"World gold holdings (2008) (Source: World Gold Council[18]) Holding Percentage Jewelry 52% Central banks 18% Investment (bars, coins) 16% Industrial 12% Unaccounted 2%" i didnt know i had found 2% of the worlds gold with my panning.
That 52% for jewellry is a bit of a surprise. In desperate times it will be a huge source of the stuff. OC
It was. The people herded into Gas chambers in WWII knew all about keeping your wealth close. Their clothes were searched once they'd "departed". Everything found was melted down into those famed NAzi bars sitting in a lake somwhere. And someone on another forum reckons silver bars and jewllry got her family from Latvia through the Russain army, across the front and into the West. When ownership of bullion is forbidden by governments, smart people adorn themselves (and their trustworthy womenfolk)
that stockpile of rings i have take more than 2 people to wear.. and the necklaces and bracelets don't ask. haven't tried. good investment?
Agree Flash - but our Govt thinks too short term (to next election) to ever come up with an intelligent plan like that, unlike the Chinese who are thinking decades ahead! I can almost guarantee that the Chinese will have the first gold backed currency (and maybe the Swiss) even though they are starting with only a small stockpile. Just watch them catch up - and it will happen before we know it and we are probably already underestimating their reserves. As well as that they are also getting into the Australian gold mines. A gold mine near where I live is 50% owned by Chinese. They are also into the African gold mines and probably gold mines all over the world. When the Chines make a plan - it happens and I think they are looking to the RMB to becoming the next world reserve currency!
China is producing about 300 tons a year and has banned its export so i presume it is going into reserves. At 3000 tons in 10 years it will not have enough to back teh RMB any time soon without overseas purchases. I know they are buying all they can get their hands on, but it will be awhile before they have anywhere near enough. Oc
Gold standards don't require full backing - many successful gold standards through history with paper notes circulating have only been fractionally backed. It's the faith in the soundness of the currency that permits this.
GP, I am not at all sure there wil be all that much 'faith' in (any) paper currency unless the backing is substantial. Confidence would be VERY fragile after SHTF day. Try backing it with 10 cents in the dollar and they will laugh at it. Would have to be at least 75%. But the basic assumption is that it will need a LARGE revaluation of the metal to make it work anyway, probably about US$10,000 an ounce. I 'think' that the US has a total of about a Trillion in actual currency notes in circulation around the world. Lord knows how much for the Euro, RMB, and GBP etc. OC
Our Gov seem to be infatuated with America, the world reserve paper kingdom with nothing tangible in reserve reportable by audit for decades. Our Gov thinks paper is where it is at and has sold off 200 of our 280 tonnes of the gold in the reserve bank the sovereign people owned probably by stealth and probrally for there own short termed purpose. They are right into the G8 and behave as good little servants doing as they are told by there masters. You can imagine what goes on at those meetings by our clueless poll seeking elected leaders. They do not seem to be at all aware of the predicament all paper currencies face and the responsibility they have in maintaining it.
Not when it's an incompetent bunch of socialist muppets, http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/06/16/foreign-ownership-of-aussie-land-the-peril-of-selling-the-farm/
funnily enough thats exactly the amount of gold i have. must be that no fossicing law they have... not even the government can get gold. thats quite sad. lol
I'm afraid I can't honesly exclude the more capitalist side of the house. IMHO anyone (ok, any LAWYER) in parliament will look to entrench themselves in their comfortable position and do anything to prevent that comfortable position disappearing. After all, one can't do stuff if one isn't re-elected, right? The only positive thing I can say, is that at least the Howard Government took more taxes than they needed to run the government and used the excess to pay off accumulated debt and fund their liabilities like public service superannuation. I hated the way they crowed about overtaxing us, how proud they were of how much they could get away with. But at least it had some type of positive payoff. Doesn't help now of course.
i noticed that... the reserve banks charts say "precious metals total ounces N/A" WTF and then it lists all the millions of dollars in Foreign currency..
It turns out Bank of Korea will not actually hold the physical. Tsk tsk. "The BoK declined to disclose the purchase price but said it had entrusted all of its gold holding to the Bank of England for possible use in gold lending and other related transactions in future." src: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/korea-economy-reserves-idUSL3E7J12SC20110801