Quiet Comeback of Specie
Wyoming’s gold purchase underscores a broader trend as states adopt precious metals to hedge against inflation and challenge reliance on fiat currency.
Specie continues to make a quiet comeback. The latest entity to make such a move is Wyoming. The state now owns about $11.56 million in gold ingots purchased in December. The purchase was made following the implementation of a new law (“Wyoming Gold Act”) requiring the state to add precious metals to the state’s investment portfolio as a hedge against economic turmoil. Wyoming did well. It purchased 2,312 troy ounces at $4,337.60 per ounce. State Sen. Bob Ide (R-Casper) said, “These dollar-denominated investments are priced in dollars, and the dollar’s getting diluted and debased rapidly.”
Gold and silver U.S.-minted coins are now recognized as specie legal tender currency in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Utah was the first, having so moved in 2011. More recently, Texas established the Texas Bullion Depository, in which physical gold is made available to ensure digital transactions are specie rather than being simply another form of fiat money. Each of these states has removed sales tax from precious metal transactions, but the main purpose is to circumvent our federal fiat money system and its always accompanying inflation. Most coin collectors are knowledgeable about the dangers of the fiat money system now in place worldwide, but it doesn’t appear that the general public is concerned.
Credit card debt statistics illustrate this lack of concern, with debt recently averaging about $11,507 per household nationally. The last time the US government paid off its debt in full was 1835. As of March, the national debt was about $39 trillion. It’s still rising. Coin collectors “get it.” It now appears so do a number of states. Collecting is enjoyable, but it’s comforting to know that what you collect may also make you more secure.
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