FACT: Many survivalists buy silver and gold because they fear that the Federal Reserve will print so many dollars that the dollar will become worthless, which is the history of all paper currencies not redeemable in gold or silver.
Fear of a financial meltdown, which would close banks, drives many of us to collect the precious metals themselves. Gold and silver have been used as a form of currency for nearly 3,000 years.
In recent years, these precious metals have proven to be an exceptional investment. But, before you begin pulling your cash out of the bank and sinking it into gold and silver, get to know a few basic facts that can help you get started.
THE INDIVIDUAL IS KEY
The concept of an alternative to government-issued cash may be foreign to some people, but the reality is that, in a free society where the individual is key, “market money” could be accepted. This simply means that the people determine what they want to accept as money, says Claudio Grass of Global Gold Inc., a company that assists investors with acquiring and safely storing gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals.
“I’m a liberty- and freedom-loving person, and when I read the book ‘Gold Wars,’ I saw that the message was that gold and liberty are linked to each other,” Grass says. “If you want to have free individuals, then we should also have market money, and it’s definitely not paper money coming from central banks which only a few people have the power to print.”
Market money is ideally a tangible good like gold or silver, not something that is merely printed out of thin air, Grass suggests.
Gold has been used to create decorative objects since 4000 B.C., the National Mining Association states in its publication The History of Gold. “The gold was probably mined in the Transylvanian Alps or the Mt. Pangaion area in Thrace.” About a thousand years later, in 3000 B.C., a civilization in Iraq began to use gold to make jewelry, sparking what would be a long-standing use of gold as ornamental jewelry.
THE TWO PERCENT
Although the majority of people don’t currently have investments in gold and silver, it’s something that you should consider before it’s too late. “Maybe two percent of people in the western world are buying physical gold and silver, but the other 98 percent are caught in this spinning wheel—they don’t have time to question authority or research history, and they don’t know the facts,” Grass says.
“MY GOAL IS BASICALLY TO MOTIVATE NEW PEOPLE TO DO THEIR OWN STUDY ABOUT THE MONETARY SYSTEM …”
–CLAUDIO GRASS, GLOBAL GOLD INC.
“The people who do own physical gold in the western world are very good when it comes to history and know how the monetary system works, and are very well educated. The rest, we want to educate and share this information with them. My goal is basically to motivate new people to do their own study about the monetary system so they can be educated.”
Executive Order 6102, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, declared the United States in a state of emergency regarding the economy and required American citizens to hand over their possessions of gold to the Federal Reserve System, citing that “any gold coin, gold bullion, or gold certificates are now owned by them [the government] or coming into their ownership on or before April 28th, 1933.”
Source: The American Presidency Project
OUTSIDE JURISDICTION
If you do decide to begin stocking gold and silver, you should consider how to store it so it’s not only safe but also readily available.
“I think it’s always good to have some coins available near you,” Grass recommends. “You can hide it somewhere accessible outside the banking system, which is key.”
“IF YOU WANT TO INVEST LARGE AMOUNTS IN GOLD, IT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IT OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION YOU LIVE IN TO ADD AN EXTRA LAYER OF SECURITY.”
–CLAUDIO GRASS, GLOBAL GOLD INC.
As for the bulk of your gold and silver collection, you can find outside vendors to store it if you don’t have a safe place to hold it on your property. “There are some good solutions like https://GoldSilver.com, where people can buy coins and have the chance to store it somewhere outside of the U.S.,” Grass says. “The only problem is these companies are operating under American law, so if ever the U.S. government wanted to confiscate gold and silver, that could be a problem.”
Grass cites the time in 1933 when the Roosevelt administration confiscated gold from American citizens. He emphasizes that future investors must keep in mind that history is fully capable of repeating itself; thus, they ought to be careful with investments and cautious of the government.
“If you want to invest large amounts in gold, it’s important to keep it outside the jurisdiction you live in to add an extra layer of security,” Grass further suggests.
A standard gold bar is 7 inches long, 3.625 inches wide and 1.75 inches thick. It weighs approximately 27.5 pounds—making it incredibly difficult to carry around in your purse or wallet.
Source: The United States Mint
START FROM SCRATCH
One deep-seated fear in every American citizen is what would happen in the case of an economic meltdown to the point where the government transitioned itself into a totalitarian state. If this occurs, there will most likely be a black market where you can trade your gold or silver, Grass says. However, this could be highly dangerous.
“In 1933, if you didn’t turn in your gold, you’d go to jail,” he adds. “So, one of the key questions you have to ask is ‘what would you do if you end up in a totalitarian system?’”
Grass’s answer is simple and logical: Start from scratch. The best option would be to have gold stored outside of the U.S. in a place where you could eventually go to escape. After leaving the country, you would be able to start from scratch to begin a new life with your amount of gold.
“I think the world will look completely different in the next five years, and we’re going to see a lot of financial repression over that period, essentially destroying the middle class … especially in the western world, such as the U.S.,” Grass says. “People need to understand what it means to be free and responsible for their own lives, and they need to do their research on economics so they can be self-sufficient if that happens.”
For more information about how the current monetary system works and to download a free gold and silver investment starter kit, visit Global Gold AG at www.GlobalGold.ch. You can also register for the company’s free quarterly report that focuses on precious metal investments.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in the April 2014 print issue of American Survival Guide.