Perhaps there is nothing more common and necessary in our lifetimes, than measurements. From the day we were born, our weights, gender and condition were told to anxious parents and grandparents. A nurse may say, “You are the proud father or grandfather, of a wonderful, healthy, eight-and-a-half-pound baby boy.”
When we die, the obit will perhaps say that “Joel Sanders went to meet his Lord Monday, after succumbing to a long fight with cancer. Joel was 93, was CEO of the International Tire Company. Joel left behind a wife Marjorie, a daughter, Betty, son James, fourteen grand-children, and eight great-grand-children.” Measurements again.
Measurements in weight, can be in ounces, pounds, tons, grams, kilograms, plus more I cannot think of, as I write this. Even elk heads are measured in the number of ‘points’ their antlers may possess. Opposite my desk is a great six-point elk head. Liquids are measured in gallons, pints, quarts, ounces, acre feet of water, and I am certain many more.
Heights and depth, in feet, inches, meters, and whatever your mind may produce. Building heights in storys; speeds in miles per hour, feet per minute, miles per second, and whatever you can devise. Times in years, hours, seconds, millenniums, light years, (which I can never understand, because it seems so absurd), etc. Heat in BTU’s, degrees, et al. Humidity in percentages, as are also used in numerous other places such as interest on mortgages, loans, bonds, and purities of metals, about which I write now.
While the dictionary definition of ’numismatics,’ leaves much to be desired, in the field of silver and gold coins and occasionally bars, if they are old and rare, and in a condition which makes them ‘collectible,’ I advise against them as saving devices, and for one simple reason. When it becomes necessary to barter with gold and silver to purchase items, because the currency has become worthless, it will be the weight and purity of the metals you barter with, rather than its rarity. Rare autos, clothes, and furniture, will get you someplace, cover your body, or be a place to recline in comfort, but will cost lot more than common ones.
I do not want my scribblings to infer that Armageddon is just around the corner. I just think that life should be enjoyed, and certain details of possible future happenings, should not be overlooked.
If it ever becomes time to barter for food, it will be the purity and weight of your bartering device, which will get you the most goods desired. Rare autos, furniture, art, and clothes, in times of stress, will find their prices will have gone down radically, I believe. I understand that 1943 aluminum pennies are worth hundreds, but they’re still pennies. Exact reproduction of the Mona Lisa, can be exactly the same, except that perfect copies will never equal the real thing in value. It is a thriving business, for superb artists to exactly copy rare paintings, even though buyers are aware they are reproductions. They make great decorations.
When I first began dealing in metals, back in the late 1970’s, there were no gold Maple Leafs, Krugerrands, gold or silver Eagles, or any which we now have. All we had back then, were U.S. ‘Double Eagles,’ in the main, plus various other government issued coinage. Exact copies of the U.S. gold ‘double eagle,’ made of real gold, were being turned out by the thousands in communist China, and it took a jewelers’ loop to tell the difference. This is probably when professional grading such as PCGS, Professional Coin Grading Service, came out, and once again, using measurements to prove their authenticity and purity. “MS” stands for ‘Mint State,” and a perfect one is “MS70,” and lower ratings are indicative of lesser conditions or purity.
Now, we have U.S. Gold Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, and South African Krugerrands, straight from their respective factories, and sealed in their respective tubes. Their weights and purities are stamped on each coin. The same with Silver Eagles, Maple Leafs, and Krugerrands. As an aside, in Africa, the currency is the ‘rand,’ like ours is the ‘dollar.’ ‘Kruger,’ was a famous African President, hence ‘Krugerrand,’ would be like in our nation being, ‘Washington Dollar.’ Kruger died, believing that the Earth is flat.
By all means, enjoy antique and rare things. Life should be enjoyed! Bonnie and I enjoy our old everything, from home, contents, car and truck, and furnishings. Hopefully, and certainly not in our or your lifetimes, we’ll never have to sell them to eat or live. Our self-insurance, lies mainly in our saving of real money in all nations at all times, and that is in gold and silver! It’s amazing the absolute comfort and security having a store of real money, can give you!
-Don Stott, don@coloradogold.com