The problem was, these were not the exact same $20 bills that I gave them!
They switched them out and gave me different $20 bills!
This is a scandal!
What happened to my 20s? I smell a conspiracy!
This is what I don’t understand about this story. It seems like a non-story, because of the analogy you gave.
Can someone explain, why is it such a big deal that Germany didn’t get back the exact gold bars they deposited? Is it still not gold? Do the ones they received not weigh the same? Why should it be considered anything more than shoddy business practice (if even that)?
Ah, but the ATM didn’t flash a message that said
“we have no twenty dollar bills to give you”
But suppose you deposited many $20 bills with the bank. And then when you went to the ATM to withdraw some of them, you got this printed message:
"Your request has been noted. It will take us 7 years to complete your request. You will hear from us in 7 years. Have a nice day."
faulty analogy
a more accurate one would be you retrieving your safe deposit box and the pictures and documents were not the same but duplicates of the ones you placed in there originally.
Germany’s gold was stored in a vault. the intention is that it would not move and would not be touched.
obviously, that is incorrect and the rest of the world needs to comprehend the magnitude of that
Actually, in the world of metals investing there are the concepts of "allocated" and "unallocated" storage. Allocated storage means that you get back the physical assets you put in, and if not then the holder is in violation of an agreement.
My new book "When There is No Fema" (http://nofema.com) covers all this (and a ton more) in detail.