of fiat currencies.

Following the resignation of Nixon, one of the first laws signed by President Ford included a bill which reversed Roosevelt’s Executive Orders.

The bill authorized expansion of the World Bank and included provisions that legalized citizens full authority to purchase, hold, sell, or otherwise deal with gold in the United States or abroad. It has been legal for anyone to own, hoard, buy and sell gold in the United States since December 1, 1974.

The gold bull run that followed culminated in a price peak of $850 USD per ounce in January 1980.

Sovereign Gold Bullion Market

The Gold Krugerrand was the first gold bullion coins to be sold to investors when it debuted in 1967.

At the time, apartheid sanctions against South Africa made it difficult to invest in Gold Krugerrands. The top gold coins of the day included the Gold 100 Corona from Austria and the Mexican 50 Pesos Gold Coin. These vintage gold coins have maintained their popularity with investors.

In 1979, the Royal Canadian Mint introduced the first mintage of the Maple Leaf 1 oz Gold Coin.

The basic design of the Canadian Maple Leaf 1 oz Gold Coin has remained largely unchanged since its creation.

The US Mint made several failed attempts during the early 1980s to woo precious metals investors. One notable attempt is the American Arts Commemorative Series Medallions.

There are ten medallions that are part of the American Arts Commemorative Series that were minted from 1980 through 1984.

The larger medallions are minted 1 troy ounce of pure gold.  While the smaller medallions contain 1/2 troy ounce of pure gold. At the time of release, the medallions were poorly received by collectors, the public and investors.

These medallions were struck from an alloy containing .900 fine gold. Today, these medallions are popular with gold stackers and investors and can are often on sale in the secondary market very close to spot price.

While the series was a commercial failure, it paved the way for Congress to create and establish the guidelines for the American Eagle series of coins from the US Mint.

Gold American Eagle

The American Eagle series premiered in 1986. It continues to be one of the most popular precious metal investment vehicles in the world.

It has been more than 52 years since the Nixon Shock moved off the United States off the gold standard.

Private ownership of gold, silver and other precious metals remains legal throughout the United States today.

Demand from investors continues to grow as more people continue to lose faith in the banking system, traditional investments like stocks and bonds as well as the federal government’s ability to manage and regulate effectively given the massive amount of corruption plaguing Washington.

As of 2023, more than 47 million ounces of gold have been used in minting of four denominations of American Gold Eagle coins. Investor demand for American Gold Eagle coins remains strong after 37 years.