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“Weird Gold Trick” Could End Debt Ceiling Showdown
Daily Reckoning ^ | 9 May 2023 | James Rickards

Posted on 05/13/2023 12:01:03 PM PDT by arthurus

Right now, the Fed’s gold certificate values gold at $42.22 an ounce. That’s obviously not anywhere near the market price of gold, which, again, is about $2,042 an ounce.

Now, the Treasury could issue the Fed a new gold certificate valuing the 8,000 tons of Treasury gold at $2,042 an ounce. They could take today’s market price of $2,042, subtract the official $42.22 price and multiply the difference by 8,000 tons.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailyreckoning.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: debtlimit; default; inflation
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To: Eccl 10:2
" ---but isn’t there something about gold being measured in troy ounces (avoirdupois?), so there’s only 12 troy ounces to a pound?"

I thought there was a there will be no math clause when we joined Free Republic.

61 posted on 05/13/2023 1:56:39 PM PDT by buckalfa (Gut feelings are your guardian angels)
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To: Persevero; gas_dr

What should have happened is the dollar should have retained value to match the metal content. This was the whole concept of “coining” money in the constitution.

“During the Revolutionary War two things almost led to the defeat of the struggle for American independence. One was the inadequate system of constitutional government and the other was unsound money.

Congress issued about $240 million in “Continentals” — referring to money of the Continental Congress. It was understood that this money would be redeemed in gold or silver by the states after the war.

The states thought this was a great way to manufacture money so they issued vast quantities of their own paper currency.

Even the enemy, the British, saw what was happening so they printed up bales of counterfeit “Continentals” and used them to buy supplies from Americans.

Before long confidence in the Continentals had sunk so low that by 1780 they were not even worth one cent. No further paper money was issued by the United States for over eighty years.

The American market had already accepted the Spanish dollar as its basic unit of value. It was minted in Mexico and called a “piece of eight,” or a peso. To make change, they would cut it into eight pieces or bits and small change began to be called two bits for a quarter, four bits for fifty cents, and six bits for seventy-five cents.

In 1785, two years before the Constitution was written, the Congress accepted the Spanish dollar as the official unit of value for the United States and determined that all foreign coin would be evaluated in terms of the Spanish dollar.

In 1786, the year before the Constitution was adopted, the Board of Treasury fixed the silver weight of the adopted dollar at 375 and 64/100s grains of fine silver. The value of gold coins or any other coins was to be calculated in terms of the silver dollar of this weight and fineness.

It will be noted that three things had been established before the Constitution was adopted:

That the official money of the United States would be precious metals-silver and gold.
That the basic unit of value would be called a “dollar” and consist of 375 and 64/100s grains of fine silver.
All other coins, both foreign and domestic, would be evaluated in terms of this official silver dollar.

All of this was already part of the law of the land when the Constitution was adopted. Therefore the Founders wrote the following provisions in the Constitution concerning money based on the above statutes which had previously been adopted as the official monetary system. They wrote:

“Congress shall have the power ‘to coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures.’” (Article I, section 8, clause 5.)”

https://nccs.net/blogs/articles/congres ... ue-thereof


62 posted on 05/13/2023 2:12:45 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Vermont Lt

yeah


63 posted on 05/13/2023 2:26:39 PM PDT by one guy in new jersey
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To: Openurmind

Ahhh. The stallion standard. 😊
Makes sense now


64 posted on 05/13/2023 2:50:10 PM PDT by gas_dr (Conditions of Socratic debate: Intelligence, Candor, and Good Will)
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To: gas_dr

:)

Check this out and see if anything sounds familiar...

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/david-okeefe-the-king-of-hard-currency-37051930/


65 posted on 05/13/2023 2:53:18 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: arthurus

That’s the only thing Democrats ever do.


66 posted on 05/13/2023 3:13:54 PM PDT by TBP (Decent people cannot fathom the amoral cruelty of the Biden regime.)
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To: arthurus

.


67 posted on 05/13/2023 3:15:58 PM PDT by sauropod (“If they don’t believe our lies, well, that’s just conspiracy theorist stuff, there.”)
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To: gas_dr

I’ve always heard that the weird trick is for losing belly fat! ;)


68 posted on 05/13/2023 3:29:32 PM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TP)
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To: Texas Fossil

That seems about right.


69 posted on 05/13/2023 3:29:54 PM PDT by arthurus (covfefe |-|-)
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To: farmguy

Gold was about $20 troy ounce before FDR devalued, first buying all the monetary gold. Yes inflation is about 100+ times since then. A dollar in 1925 would buy what it requires $100+ now and that is understating it because the price of gold is manipulated by the big banks to keep it low And it is also low because of all the paper gold, investment gold that has no metal behind it.


70 posted on 05/13/2023 3:35:16 PM PDT by arthurus (covfefe |-|-)
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To: Texas Fossil

The Federal store of gold has never been audited and a few years ago a gold bar in a New York bank was cut in half and he core of it was bismuth. No more bare were allowed to be cut.


71 posted on 05/13/2023 3:37:11 PM PDT by arthurus (covfefe |)
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To: G Larry

That gold will never move and its amount and purity is only assumed and that will not change.


72 posted on 05/13/2023 3:39:47 PM PDT by arthurus (covfefe |i)
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To: Openurmind

Before long confidence in the Continentals had sunk so low that by 1780 they were not even worth one cent. No further paper money was issued by the United States for over eighty years.

***********

The government wasn’t issuing paper money in the time period you’re referencing because the private banks were issuing paper currency.

We didn’t have a uniform currency in the nation during those 80 years. If banks like Mechanics Bank or Manhattan Bank were where you put your deposits, those were the banks issuing your paper banknotes, notes that were supposedly redeemable in specie.(coin money)

That changed briefly during the financing of the Civil War, a war like no other, a war that changed the financial position of the US forever. Inflation ruled the day.

The post war inflation didn’t last and deflationary policies were implemented to suck up all the greenbacks in circulation.(These policies led to populist movements from 1870-1900)

Paper money has been mismanaged at times, but has been part of our financial system since the Colonial time period.

The move away from paper money is ongoing, and will continue as long as consumers and merchants continue to use plastic & digital currency.

People that like a safe monetary position over the next two decades, will hold Federal Reserve Notes outside of the financial system, just like they store food & ammo


73 posted on 05/13/2023 4:40:43 PM PDT by unclebankster ( Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.)
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To: arthurus

That would not surprise me.

That may be why Texas sold their gold held in NY and bought other to replace it.

It is now in Texas’s repository.


74 posted on 05/13/2023 4:50:33 PM PDT by Texas Fossil (Texas is not where you were born but a State of Heart, Mind and Attitude.)
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To: unclebankster

“People that like a safe monetary position over the next two decades, will hold Federal Reserve Notes outside of the financial system, just like they store food & ammo.”

Or Metal...


75 posted on 05/13/2023 5:35:52 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Openurmind

Or Metal...

*****

Both is a good hedge.


76 posted on 05/13/2023 5:40:04 PM PDT by unclebankster ( Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.)
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To: unclebankster

Yep, or we are going to have to print our own local Green stamp coupons... :)


77 posted on 05/13/2023 5:46:13 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: one guy in new jersey

12 Troy ounces / pound


78 posted on 05/13/2023 6:54:33 PM PDT by old-ager
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To: one guy in new jersey

That wouldn’t even cover half of this fiscal year’s deficit


79 posted on 05/13/2023 7:15:58 PM PDT by griswold3 (Truth, Beauty and Goodness )
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To: old-ager

Yes thanks. Twelve troy ounces to one troy pound.
OGINJ

__________

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/troyounce.asp

Troy Ounce: Definition, History, and Conversion Table

By JAMES CHEN Updated February 05, 2023
Reviewed by SOMER ANDERSON
Fact checked by KATRINA MUNICHIELLO

What Is a Troy Ounce?

A troy ounce is a unit of measure used for weighing precious metals that dates back to the Middle Ages. Originally used in Troyes, France, one troy ounce is equal to 31.1034768 grams, according to the U.K. Royal Mint.
1

One standard ounce (also known as an avordupois ounce) is used to weigh other commodities such as sugar and grain. A standard ounce is slightly less than a troy ounce, at 28.35 grams.

The troy ounce is to this day the standard unit of measurement in the precious metals market to ensure purity standards. The troy ounce is often abbreviated to read “t oz” or “oz t.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The troy ounce is a metric used in weighing precious metals.

The troy ounce is the equivalent of 31.1034768 grams.

A standard ounce is the equivalent of 28.349 grams, or around 10% less.

A troy pound (12 troy ounces) is lighter than a standard pound (14.6 troy ounces).
The troy ounce is the last remaining metric still used in the troy weighting system.

Understanding the Troy Ounce
The troy ounce is the only measure of the troy weighting system that is still used in modern times. It is used in the pricing of metals, such as gold, platinum, and silver. Thus, when prices of precious metals are listed per-ounce, it is often referencing the troy ounce.

It was also used when weighing certain gemstones. The troy weight system, however, has largely been replaced by the carat system in the world of precious gems and stones.

History of the Troy Ounce
The troy system for weights and measures is believed to have gotten its name from the French city of Troyes, a business hub in the Middle Ages that attracted merchants from around Europe and Britain.
2
In Troyes, merchants measured 480 grains of barley to equal a troy ounce, and 12 troy ounces equaled one troy pound.

Some historians, however, believe the troy ounce had its origins in Roman times. Romans standardized their monetary system using bronze bars that could be broken down into 12 pieces called “uncia” or ounce, with each piece weighing around 31.1 grams.

As Europe’s economic importance grew from the 10th century onward, merchants came from all over the world to buy and sell goods there. It was, therefore, necessary to develop a new standardized monetary weight system to make doing business much easier. Some believe the merchants of Troyes modeled their new monetary system on the weights developed by their Roman ancestors.

Before the adoption of the metric system across Europe, the French-born King Henry II of England adjusted the British coinage system to better reflect the French troy system. The system was adjusted periodically, but troy weights, as we know them today, were first used in England in the 15th century.

Prior to the adoption of the troy system, the British used an Anglo-Norman French system called the avoirdupois system. The word means “goods of weight” and was used to weigh both precious metals and non-precious metal goods. By 1527, the troy ounce became the official standard measurement for gold and silver in Britain, and the U.S. followed suit in 1828.
3

Troy Ounce vs. Ounce
The avoirdupois ounce, simply referred to as ounce (oz), is the standard used in the US to measure foods and other items, with the exception of precious metals and gems. It is the equivalent of 28.349 grams or 437.5 grains. A troy ounce is a little heavier, with a gram equivalent of 31.1. The difference (2.751) may be minute for a small quantity, but can be substantial for large quantities.
4

When the price of gold is said to be US $653/ounce, the ounce being referred to is a troy ounce, not a standard ounce. Because a troy ounce is heavier than a standard ounce, there are 14.6 troy ounces—compared to 16 standard ounces—in one pound. This pound is not to be confused with a troy pound, which is lighter and is made up of 12 troy ounces.
5
3


80 posted on 05/13/2023 11:33:33 PM PDT by one guy in new jersey
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