April 2015 – Week 5 Edition

Gold rose back above $1200 on Monday, in response to the failure of Greece to meet its commitments to its Eurozone creditors, possibly precipitating a Greek exit (“Grexit”) from the euro currency zone.  This would likely result in the repudiation of some Greek euro-based bonds, throwing the currency markets into a potential state of chaos.  Gold rose from a one-month low of $1175 on Friday to $1205 on Monday.  The euro is falling sharply to the dollar, which means that gold is rising even faster in terms of the euro.

Highlights from my NRA Speech

The National Rifle Association (NRA) met in Nashville earlier this month (April 10-12). The official attendance was 78,865, with over 550 exhibitors.  As the largest advertiser in the NRA magazine and the exclusive precious metal & coin expert of NRA publications, I was proud to receive the NRA’s “golden jacket” for making “significant contributions to the NRA’s defense of the Second Amendment.” 

We were well represented with many staff members. At the closing banquet, I was invited to give a five minute talk.  That’s not much time, but I managed to tell a “Bishop’s story” and explain the origin and validity of the “In God We Trust” motto on U.S. coins.  Here’s the Bishop’s story:

“Before this conference, I visited the Catholic bishop of Beaumont and asked him what I can tell the NRA members about the meats they could eat during Lent.  ‘How about frogs,’ I asked. ‘They come from the water.’  The bishop said frogs were OK.  Then, I asked about alligator, including that delicious triple-tenderized alligator meat from our area.  He reluctantly approved alligator, too, since it comes out of the water.  Then I asked about water buffalo, and he laughingly said “no, Mike, you’re pushing the envelope too far there.”

As Meat Loaf said, “two out of three ain’t bad.” At the NRA convention, I told them, we sell two of the three metals of freedom: Gold (as a way to diversify your investment portfolio), Silver (as an alternative money in times of crisis) and Lead (for firearms, to protect your family and property).  “We sell the first two, and we leave it to other fine dealers here to sell the third metal.”  That got a big round of applause.

Then, I mentioned the history of “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins and how it has come under fire.  The national motto has withstood a long line of legal challenges.  I cited the case in 2011, brought by an atheist attorney, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was rejected. Also in 2011, the House of Representatives voted to reaffirm ‘In God We Trust’ as the official national motto. It did so after President Barack Obama mistakenly referred to “E Pluribus Unum” as the nation’s official motto.  

Atheists like to point out that the word “God” does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, even though the Deity appears five times in the Declaration of Independence, and freedom of religion is the first freedom mentioned in the Bill of Rights.  In addition, the word God appears in the preamble of eight state constitutions. In four states, the “Supreme Ruler of the Universe” is used instead. The words “Almighty God” appear in the preamble of 30 state constitutions. Some state constitutions have no preamble, but there is only one state constitution (Oregon’s) which has a preamble that does not have a divine reference of any kind – but the words “Almighty God” appear later in that constitution, in the state religion clauses.  

The Growing War against Cash (and Gold) in U.S. Banks

Gold and silver are alternative forms of cash, in addition to their numismatic and historic value. This role for gold and silver became more important recently when we saw reported that the U.S. Justice Department is ordering bank employees to consider calling the police if customers withdraw $5,000 dollars or more in cash. Of course, there are many legitimate reasons for drawing out this much cash – such as buying a used car for cash – but our credit card/check-based society is increasingly suspicious of big cash transactions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Leslie Caldwell gave a speech in which he urged banks to “alert law enforcement authorities about the problem” so that police can “seize the funds” or at least “initiate an investigation” over transactions of $5,000 or more.

In addition, it is reported that some customers of Chase – the largest U.S. bank, and a subsidiary of JP Morgan Chase – have received letters informing them that Chase will no longer allow them to store cash in their safety deposit boxes. In a customer letter dated April 1, 2015, one part of their new lease agreement says, “You agree not to store any cash or coins other than those found to have a collectible value.” This seems to say that bullion coins, even those which are legal tender, possibly cannot be stored in safety deposit boxes at Chase.

We encourage you to consider banks that are willing to allow you freedom in what you place in storage.

Metals Market Report Archive >