The 10,000 ton ship “Tilawa” was built in 1924. She was a coal fired, passenger liner, had a crew of 220, and of the 732 passengers on board, most were saved, after a Jap sub sank her in November of 1942. A tragedy, and a Microscopic version of the hundreds of millions of tons of ships now resting on the floors of the Earth’s oceans. My attorney of many years ago, was in the submarine service in WW II, and he told me stories I will never forget. In the Civil War, an idiotic Southerner built a submarine, which when it was placed in the water, sank to the bottom instantly. So much for the 150 years of submarines, most of which are long gone. (Thanks to Jeanne for telling me about the S.S. Tilawa).
The Tilawa, in addition to its crew and 732 passengers, had 2364 – 100 ounce silver bar on it, which were not saved, and which today, would be worth over $8 million. The lawsuits are probably still continuing over those bars, after they were retrieved a few years ago. Did they belong to the salvage people? To the ship’s owners or insurance companies? Or to those whom the bars were consigned? That has yet to be solved, but I wonder what the silver looks like, after being submerged in salt water for over 80 years. If it were gold, it would be just as it was submerged, but I’m not too sure about silver.
Quite obviously, if you own silver and gold bullion, and you die, or give them to your heirs or others before you die, the ownership of the gold and silver rests with the current owners. There are serial numbers on 100 ounce silver bars, usually, but none on other gold and silver bullion. If you have any hundred ounce silver bars, you should write down their serial numbers, just to be sure, in case they’re stolen. (If anyone ever tries to rob me, they’ll surely die, and their death will be recorded on the video cameras strategically placed in my home).
I’ve been dealing in precious metals since November of 1977, and my three kids have been doing also for many years. It’s amazing how many offspring of my deceased customers call me, to ask if their inheritance is actually theirs, or do they have to report it to the IRS? The answer is simple. You should NEVER repost it to the IRS!
Many years ago, I had a client who made himself a fortune, by buying and selling black cemeteries. He spent literally hundreds of thousands of dollars with me, and we used to have long conversations about anything which came to our minds. Nice guy who eventually died. I knew, because he stopped calling me! A few years ago, I had a call from his daughter, who logically asked me if all the gold and silver was hers? She had it all, and was now worth a lot of U.S. dollars if she sold it. I asked her if she needed any money? She answered in the negative. Then don’t sell it, as its price will continually go up. Does she have any kids? Yes of curse. Is the gold and silver stored in a safe place? Yes. I then told her that she must tell her children where it was, in case she died, and that was it. Never tell an attorney ANYTHING about an inheritance of metals, as lawyers just love to start probate proceedings. I’ve literally had maybe a hundred such calls, and the questioners are always thrilled at my answer.
A late friend of mine, Wally Carmack, told me of his dad, who buried all of his valuable things, somewhere on his 28 acre land holdings. ( I guess gold and silver, he never told me), and never told anyone where they were buried, and never made a map or note of their location, and then, even he couldn’t find them. I thought that was hilarious, and I often wonder if they were recovered. Both Wally and his dad are long gone. Maybe whoever bought the property will someday find a buried treasure. IF YOU BURY YOUR METALS BE SURE TO MAKE A MAP OR TELL SOMOEONE WHERE TO LOOK! If they’re in a safe, give the combination to your kids or wife or husband.
If you have a life insurance policy, ( I don’t as I consider myself self-insured), you obviously have someone who will get the dough if you die, and naturally, this also is recorded in government files. Government, tries to get its hands on everything, and if your will says anything about metals, that’s a sure tip for the bureaucrats.
“Anonymous,” is a marvelous word, which can be used in all of your metals’ insurance against inflation and inheritance taxes. You can buy and sell without telling government, any more than you have to report a yard sale, or buying from one. If you ever watch “Antiques Road Show,” (Wednesday, PBS 7 PM) you will see many people who bought something for a couple of bucks, and then found out it’s worth thousands or even more. Did they tell Uncle Sam about their good fortune? I doubt it, since their names are never mentioned. When I began dealing in precious metals in November of 1977, I was selling gold at $250 an ounce and silver at about a dollar. I may still have some of it, I don’t know, but probably not, as then, there were no Gold or Silver Eagles, which began in 1986, or Maple Leafs, which came out in 1980. All we had then, were U.S. Double Eagles, which were being counterfeited by communists, and silver rounds and bars, which you had to careful of their manufacture.
Will gold and silver go up in dollar price? Is the new Pope a Protestant? If you drop a ball from a third storey building, will it go down? Will moronic teen age males, ever stop thinking that a loud car shows manhood? Will male anythings, ever stop being attracted to female anythings? Well then, if your answer to the previous, is NO, then the answer to the question about gold and silver going up in dollar prices, is yes, unless trees are no longer being cut, made into paper, cut into pieces, printed into fancy characters called dollars, and being backed by thin air. These things will always require more and more of them, to buy anything, and 1977’s $250 gold and $1.00 silver is proof. History, has so far always repeated itself when every nation has always gone bankrupt, with its “money” becoming valueless, and he dollar already has lost 95% of its purchasing power of a hundred years ago.
-Don Stott. don@coloradogold.com