Paper currency values getting clobbered across the globe
Negative interest rates are spreading across the globe and, according to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, may soon come to America. One effect of negative interest rates is that it…
Negative interest rates are spreading across the globe and, according to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, may soon come to America.
One effect of negative interest rates is that it discourages people from holding that currency. As capital flows out of countries that have negative interest rates, the currencies used in those nations tend to decline.
The politicians across the globe are now engaged in a battle to see who can devalue their currency relatively more than those of other nations.
The lesson to learn from this is to not hold wealth in the form of paper currencies. Thus far, the average life of a paper currency throughout history has been about 40 years. Physical gold has been used as a medium of exchange for six thousand years, and silver for most of that time—and never failed to hold their values.
There has been a strong surge of demand for physical gold and silver in the US thus far this year. Obviously, more people are taking steps to protect their wealth.
Patrick A. Heller was the American Numismatic Association 2012 Harry Forman Numismatic Dealer of the Year Award winner. He is the owner emeritus and communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Michigan and writes Liberty’s Outlook, a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at http://www.libertycoinservice.com. Other commentaries are available at Coin Week (http://www.coinweek.com). His radio commentaries titled “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So, And Important News You Need To Know” can be heard at 8:45 AM Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio and text archives posted at http://www.1320wils.com).
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