I don’t mean a geyser in Yellowstone, by the expression “Old Faithful.“ That’s a common term used to describe something which is loved or liked, always seems to be reliable, loving, or ‘faithful.’ It can be a well-loved mate, car, home, church, children, restaurant, or even a pair of slacks, shoes, or other clothing. A great description.
Since childhood, we all have been using paper dollars and U.S. coins to buy and sell things, and the idea of a euro or pound, when we travel, seems really strange, doesn’t it? (I’ve never traveled in the Orient). We love the U.S. presidents’ pictures on the dollars we hold, sell with, buy with, and use constantly. The U.S. dollar is truly ‘old faithful’ to all of us, and that is totally understandable. When someone like myself says, ‘don’t save in dollars,’ the likely response is, ‘What else is there in which to save? Also understandable, because if you’re going to save for a rainy day, what else is there with which to save? Can’t go to a bank and fill out a form in apples, real estate, or gold and silver, can you? Of course not. ‘It has to be in dollars,’ is the opinion and actions of 90% of Americans. If you’re going on a cruise or visit to a foreign nation, you must use euros or pounds. The dollar, to a European or Brit, is strange. Our dollars have our presidents’ pictures on them, theirs are in different currencies, and look funny to an American. But they love their money, just like we like ours. Totally understandable.
In historic Inflations, a commonly used example is Germany after WW I. The reichsmark was their ‘old faithful.’ As the inflation worsened, they demanded more reichsmarks, because that was the currency of their realm. They had used it for as long as most could remember, and all merchandise, foods, clothing, fuel, and admissions were in reichsmarks, just like ours are in dollars. As prices went up, they demanded more reichsmarks so they could buy things. What was happening, as we now know, was their money was going down the tubes, because of massive printing with no backing. Everything was still priced in reichsmarks, but the prices kept going up. Everyone needed more money to buy food and necessary things. Finally, it took a wheelbarrow of reichsmarks to buy a loaf of bread. They’d take printed money and add several zeros to them with a rubber stamp.
Is the previous paragraph a logical explanation? If so, let’s examine America and the ‘old faithful’ dollar. Have our dollars always been used in everyone’s memory? Are prices going up in dollars ever since we were born? Literally? I’m 86, and as far as I can remember, everything I bought in any field, was priced in dollars, and gradually went up in price. As an example, I went to a private school in D.C., and had to take a bus and streetcar to school and back home each day. I bought a book of 40 ‘school tickets’ for $1.20, which meant that I was going to and from school for six cents. My grandad worked at the Government Printing Office in D.C., operating a linotype machine. When he got home on Friday afternoon, (my grandparents lived next door to me), he gave me his streetcar pass, which he had bought for a dollar. This allowed unlimited travel on the D.C. transit system for a week, and me too for the remainder of the weekend. The regular fare was ten cents and three tokens for a quarter. What does it cost to ride in D.C. now? From $2.00 to $3.85 in off peak times, and a lot more during ‘rush hours.’ A tin of Bayer aspirin was twelve cents in my Dad’s drug store. Cokes were a nickel, phone booth calls were a nickel, and when I went to New York, the fare on the Staten Island Ferry was a nickel, as was the subway fare.
As I grew up, everything gradually went up in dollar prices. I didn’t think, ‘the dollar is failing because they can’t balance the budget and are paying their bills with paper money which is backed by nothing.’ I thought, just like everyone today thinks, and the Germans thought also, ‘prices are going up.’ My Dad bought a new Plymouth for $650 in 1940, and a new Ford in 1949 for $1900. World War II was fought with unbacked paper money, and everything doubled in price during those 3 ½ years. No one examined the reason, cause, or what to do about it. There was nothing you could do about it! Prices simply went up. We needed dollars to buy things, and there was no choice. There is no choice now in 2020 either. We have to have dollars when we go to the grocery store, fill our gas tank, pay our taxes, or do anything, for all practical purposes. We need dollars, just like the Germans needed reichsmarks.
I have never had a savings account. Until I started Colorado Gold, I spent dollars as fast as I got or earned them. I’ve had a lot of cars, done a lot of things, and been to a lot of places. Until you are middle age, you never think about the future. Live and enjoy! That’s what I did. I still do OK, but I SAVE IN GOLD AND SILVER, WHICH, AS PRICES GO UP, THEIR PRICES GO UP ALSO! I have saved in gold and silver since November 1977, when I started in this business, and I am really glad I did. Need dollars, as we all do? Sell a coin or two. It’s easy to do. The coins you sell, will remarkably bring more dollars than you paid for them, if you have had them for maybe a year, but the time gets shorter all the time. Just like taking dollars out of a savings account, only the dollars you take out of a savings account, will buy a lot less than when you put them in. This situation can not change, because the U.S. government under Trump, or under any other president or congress, will always be failing to balance the budget and the printing press will always be resorted to, as there is no other choice. You have the choice, they don’t. It’s gotten so far out of kilter, that reform is totally impossible. Gold, for about 150 years of American history, was $20.67 per ounce. There was no inflation, and unbacked printing press dollars were not used. Dollars were backed by, and convertible into, physical silver and gold. I still have a little packet of silver grains sent to me by the Treasury Department, when I send them a dollar silver certificate many years ago. Silver was $1.25 an ounce for many decades, and the dimes, quarters and halves, were 90% silver. Need to save? Let me repeat. DON’T SAVE IN DOLLARS. Save in TANGIBLE, BEAUTIFUL, HISTORIC MONEY IN THE FORM OF GOLD AND SILVER. Call David, Melissa, or Morgen! It’ll cost you 1% more than we pay, and this includes shipping to you.
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