World in mad rush for gold coins
The Appenzell Daily Bell

Forget equities and other investment options, the world is now in a mad rush for gold coins. If reports emerging from all corners are any indication, gold coins have witnessed a surge in demand following the global recession. According to analysts, investors are set to make a dash for gold coins now because of the slowdown. According to a gold coin dealer in US, he has witnessed a sharp increase in people purchasing gold as a result of the economic recession. David Bernhardt of Engle's Coin Shop in Indianapolis told TV channels that more customers have been buying $950 US Mint gold bullion coins in a bid to diversify their investments. Many people in Indiana are putting their money into gold rather than stocks and bonds. Data from the US Mint indicated that almost 1.2 million gold coins were sold last year, nearly triple the number purchased in 2007. - Commodity Online

Dominant Social Theme:

Gold coins. Imagine that!

Free-Market Analysis:

Still, comes this sort of article (well, maybe not this particular one), written with bemusement, even puzzlement. Why would people buy gold coins? Who are these people? What do they seek? Are they like you and me? Are they a different species? And yes, too, such articles remind us of a train whistle. The steam builds up at great pressure in the great big engine-room boiler and then when the cord is pulled, the shriek rips out into the air - a full-throated and truthful sound that can be denied no longer. In the past few weeks, we've noted a number of these, all written the same way, in a kind of perfervid, puzzled way, many of them quite short, the words tumbling over one another, as if in a rush to be done.

Mints around the world began to experience backlogs months ago. At the time, assorted apologists claimed the shortfalls were demand based, but that there was plenty of gold - if only the mints would fill orders more efficiently. The downplaying and negativity about gold demand goes back a very long ways indeed now. The state and its leaders find honest money difficult to control and all-too-democratic. But even in the last decade, we have seen gold perma-bears wrap themselves up in veritable knots. Prime Minister Gordon Brown unburdened the UK of some tons eight years back, and counting - showing the astute business sense and economic timing for which history will long commemorate him. For those who keep track of such things (and some in Britain have long memories indeed) it is said he cost the British treasury some 5 billion pounds so far.

Conclusion: Let gold rise above US$1,000 and ounce - and go yet higher - and there will be a veritable explosion of commentary about precious metals and their unfortunate staying power. We are not sure when and if government confiscation would swing into action, but we are certain that the growing power of gold, and eventually silver, prices will only add to the woes that the central banking model is experiencing.

And let's not forget the ‘Net. The only thing more powerful than what may be the inevitable rise in the price of precious metals is the effect of the Internet itself. The rising price of precious metals, and the demand for them, coupled with the dissemination of truth about honest money on the Internet, is a one-two punch aimed at the solar plexus of the current system. It may not be a knock-out blow, but those on the receiving end will surely feel it. And certainly, they have already. From up here in the Alps, we intend to keep on swinging. You can too. Click the Send To A Friend button in the main navigation bar at the top of this page and invite others to the Daily Bell - they'll thank you for it.

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