Why we prep
Here’s another reason why you – and your friends and family – should prep:
Deutsche Bank refuses delivery of physical gold upon demand
Back in early September, a publicly traded gold-backed German investment company (read: “paper” gold) called Xetra-Gold attempted to fulfill a promise to one of its clients. That promise was: “… the right for physical delivery of gold.”
But this promise hit a snag when one of their clients attempted to get his physical gold from Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank is, according to a 2015 survey, the 11th largest bank in the world. It is also the sponsor, guarantor, and repository for the Xetra-Gold physical bullion.
Well, imagine the client’s surprise when Deutsche Bank denied his request. Per the Zerohedge article, “the Deutsche Bank account executive informed the investor that ‘the service’ is no longer offered, namely exercising physical delivery at Xetra-Gold, for ‘reasons of business policy’ …”
A little closer to home, COMEX (Commodity Exchange, Inc.), a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, keeps vaulted gold for use in paper-gold buying and selling. Fair enough, since hauling a lot of gold around is hard work. But according to another ZeroHedge article from Jan. 26, 2016, COMEX’s ratio of physical gold in their vaults to paper gold in the hands of investors (on that date) was one ounce of real, deliverable gold for every 542 ounces of paper gold.
If you don’t control something, you don’t own it. That’s a true and proven fact of life. Own your own home? Sweet. But skip a few property tax payments and see how much your “ownership” really means.
A piece of paper saying you “own” precious metals, property, a time-share or any other tangible item is a fine thing … right up until the real owner – the one in control of that item – tells you differently.
Preppers may be subject to theft (unorganized, as in robbers; or organized, as in government), but at least we can control some of those tangible items in our possession, and can often place them where the thieves will have a tougher time getting hold on them.
And that’s one of the reasons we prep.
Last week I received an email from a kind reader who asked for some advice. She said she’s interested in getting some gold and silver, but didn’t really know how to do it safely. She referred to the ads on TV and radio from various companies, each of whom promised the moon and stars for precious metal delivery.
But she was concerned she’d end up on another mailing list (or bunch of lists, if those firms sold her email address), or that she’d call attention to herself. So she asked me who I trust when I buy precious metals.
Well, since we’ve been on something of a prepper-acquisition kick for the last couple of columns, I decided to cover the purchase of silver and gold the Pat McLene way.
I’ve been buying precious metals for around 30 years now. I limit my purchases to silver and gold only, although I know folks who are also into platinum or palladium or rubidium. But they’re buying for a different reason than I am.
Is prepping the right thing for to do for Christians? Or should we just be trusting in the Lord? Learn about that balance in “Be Thou Prepared” by Carl Gallups – “Equipping the Church for Persecution and Times of Trouble.”
I buy my metals strictly as a prep. Yes, I’ve “made money” doing so, because over the period I’ve been buying, their values have increased well over the rate of inflation. But here’s the thing: I won’t sell in any meaningful way until I really truly have to have the money … or until money no longer has any value.
That paper dollar in your pocket is a fantasy. Fortunately it’s a shared fantasy; but like all fantasies, especially ones “guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America,” once the bubble bursts – once that faith is destroyed and that credit is canceled – people will retreat to a deeper, more fundamental “fantasy.” This fantasy has never been destroyed through the history of civilization: that gold and silver have value.
So how do I get my metals? Well, not from any mail-order or online source, that’s for sure. I’m not knocking these businesses; I’m sure most of them are honest brokers who deliver on their promises. But let’s be real – you will end up on a list, whether that list is a mailing list, a marketing list, a frequent buyer list … or a list reported to the government. Businesses no longer have the luxury of not compiling lists. And if a list exists, no matter what any company promises, a subpoena will trump that promise.
So I don’t buy from these firms. When I wish to buy precious metals, I go to several different local dealers and pay cash. I never buy in sufficient amounts from any one dealer to require them to collect information for government reporting (here’s a nice info-graphic on those requirements).
I never make friends with these dealers. Sure, I’m friendly. I’m a friendly guy. But I never tell them my name or provide them with personal information. I do not park my vehicle outside of their establishment. And I only pay with cash.
Now I do realize that in these days of constant monitoring, no gold or silver dealer would be foolish enough to not have cameras in their store, and with the facial recognition systems now being commonly employed by the government, I could be identified if anyone wants to try hard enough.
Life has its risks, but I won’t make it any easier for some busybody than I have to.
So what kind of gold or silver purchases do I recommend? Well, at the Post Apocalypse Dance and Swap Meet, trying to get anything extra for numismatic coins (which has added value enhanced by the coin’s historical value or rarity) is not likely. So I usually go only for bullion coinage or semi-numismatic coins like krugerands or maple leafs. I also buy a fair amount of 90 percent “junk” silver coins (meaning, older pre-1965 American coins from back when they actually had a real metallic value).
I might buy some bullion bars of silver, just in case I want to someday buy someone’s ranch or something; but I stay away from any gold coins larger than one ounce, and I buy smaller-weight gold coinage when it’s economic to do so. After all, if eventually an ounce of silver will buy a horse, an ounce of gold at current rates means having to carry around a horse and nearly nine pounds of silver change.
Check out some options in the WND Superstore preparedness department. New products of all kinds being added regularly for all your prepper needs – from informational books, movies to shovels, water purifiers, and food from soup to nuts!
Now there are a lot of smart people who will want to inform me that in the gold “hoarding” criminalization instituted by the presidential Executive Order of 1933, historic/numismatic gold coin collections were exempt from confiscation. All I can say is that one illegal executive order by a socialist president doesn’t mean that another socialist president can’t issue something different. And no matter what order is given, I don’t intend to comply.
Precious metal prepping should be a part of every prepper’s plans. But if the SHTF, be aware that in the initial chaos, gold and silver will have no more practical value than tree leaves. It will take a while for that old fantasy to re-establish itself. In such a scenario, at first the only trade items that will be worth anything will be the true fundamentals: food and defense.
So buy some real money, put up some supplies, purchase a gun and ammunition, and get prepared.
Receive Practical Prepper's commentaries in your email
BONUS: By signing up for email alerts, you will also be signed up for news and special offers from WND via email.
Name*
First
Last
Email*
Where we will email your daily updates
Postal code*
A valid zip code or postal code is required
Click the button below to sign up for commentaries by email, and keep up to date with special offers from WND. You may change your email preferences at any time.