Chile Forum

Actually, in a crisis, diamonds are better than gold to escape.
Remember what happened to Spaniards in the Sad Night?, when they tried to escape loaded with gold, from the Aztecs.
And Remember that people that store gold awake envy, like the case of the Spanish governor that Tupac Amaru executed by making him to drink molten gold
In fact, Nazis scaped to the paradise... I mean, the New World, carrying mainly diamonds. Never saw the Schindler list?

Now, get serious, money has a value because you live in a society where confidence count. If there is a crisis where people don't trust the society anymore, you better eat your diamonds and escape.

The lemma is, "In God we trust" instead of "in gold we trust"

Just thought some might be interested in this article from more mainstream press:

Gold Will Outlive Dollar Once Slaughter Comes: John Hathaway
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-2 ... haway.html

Here's the ending to the article:

Naysayers point to gold’s price and see a bubble, without understanding that the only acceleration that is taking place is in the rate of decline of paper currency. The Fed is organizing an attack on the dollar’s value, believing that this is the most expedient way to defuse deflationary market forces. The man in the street is unaware, a perfect setup. Inflation can only be successful when the public doesn’t see it coming.

The sudden torrent of commentary on gold isn’t the sign of a bubble. Anti-gold pundits provide a great service to those who grasp this historical moment: They facilitate the advantageous positioning of the one asset most likely to be left standing when the dust settles.

JHyre wrote:Here I thought this might result in some useful conversation, but then you lapse into non-sequiturs. I would read the prior posts in this thread more closely and with a more open mind.

Yes. You should consider a poisonous sense of humor on my side as well.

JHyre wrote:First, an absolute "Commie Takeover With Guns In Your Face" is the least likely scenario.

Well, it seems you are nervous and think the sky is falling. (By the way, that's a myth that come from India).

JHyre wrote:The "Oh crap, I am Custer in MezoAmerica"

Custer? I don't know what has in common Custer with the Spanish conquerors. Custer was practising a genocide, and not collecting gold, as Spaniards did. The Spanish conqueror is the archetype of the greed for gold, that's all. Nope, that was just a practical example that if you want to run with money, you better run with papers rather than with gold, which is too heavy.

JHyre wrote:and "Oh crap, I'm a Nazi fleeing Goetterdaemmurung" scenarios

Nope, oh crap, diamonds is the best way to escape when the sky falls down on the top of our heads.

JHyre wrote:strike me as......unlikely and clearly not applicable to what we are discussing here. Even in extreme circumstances, well-hidden and unadvertised caches, domestic and foreign, can be discretely recovered at an appropriate time. Given Commie penchant for seizing persons, the absolute last place I would store value would be on my person.

True. Commie are a bit obsesive, isn't? They have been portaited as the source of all evil

JHyre wrote:More likely means of seizure, as alluded to in this thread: A much more subtle, less bloody and gradual seizure via taxes, regulation and devaluation. It's not as if a pattern does not already exist in this regard. In this case, gold serves well to preserve value, also sans the messiness of eating and, um, recovering it.

OK. OK. Gold is a good alternative and I agree.

JHyre wrote:I find it unlikely that I will pursued by thousands of atlatl-armed hostiles in a sudden flight. However, in that event, the store of value would be elsewhere and I would devote my carting capacity to ammo to feed some firearm. Here in the knuckle-dragging US, citizens have not given up their right to self-defense.

A truly unnecesary measure, given the fact that if the U.S. ever has a gorilla (leader of a military coup) citizens will be scare out and dominated with the simple tactic all gorilla has: terror. By murder, persecuting, torturing and spreading rumours.

JHyre wrote:You have an obsession with pre-Columbian cultures, not to mention an evidently idealized view of the same. You bring them up even when the examples are of little relevance.

Obsesion? That's general culture. I live in the Americas, you know, and as an "American" (in the real and broader sense of someone that lives in the Western Hemisphere) I have a DUTY to know about pre-Columbian cultures, and all those anecdotes are something we learn at primary school.

You, as an American (In the U.S. sense) I bet know quite a bit about your own Amerindian cultures. And I bet you can give me a lesson about the influences of the Iroquois in the formation of the U.S., about the Mississippians cultures, about Sioux cosmology, etc. Come on, you aren't a clone of an European but an American, and you certainly are informed of the origins of your land. Well, it is the same here.

JHyre wrote:Doubtless, this passes for scholarship at universities, which is why academics are broadly and rightly held in such low esteem.

I am not an historian, but history fascinates me. If you find something wrong in what I said, please let me know. I am always willing to learn.

pinguin wrote:
This is my favorite manufactured gold coing. An american coin to honour Sacagawea. The figure said to me a lot more about the Americas and theirs origins.

I was waiting for others to call you out on this one, but that's not a gold coin. It's actually a copper coin with a manganese brass coating. The melt value of a Sacagawea dollar is less than 7 cents at current prices.

But doctor, I thought those clear rocks I ate before crossing the border were diamonds not glass! I trade them to you below the spot price of certain clear rocks for medical services rendered.

I was waiting for others to call you out on this one, but that's not a gold coin. It's actually a copper coin with a manganese brass coating. The melt value of a Sacagawea dollar is less than 7 cents at current prices.

g~j had the opportunity to carry these coins in our pockets during our year in Ecuador
One of these Sacas could usually buy a 650 ml. cerveza!
Indeed, many Sacas were exchanged for bottles of golden Pilsner during our tenure there.

Actually, there were a (very) few Au Sacas...

In 2001, Coin World reported the revelation (via a FOIA document request) that the Mint had struck 39 examples of the 2000 Sacagawea dollar in gold in June 1999 at the West Point Mint. The planchets came from specially prepared ½ troy-oz $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Planchets. Why they were struck is not known; speculation is that this was an attempt by the mint to offer "Premium" collectibles in conjunction with the newly released Sacagawea dollar in 2000.
Twenty-seven were soon melted and the remaining 12 were on board Space Shuttle Columbia for the July 1999 STS-93 mission. Two examples then popped up at two separate events; one during a Private Congressional Dinner in August 1999, and another example at the Official First-Strike ceremonies in November. The coins remained at Mint Headquarters under lock and key until they were transferred in 2001 to Fort Knox. The strikes are considered to be illegal due to the Coinage regulations in place.

An small observation: [...to keep on our topic here]
There IS gold in Ft. Knox... at least 12 x 0.5oz = 6 oz

pinguin wrote:If that's the point, perhaps you should store diamonds. They are less heavy than gold and can keep more value per weight.

BTW... two important properties

Diamonds have no homogeneity
It takes a pro to distinguish - fake from real - quality and value?
How do you know what you really have? - and will others also know (or not?)

Au~Ag bullion has homogeneity
Bullion coins and bars are very easy to identify and assign value

Diamonds are not divisible
How do you get change for your diamond?
Dividing a diamond is difficult? - and the subsequent pieces are also worth less than the whole?

Au~Ag are divisible
As many times as you want - each piece retains its proportionate value

Some may stick their diamonds where they may...
But, g~j will stick to Au~Ag - TYVM

It seems obvious that no allchileans are yet too excited...
Over Helicopter Ben's flight yesterday.
Over the Significant UP Action in the PM markets today.

To wit... half-way thru the trading day...
Au up $32+ approaching a new high!
Ag up $1.10 and approaching $26!

We guess no others are casual or active spectators...
Watching their Au~Ag assets exponentially increase -
Far beyond the dreams of avarice?

If none others can gloat over their immense good fortune today...
Then g~j must celebrate alone...
DYODD = suerte

If none others can gloat over their immense good fortune today...
Then g~j must celebrate alone...
DYODD = suerte


Sliante back at you GJ, I wouldn't describe it as my "immense good fortune" but I'm quietly smiling.

I think many are celebrating but quietly.

There were many doubters who ridiculed the ones who logically explained why this would come to pass and the blabbermouth flip-floppers who now sing a different tune. But this is only stage one of the rocket in a world of QE to infinity.

The higher it goes and as colored paper buys less and less, the ones who did believe in sound store of values will have the poison and danger of envy directed their way. So quiet may be the best policy.

As eeuucaca or something like that would say: NIA, DYODD, BCWYT, TANSTAAFL, etc.