Gold Silver

When you pull out your wallet or purse and take a look at your money, you see a series of bills, perhaps they are the green American dollars, or maybe even the blue Canadian variant. People often say that money is simply paper, and there is too much controversy over it, especially considering it is just that, paper. The problem with this logic however is what that paper represents, and in order to demonstrate that, we must take a look at the early days of civilization.

The cradle of civilization, or so they call it, is Africa. The earliest civilizations were Sumer and Egypt, and before those civilizations were founded, currency was not an issue. Prior to those settlements trade was performed through barter, and there was no need for a currency system. Alas, man evolves, and as he evolves he realizes that he has more needs. That being the case, gold coins were actually created from gold chunks and they were valued for their weight.

In the beginning these gold coins, or gold chunks were used to pay city taxes and temple tributes, but the public did not typically have access to them. It wasn’t long however before gold coins were minted and distributed to the public. In those days they weighed approximately 17.2 grams, over time several Greek city states would take up the gold coin standard, and the trend would even reach the Roman Empire.

Gold coins became a method of paying armies for their service, bakers for their bread, and virtually every other employee in an empire or city. The name of the gold piece changed over time, and some have even switched to a silver coinage system. No matter what happened however, the gold standard remained the same until America’s Great Depression in 1929. This ten year stretch harbored many issues for the struggling nation including a lack of employment and even the dust bowl which threatened the entire western world. It became clear that action needed to be taken, and President Franklin Roosevelt determined that America should be removed from the gold standard.

Gold became an illegal asset for United States citizens to own, and as a result they were forced to hand over what gold they still had. The result of these seizures was both disturbing and necessary. On one hand several billion gold bars were created from the melting of these coins. On the other hand all of the gold currency was destroyed, or at least most of it.

It is true that several of the double eagles exist today and in 1933 the US mint gave two double eagle coins to the Smithsonian Institute. While there are several double eagles in various collections today, these two were known as the only legal double eagle coins to be added to a collection. Eight more coins were discovered in the fifties and they were quickly confiscated by the secret service, their original purpose being currency control rather than the protection of the President.

As you can see, currency has a rich history, and we have certainly come a long way in our production of it. There are still many countries that use the gold standard, and with that being the case it remains an extremely important part of our world and our infrastructure. Whether or not the entire world will choose to return to the gold standard completely remains to be seen, but as of right now gold is an excellent investment if you ever choose to go that route.

History is littered with examples of lost heritage, and coinage is one of them. Coins show the progression of mankind as he learns to work out his differences and create new ways of dealing with others. With any luck, the rest of the coins will be found and our history will be preserved once and for all.

Precious Metals Brokerage Group (PMBG) provides physical delivery of Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium. Our Retirement Account Department will also help with setting up Gold IRA / Gold 401K accounts. Call us toll free anytime at (866) 775-3131 or visit us at http://www.pmbg.net

What difference between gold, silver and junk jewelry ?

I have gone through my jewelery box for the first time in 20 years and need to know what is junk and what I should keep. I have an assortment of gold, silver and pieces I don’t have a clue. How do I tell the difference and know what I should throw out? I have a few pieces that were gold plated and it has almost completely worn off, are they worth getting re plated or should I just throw them ?

Please DO NOT throw away….and there is no such thing as “scrap jewelry” or “junk jewelry”. You see these guys on TV advertising that they’ll pay cash for you old, unwanted scrap gold jewelry? Well, why do you think they want it? All jewelry has some value. If it’s not sentimental, it’s the precious metals or stones. Even costume jewelry has value to collectors. If it’s Gold, absolutely keep it. Silver, same thing. If you have a digital camera, take a good photo of all of it together. Anyone who knows about jewelry (NOT if you are selling to them), should be able to give you a rough estimate by a photograph. Also, list any items that are marked 18K 24K, etc…..also, list all names on the jewelry itself. Good luck…….if you need a hand finding a good reputable resource, submit another question asking for just that, and you may do well.

Billionaire Stampede Into Gold & Silver Has Begun

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