If you have strong hands, you can test the market with rare coins. Can put the value of a coin well above the market price and might still be able to sell it. Can’t do that with bullion.

-In the absence of a gold standard, there is no way to protect against inflation. If there was anything better than gold to protect against inflation, the government would make that illegal too. We’re entering a tough period of stagflation, which is rising prices, but no economic growth and no growth in jobs. But it would be good for numismatic collectors.

-Treasury is burning through cash. Quarter 4 debt will be half a trillion. By the end of September, the federal government will be broke and also at our debt limit. Can’t borrow any more money. The perfect storm of economic events is upon us. Failure to pay any obligations due could call the dollar into question and trigger stagflation.

-Total government debt is $30 trillion. Is 15-45 times as much total government debt as in 1980, depending on how you define money.

-Juan asks about the inconsistency in the US demanding its borders being respected yet it bombs and invades whatever country it wants. If the US wants its borders to be respected, shouldn’t it also respect the borders of other countries? The US excuse is that when we go in to another country, it doesn’t count, because we’re defending democracy. We have a long history of meddling in others’ affairs.

-Opiod crisis rages and US prosecutions hit 25 year low. More than 1/3 of US adults are on prescribed opiods. Over 50% of drugs on street causing problems are prescribed legally and come from pharmaceutical manufacturers. Over 20,000 deaths last year from opiods.

-Bitcoin exchanges are subject to scrutiny from regulators. Operator of unlawful bitcoin exchange goes to prison for more than 5 years for processing more than $10 million in illegal Bitcoin transactions. Feds fear cryptocurrency is being used to evade taxes. Money laundering laws now being discussed in Congress will treat cryptocurrency as cash.

-Rob says private banks get to use customer money for leverage to gain interest by investing in government bonds. Why can’t the government have its own bank and accept customer accounts? Andy says amen and gives the example of the Bank of North Dakota. But the owners of the Federal Reserve banks would be deprived of their profits from selling government debt, so it won’t happen.

-3/28/17 speech by Governor Jerome Powell about how the Fed was created. Go to https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20170328a.htm

-Bob shares a study about using the bacteria Delftia acidovorans to extract the gold in seawater. http://www.geologyin.com/2016/03/researchers-discover-bacteria-that.html. There will be more efficient methods to extract gold and new gold finds, but they can never extract gold numismatic coins. Peak theory of gold – has it all been discovered? Go to World Gold Council and look at supply and demand statistics. Demand keeps increasing, rate of production is declining. Exploration budgets have been slashed. Extraterrestrial origin of gold?