It’s a real Picasso! Or it’s a real something or other, if you go to yard sales, and we all seem unable to resist them. In extremely rare occasions, (if you watch Antiques Roadshow), someone will pay a couple of bucks for something which turns out to be a real bargain. I believe that many of these TV appraisals are too high, because they always seem come up with the phrase, “Price at retail,” meaning less than half, since most retail establishments do what is known as “Keystone,” meaning double their cost. Of all the yard sales I have been to over the years, surely many hundreds, I have never seen a gold or silver coin for sale, other than what the owner considers it to be ‘rare,’ and that is never the case. “Rare” coins, unless they are professionally graded, are like used cars: PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service), is the best grader of rare coins, but still, even if their quality is known, their value is hit and miss. Keep away from ‘rare’ coins. Always get the most gold and silver at the lowest price over ‘spot,’ and the most popular, since you may want to sell in the future or leave to your kids.
But to get to another coin, which I have previously written about, but due to its current price, I cannot resist doing it again. It is the “Bit-Coin,” and last week they were over $18,000 each, or about the price of ten Gold Eagles, or 620 Silver Eagles, both of which are self-backed and made of precious metals. The Bit-Coin, was originally exactly what its name implies, and that is a ‘bit of a coin.’ I think it was a joke initially, but the Bit-Coin has become a fool’s paradise. Bit-Coins are manufactured at several locations, as I mentioned in previous columns, so they are not ‘rare.’ What gives them an $18,000 price tag? I have no idea. “The common curse of mankind. Folly and ignorance.” – Shakespeare. You can buy anything with gold or silver coins, but buy anything with a Bit-Coin? I doubt it. Who would trade a used $18,000 Mercedes, or something of real, tangible, appraisable, In-demand, useful object, for a coin that has no intrinsic value, other than as a current fad?
The English proverb states: “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Or Shakespeare’s, “What fools we mortals be.” Maybe disciples of Bit-Coins say that they are a way to eliminate government interference or taxes. Really? Several recent articles in the Journal, (Wall Street), say that government is clamping down on Bit-Coins, and they are no longer government avoidance. You can avoid government and taxes with gold and silver, antiques, and just about anything for that matter, and have real value at the same time. I then ask you, of what value is a non-precious metal coin, backed by nothing, including itself, which carries no price indicative of its cost to produce or value? It’s not immune from government interference, and naturally, you have to produce your Social Security number to purchase one, or a fraction of one. Where does one go to buy or sell a Bit-Coin? Gold and silver coins and bars can be bought and sold in thousands of places in all nations on Earth, and can be used to purchase things in all nations on Earth. It’s free market competition, which is why we do so well. There are, currently, over 1,400 other similar types of ‘Bit-Coins’ around, with various names, none made of precious metals, and I suspect fools have ‘invested’ in them also.
Throughout my 43 years of dealing in precious metals, I used to say that “You can always buy a gallon of gas with three silver dimes,” but now that silver has gone so high, (dollar gone down in purchasing power), you can now buy a gallon of gas for less than two silver dimes, since a single silver dime now, is priced at $1.80, or 18 times its face value. Not bad huh? If you, in hindsight, wish you had taken my advice a couple of years ago, and saved in gold and silver, believe me, it will never be too late. Why? Because no government in history, from Roman times till Biden, has ever been able to spend less than it takes in in taxes, so governments have always printed money to pay expenses and keep voters happy. In other words, with no exceptions, it has ALWAYS been wise to save surplus assets in gold and silver. All things ‘go up’ when government prints money, and this is known as ‘inflation.’ Inflation, in all nations throughout history, has destroyed all civilizations. It is now doing so in America, and will continue to do so, till the paper dollar goes to where all other paper monies everywhere have gone, and that is to ZERO. Another Russian proverb: “Don’t try to teach a fool; they’ll try to cure the dead.” Don’t wait till a silver dime will buy two gallons of gas. We’re here at your service, with a 1% profit, including delivery. That’s why we don’t advertise or have employees. You’ll be talking to David, Melissa, or Morgen, not an office manager or secretary. We do it all by ourselves. Smart huh?
-Don Stott
-don@coloradogold.com