Marc Faber: Don’t Store Your Gold In The United States

Zero Hedge ^ | 08/25/2011 | Simon Black of Sovereign Man

[SeekAndFind]

From Simon Black of Sovereign Man

Marc Faber: Don’t Store Your Gold In The United States

As usual, the CNBC hosts were completely dumbfounded.

Phoning in from Sao Paulo, Brazil, investment guru Marc Faber was a guest on CNBC last week, once again telling the unvarnished truth about the state of the world economy and bankrupt western nations.

This time, Faber had a very clear message: that everyone should own *physical* gold… and what’s more, they should store it outside of the United States:

“I prefer if investors hold physical gold in a safe deposit box, ideally outside the US, in various locations… Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada… I think it’s important in today’s very uncertain world to diversify, not only the various asset classes… but also the custody of your assets should be in different jurisdictions.”

His hosts couldn’t believe it. -NOT- store in the United States, the bastion of freedom and security??!?! What lunacy!

CNBC: “Uh, so do you thus not trust US banks or US custodians? Do you think they might fail or abscond with the gold?”

Guffaws and incredulous snickers emerge from the hosts.

Faber: “I don’t trust anyone.”

Uncomfortable silence.

CNBC: “Hmmm. Interesting.”

Completely devoid of anything intelligent to say on the topic of sovereign diversification, they quickly changed the subject to talk about equities… but Faber soon came back to his original point.

Among other things, he mentioned that banks in Asia are FAR more stable and sound than they are in the west for not having invested so heavily in dead weight assets like Greek bonds or US mortgage-backed securities.

I couldn’t agree more.

This is a point I’ve been pounding on from day 1: internationalization, what I frequently call planting multiple flags, is absolutely critical to reducing your risk.

You won’t ever hear about it from the talking heads on state-sponsored media like CNBC. They refuse to look at the real world where America is no longer the center of the financial universe or the safest place to put money.
Truthfully, though, bankrupt nations like the United States pose the greatest risk of all to our prosperity and livelihood, regardless of whether we’re just starting out or have already achieved it.

This is because politicians will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo; the more they try to ‘fix’ things, the worse the situation becomes. They think they can borrow their way out of debt and spend their way out of recession. When these tactics don’t work, they just borrow and spend more.

In recent remarks during an official visit to Japan, Vice President Joe Biden said that China became the world’s second largest economy only because of US troop presence in Asia.

This line of reasoning only makes sense to a politician: China’s growth has nothing to do with its huge population, massive accumulation of savings, burgeoning technology, or culture of productivity… and everything to do with US military installations in South Korea, Japan, and Okinawa.

Such logic truly tests the patience of rational, thinking people, yet it exemplifies the kind of out-of-touch, mindless bureaucrat who is running the country.

Marc Faber has it absolutely right: entrusting the preponderance of your assets to these moronic sociopaths is a foolhardy endeavor. Own physical gold as a hedge against their idiotic fiscal policies, and store it overseas to make sure they can’t get their thieving hands on it.

Here in Austria, there’s a great secure storage facility in Vienna called Das Safe. You can rent a safety deposit box from them completely anonymously, and the box contents are insured for up to $50,000.

This is financial privacy at its finest… and if you want to take Marc Faber’s advice, you should definitely consider Das Safe. As an aside, Austria is also a great place to buy gold; you can purchase the gold ‘Philharmonic’ coin at almost every bank in the country at premiums as low as 3%.

If you’re serious about doing this, you should check out last month’s edition of Sovereign Man: Confidential. I covered a lot of detailed information about moving and storing gold overseas, including specialized contacts and obscure regulations that you need to know about.

[Jim Noble]

Some folks have forgotten that the U.S. once confiscated all gold... and could easily do it again

It would be a lot easier to ban sales.

The gold that was confiscated in 1933 (blatantly unconstitutional, BTW)was almost all US coin, legal tender. There are lots of other media now that would make a confiscation order much more difficult.

But I would not be at all surprised for the G-20 to agree that none of their currencies could be used in gold transactions. That would accomplish the same thing and be a lot less bother.

[Smokin' Joe]

The gov’t did pay about $20 an ounce for your gold. How much are those dollars worth today versus keeping the gold???

And then promptly re-valued gold at $35.00 and ounce, which reduced the value of the greenbacks over night.

We've seen how this works once, and as such aren't likely to fall for that again.

[GladesGuru]

What drivel!

During the Great Depression’s bank closures, many safety deposit boxes were looted while the banks were closed. If that happened in America, what do you think will happen elsewhere?

[muawiyah]

That’s if you are a good guy. Now if you are a bad guy you sneak around and steal what you need.

[muir_redwoods]

Look up "blind pig" and see why it was another name for a speakeasy. No one wants to find out your yeast produced methanol and that's the reason its so dark out.

Folks will always want the good stuff

[muawiyah]

“They” were fighting some really serious deflation. People claim they want stability in the value of their money, but if you upset their little applecarts based on inflation or deflation they’ll have your head.

[GOPJ]

At some point food will be worth more than a boat load of gold no matter where you are storing it!

That will probably be true the first 6 months after the SHTF - after that the 'new normal' would be a third world type poverty... forever. That's when owning something that has value will matter. Seems dems will keep charging on that old federal credit card until the election... which gives everyone time ... maybe.

[editor-surveyor]

Mr Faber has already moved his corpse out of the US, so his opinions may not be of great value to those remaining here.

I agree that storing property outside the country is a huge headache.

[Georgia Girl 2]

If you have physical gold store it in your safe and keep your safe cemented into the floor somewhere. Oh I forgot and keep a few (or a lot) of weapons to defend it.

[poobear]

At that point only a few will own hundreds of acres of land with enough relatives or friends to defend it.

Guess it’s good to know friends or how to get the hell out of dodge! With food, gas and gold. Not pretty any way you toss it.

Cheers?

[giotto]

I don't know what the solution is. There are IRA's that will allow one to buy gold and have it held in a remote location, but I don't know why that would be any more secure than a safety deposit box at a bank. In either case, the government could order that it be turned over.

I can't believe I am having to think these thoughts.

[CodeToad]

Anyone with more money than what is in a typical checking account knows to keep it spread around; different banks, trusts, foreign accounts, etc. I can’t imagine keeping everything in one name, in one account.

[Atlas Sneezed]

At some point food will be worth more than a boat load of gold no matter where you are storing it!

---

If you prove right, it would be the first time in history.

[greeneyes]

Yes, they paid $20.00, but turned around and devalued the dollar by 40% and the price of gold was then raised to $35.00. He also destroyed crops and food while people were starving for the purpose of raising food prices.

During the 1950’s my grandparents used to give me a BIG NICKEL (it was a silver dollar) for my birthday. Mom said they had been stockpiling them in case the money ever became worthless again. She always took the coin for “safekeeping” and later we would buy something for a dollar bill. Wish I had all those big nickels now.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I’d put my bucks on tulip bulbs if we need to face world ending disruptions. You not only can eat them raw they have a very long shelf life. Their price zooms up into that of multi-carat diamonds under such conditions (1943 Zuider Zee and nearby flooded lands ~ they had a famine also).

---

Clever, but you might do better with wheat and beans, both of which store for decades, cost vastly less, and are much more nutritious.

[mad_as_he$$]

There are very exclusive places in the world that are called “banks” but are really just very large sets of safety deposit boxes. They require an invitation to get initial access and are guarded by trustworthy armed guards 24/7. Why are they trust worthy because another branch of the security department will hunt them down and kill them if they steal from any one. It isn't cheap but very effective. Start in Asia if you want to find one.

[greeneyes]

I can’t remember exactly, but there was a new law that went into effect in July prohibiting the sale of precious metals that were not delivered within a few weeks, so I am not so sure that such IRA’s are available anymore.

[Atlas Sneezed]

And then promptly re-valued gold at $35.00 and ounce, which reduced the value of the greenbacks over night.

---

Which hurt everybody, not just those who exchanged gold dollars for paper dollars.

What I’m saying is that “confiscation” (”buy-up”, actually) is not a cost or risk of owning gold, compared to owning something else that then turns into dollars.

[Atlas Sneezed]

No one wants to find out your yeast produced methanol and that’s the reason its so dark out.

---

Maybe I’m wrong, but my understanding is that fermenting “food” (corn, sugar, malted barley) with any yeast will lead inevitably to ethanol.

One makes methanol from wood.

The danger is in fraud, that someone will sell you cheap wood alcohol as ethanol. Not that your home brewery might accidentally make poison.

[Atlas Sneezed]

If you have physical gold store it in your safe and keep your safe cemented into the floor somewhere.

---

Which is great until a home invader has a gun against a loved-one’s head. I advise a diverse approach. Some in the safe to get thieves to go away, some hidden in various locations in your home. Maybe some hidden off site. Some stored at a bank. Some overseas. Some in a trademark brokerage account so you can execute an instant sale if conditions dictate.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.