A New American Gold Rush

In The Dark Economy, There's A Silver Lining: Gold

(CBS)  At Philadelphia's Wolf Jewlers, customers are coming in. Not to buy - but to sell, CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston reports.

"We call it a gold rush. People would come in and bring me their scrap gold," said Bob Wolf, the store's owner. "That's what we call it in the business - it's half an earring, or it's a dented piece."

In two days, Cynthia Jones-Shirley has made $600 by scouring jewelry chests.

Pinkston asked: "so, you're converting something that was sitting in your drawer into money?"

"Yes, wedding bands that … married … divorced," she said.

She's cashing in now because gold prices are climbing from just over $400 an ounce three years ago to more than $900 today.

Throughout history, gold has been a safe harbor.

"In times of turmoil such as what's going on with the stock market and the economy right now, people tend to gravitate towards gold," said Kevin Grady, of MF Global.

More investors buying gold means more demand - and higher prices.

This new gold rush means Bob Wolf makes money.

"Every dollar I lay out, I get back $1.10, a $1.15," he said.

So does Matt Garfield, president of the Garfield Refining Company.

"We're very, very busy," he said.

Garfield's company refines scrap gold purchased from jewelers, and dental labs, selling the purified gold bars on the world bullion market.

Last week, he put his employees to work around the clock.

"I had a number of bars from the bad old days of $250 an ounce, I'm thinking of cashing them in, but I'm not quite ready yet," Garfield said.

Some analysts predict the precious metal will soon top $1,000 an ounce. In these tough economic times there is a silver lining.

It's gold.

[jjarden]

It''s already too late to BUY Gold...When you start seeing news articles and hearing everyone talk about an Asset Class...then it''s too late....It''s time to SELL Gold, not BUY! This is what happened with Dot Com Stocks and Real Estate...the people who have and are going to make any money were in Gold at $300 - $500...everyone else now piling on is just too late to the party and are riding on the "Greater Fool Theory" at this point, hoping that there will be a greater fool to come along and buy it higher...Just like those other asset classes, Gold will come crashing down, or else the Fed Govt. will confiscate all Gold Holdings like they did during the depression. Stay in Cash and get ready to pick up great bargains in the stock market. I should know...I lost my shirt in the last Real Estate market due to this mistake.

[beehive21-2009]

Gold was $ 37.50/ OZ. then it went to the world standard ,several hundred $$ / oz.why ? the world was not able to deal with the Americans.we are so advanced in the world arena,walking on the Moon ,invented everything mankind whats and desires and haven''t missed a beat.We march to a different drum,the choosen ? ,the keepers of the universe ,creating a better life for man thru goodwill,helping the third worlds to stop bickering and to live in harmony with the past, to develop a future for all living thing,unless we need to eat a deer.

[shanev137]

Great.

Speculators have ruined the stock market, the energy market, the real estate market, the dollar, and now the gold market.

I can''t wait until all the massive strip mining starts up again and ruins our mountains and country side. I love the look of scarred land in the morning.

Maybe if we''re all lucky and privileged enough, we can get a job in a smelter or running a sluice box.

[bkotarsk]

Wow $1000.00 an ounce... That Great Except The Value of the U.S. Dollar will drop to the Equevilate of 3 cents in buying power . We all think The Value of Gold is INCREASING... NO it is only Keeping up with INFLATION

[hypnotoad72]

With Fort Knox loaded with the stuff, surely using some of that to pay back some of the debt would smooth the furled brow?

[shanev137]

jjarden - You''re absolutely right.

Anyone remember the hype from the headlines in the newspapers the day the NASDAQ hit 5000? That was the day to dump every share you owned.

It''s just like when cab drivers, landscapers, and waitresses were buying brand new $250K houses with no money down. That was time to sell all the real estate you owned.

[l00ker]

Around 1986, platinum was around $500.00 per ounce; today, platinum is $1600.00 per ounce. As our own old man Ron Paul says, gold is the standard, and will one day be near or over $2000.00 per ounce. Better get some.

[cbsblogger]

I''ve been a major GOLD bull since 2002 and before. All indicators led in that direction while all the so-called market gurus said that it was not going to happen.

That said.

There will be a pull back ... maybe to 700-750 per ounce, and then there will be another leg up. With the current state of finances and uncertainty in the world it is hard to figure what the catalyst for a gold sell off will be, but it will come. Keep some powder dry.

Then it''s time to buy again.

[cbsblogger]

The government says inflation is low. Yet the government at all levels (local state federal, universities, etc) finds it impossible to keep their budgets constrained to their quoted level of inflation....CPI. That tells me the government CPI is totally hogwash.

[mcv57]

Not that I can afford it, I would buy gold if I could afford it. I don''t think it would matter anyway. Upon the crash, gold is going to be worthless anyway. The government will desperately reinstall the value of money and ban gold as tender for commerce.

The only time gold will be accept under this regime is when a nuclear bomb strikes the Washington, D.C. then gold would be used for trade. Otherwise, bonds and treasury will be king - unless the U.S. government becomes so corrupt, it pospones or nulls its treasury notes. This is so boring . . . some ole song and dance.

[joyous88]

if you buy anything right now you are a FOOL!

[mcv57]

if you buy anything right now you are a FOOL!

Posted by joyous88

If you are welfare or on Social Security, its your obligation to spend. You are part of the government money machine that must circulate the greenback; otherwise, WE WILL SEE the DEPRESSION.

[l00ker]

if you buy anything right now you are a FOOL!


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Posted by joyous88 at 10:17 PM : Jan 25, 2008


I disagree. I don''t think that gold will fall below $800.00 per ounce fall a long time. We are now in a mega bull phase, and it will not blow off until gold tops $1000.00, with a pull back to about $920.00, and then on to about $1100.00. And that''s possible this year. The falling dollar, mortgage crisis, Chinese, Indians, Japanese, and Middle East countries are the drivers. They need somewhere to park their surplus greenbacks in order to maintain their spending power. In 2000, gold was at about $252.00 per ounce.

[l8c6]

Gold was forgotten and out of favor for years. The fact it''s being talked about now means it will tease investors for awhile, they''ll hang on. Eventually it will either give them little gain, lose them some or burn their behinds for the next 20 or 30 years till it resurges again.

[twohogsfn]

toad72-get real. sell our gold & start allover again?? [not to smart]the problem is,the $ is backed by hot air. how bout we go by the constitution? a "dollar" is--a certain amt. of GOLD or SILVER

[l8c6]

The only time gold will be accept under this regime is when a nuclear bomb strikes the Washington, D.C. then gold would be used for trade. Otherwise, bonds and treasury will be king - unless the U.S. government becomes so corrupt, it pospones or nulls its treasury notes. This is so boring . . . some ole song and dance.

Posted by mcv57


Gold is not food, clothing and shelter. You can''t eat it, sleep in it or do much else with it other than look at it so, if society is devastated gold will most likely be worthless. If it has any value it will be dangerous to possess and use it for purchasing. I mean, the man with the gold stashed in his house will be beaten and robbed if it has any use toward purchasing essentials.

[twohogsfn]

from these postings i see the average american is alive & well [stupidity runs rampent]few of you know a bannana from gold. carry on in your ignorance [ship of fools]

[twohogsfn]

bkotarsk--the dollar is already worth 3cents from what it was worth 70 yrs. ago[it''s called loss of purchasing power]be patient as it will soon be worth $o [as all "fiet" currencies must do]

[piercetheval]

...Our present dollar is worth aprx. 49 cents to what it was when gold was 400 dollars per oz. this is because of the fiat money we presently call "legal tender". Our present currency system is based on ''usury''. Usury is a sin, that is why Jesus drove the money chagers from the temple. A 20 dollar gold piece could buy the the finest suit made in 1800 AD. A 20 dollar gold piece could buy you the finest suit made in 1900 AD. Today a 20 dollar bill won''t buy you the tie. When will you learn the further you drift from Gods'' laws the harder the lessons become?

[piercetheval]

...the only physical things of value are land, seed, family, friends and the means to protect the other four.

[brianbwb-2009]

"a "dollar" is--a certain amt. of GOLD or SILVER"
Posted by twohogsfn

Everyone who says this, including Steve Forbes, doesn''t answer the next 3 and most obvious questions;

1. From where will the US government get enough gold to back the currency in circulation, (don''t forget, Nixon sold the treasury''s gold assets, because during the Vietnam debacle the war profiteers like Bechtel, etc., stole 15 trillion from the treasury from 1956 to 1972, remember the 6,000 screwdrivers?)

2. How will they then temporarily stop the economy in order to convert to a new tender, (sooner or later, the current bills can no longer be legal tender) and lastly,

3. What will they do to prevent the anarchy that will result from millions of working class people suddenly "kicked out" of the economy because they don''t own any gold at the time of the conversion?

Like most traps such ideas look logical only if one unwisely ignores the human misery, and the resistance to it, that must logically follow.

[brianbwb-2009]

"...the only physical things of value are land, seed, family, friends and the means to protect the other four." Posted by piercetheval

And of those four, the only one that can truly be "owned" is the seed.

[b-easy63]

And of those four, the only one that can truly be "owned" is the seed.

Posted by brianbwb at 12:07 AM : Jan 26, 2008

Not even then--for a wind or bird or water can carry a seed away--or a bug or fungus in the ground can destroy it. A seed is like ambition--full of potential, but unrealized unless carefully nurtured and if luck smiles on you.

[b-easy63]

Best system is bartering--have good stuff or useful skills and learn the art of personal marketing--trade goods or services for items.

[mcv57]

"...the only physical things of value are land, seed, family, friends and the means to protect the other four." Posted by piercetheval

And of those four, the only one that can truly be "owned" is the seed.

Posted by brianbwb

Where is the heck did you get that logic? The land will be repossessed, your kin folk will be looking for charity, and the government will dictate where and when and what to seed. You need a college education in economics and history.

[b-easy63]

With Fort Knox loaded with the stuff, surely using some of that to pay back some of the debt would smooth the furled brow?

Posted by hypnotoad72 at 08:16 PM : Jan 25, 2008


Okay--been away for a while? The gold in Ft Knox was sold long ago--when against the Constitution, in the 1980s? The government decided to no longer back our money by gold--but by promise. Didn''t you know that by now?

[mcv57]

Best system is bartering--have good stuff or useful skills and learn the art of personal marketing--trade goods or services for items.

Posted by b-easy63

That advice is limited in worth. Can''t barter with big, corrupt monopoly corporation for oil and electricity. Better pray that a Clinton will get the White House (welfare system ballons), else shanty town U.S.A. here we come.

[mcv57]

Okay--been away for a while? The gold in Ft Knox was sold long ago--when against the Constitution, in the 1980s? The government decided to no longer back our money by gold--but by promise. Didn''''t you know that by now?

Posted by b-easy63

I read that some of that gold was Britain gold, butttttt, after WWII the U.S. never returned it. They learned their lesson the hard way. The owners of the Gold will mostly likely have the same fate.

[b-easy63]

God''s law is for his bride the church--not governments. The only government God has claimed must serve Him is Israel. God does not expect mankind or countries to serve Him, but he does expect individuals to serve Him. Just looking for a few good men. the future/fate of the countries is already known to Him.

Read Revelations 18--see what is waiting for the greatest nation and merchant of them all--after "she" gets drunk on the fornication of her wars......guess who she is--she causes all merchants to be rich and is the ''luckiest'' place, she is the richest and most powerful--get a load of what happens to her--guess God did not like all of her wars... huh? Forget the usury--America has a lot bigger worries about God''s wrath than that. Only God can take lives--no version of scripture makes an exception for America.

[mcv57]

. . . the corrupt military machine will kill to insure they have a paycheck.

[b-easy63]

Live off the grid --walk or ride a bike use hurricane lamps or candles--do what can be done in daylight and the day ends there ---or barter skills or stuff for fuel or a ride--it can be done and most importantly when money is not worth the ink that defines it--it will be done. Because results and tangibles are real--our money is only as good as our word--and we know how good that is not--don''t we? LOL

[b-easy63]

Think out of the box--or be forever constrained and give into to defeat--read the Foxfire edition--it tells people how to survive off the land and how to live more simply off the grid.

If you wait or expect a defunct government to help you--you will be fodder for those with better survival skills who do not give up or who take matters into their own hands and think of alternate solutions to problems.

[mcv57]

Posted by b-easy63

. . . I keep telling people my money is worthless, but they take it anyway. So, my word is solid, the government that is a different hairy creature of decept.

[b-easy63]

I read that some of that gold was Britain gold, butttttt, after WWII the U.S. never returned it. They learned their lesson the hard way. The owners of the Gold will mostly likely have the same fate.

Posted by mcv57 at 12:23 AM : Jan 26, 2008

I remember reading stories in grade school of why old people in the depression hid money in quart jars and in the walls of their homes. In the 1800s and again in the early 1900s our gov.mandated that no individual could own gold or pure silver coins and had to turn them in for paper currency. Some people rebelled and hid money instead. People were to face imprisonment if they did not give up all of their gold and silver to be melted down--like boullion or SS, the government steals from the people, claims they will pay it back--later pass laws that say they don''t have to then later on--claim a program did not work or was bankrupt. But the shell game can only go on for sooo long--before the demand to see the ball ---takes over.


Time to see the ball--guess what will happen when Americans find out it is no longer there?

[b-easy63]

. the corrupt military machine will kill to insure they have a paycheck.

Posted by mcv57 at 12:25 AM : Jan 26, 2008


They can get their paychecks--but if the system falls apart--what they have when they cash them--will make them worthless still. When money has no meaning --might and force take over--or cunning and stealth

[mcv57]

Time to see the ball--guess what will happen when Americans find out it is no longer there?


Posted by b-easy63

Say what??? Are you sucking on a bud?

[brianbwb-2009]

"Where is the heck did you get that logic? The land will be repossessed, your kin folk will be looking for charity, and the government will dictate where and when and what to seed. You need a college education in economics and history." Posted by mcv57

History shows timt and time again that land cannot be "owned", especially since, as you say, it can be "repossessed", just ask any surviving members of the original people who lived here before the Europeans came. Own land? Can you take it with you when you travel, or when you die? If the government decides to build a road through your land, see how long you "own" it.

As for friends and family, the concept of ownership of humans died with the abolition of slavery, the only thing left of the four items that can be "owned" is seed, and if you own some, best find and work with someone who can at least temporarily control a plot of land.

I did get an education in economics and history, the difference between us is that I paid attention in class.

[piercetheval]

...some people in Idaho were coining their own silver, I hear. Two of ''em got caught at a hockey game back east trying to buy beer with these coins. The Gov''t was P o''d and then came down hard.

[piercetheval]

briannb...Like I said earlier: The only things of value in this situation [The imposed usage of fiat money] is land, seed, family, friends and the means to protect the other four.

[mcv57]

I did get an education in economics and history, the difference between us is that I paid attention in class.

Posted by brianbwb

Okay, you should of explained yourself in the first place - let me guess, you failed english comp because you thought everyone could read your mind.

[l00ker]

They can get their paychecks--but if the system falls apart--what they have when they cash them--will make them worthless still. When money has no meaning --might and force take over--or cunning and stealth


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Posted by b-easy63 at 12:35 AM : Jan 26, 2008


Faith and strength...

[brianbwb-2009]

Okay, you should of explained yourself in the first place - let me guess, you failed english comp because you thought everyone could read your mind.
Posted by mcv57

Go Back and read carefully, piercetheval said "The only things of value in this situation [The imposed usage of fiat money] is land, seed, family, friends and the means to protect the other four."

And I added (not disagreement, but an addition, mind)that of the four, the only one that can be "owned" is the seed.

[clew37]

"the concept of ownership of humans died with the abolition of slavery,"

You''ll have to excuse when, but when has slavery been abolished. This was only on paper. You have *** slaves on every street corner of the world and the US, kids and adults sold into slavery in many places. There is a charity in Africa who gives slavers money to buy back people sold to pay their families debts. Slavery never has and probably never will be abolished. Certainly not for women and kids anyway.

[g-gfather]

How much in gold would the last grain of WHEAT on earth be worth ? Great-grandfather

[joyous88]

people are selling their old gold watchs,

maybe because they need the money to survive?

welcome to the conservative evangelical economy

[piercetheval]

...Our present dollar is worth 49 cents compred to what it was wort when gold was at 4oo dollars per ounce. this is because of the fiat money we presently call "legal tender". Our present currency system is based on usury. Usury is a sin. That is why Jesus drove the money changers out of he temple. A 20 dollar gold piece could buy you the finest suit made in 1800 AD. A 20 dollar gold piece could buy you the finest suit made in 1900 AD. Today a 20 dollar bill won''t even buy you the tie. When will mankind learn that the further we drift from Gods'' laws the harder the lessons become?

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by clew37
You are of course correct, and also I could add that virtual slavery still exists for everyone who goes to a job they hate, but have to ut of economic necessity. Even in the US.

But as I posted, no matter what the laws are in other countries, chattel ownership of humans is not legal in the US, it died in 1865.

[nwihoosier]

Peace and Love
joyous88 You talk such nonsense Please don''t be silly. Do something kind
Peace and Love

[king77shaw]

SHELTER FROM THE STORM ! ...

1) CANCEL YOUR CABLE TV: let the corporate media moguls (and their advertisers) know that you will no longer pay for their propaganda ..

2) STOP INVESTING YOUR MONEY ON WALL ("WAR") STREET: corporate America is selling out the middle class to the lowest global bidder and using our own money to do it; the financial markets will push for anything that increases profits - especially war .. best to invest your money in land, real estate, gold and silver%u2026

3) SUPPORT LOCAL ECONOMIES !
- Buy from local manufacturers, local retailers, local craftspeople/artisans, etc.
- if possible, BURN WOOD for heat;
- support local growers or grow some of your own food;
- implement alternative energy sources (solar, hybrid autos etc ..)
- develop local means of commerce not based on the failing US dollar ..

4) STOP UNNECESSARY CONSUMPTION & STOP USING YOUR CREDIT CARD ! think twice about what you buy; is it absolutely necessary ? who does it ultimately support ?

5) DECENTRALIZE ! - the global economy is nothing more than a ploy to centralize power, control and wealth into the hands of an elite few - blinded by misinformation, the American people are buying right into it - the rich get richer and the middle class is quickly becoming the working poor ...

[r9119111]

Credit Cards are designed to keep us in debt. They have been marketed to us as a way to live beyond our means with ease. In essence, they are another way for those with wealth to provide a service for a fee. This is actually another kind of Indentured Servitude. You are not free until the debt is paid.

Both Credit Cards and Mortgages are a way for people of means to suck money out of greedy people who choose to live beyond their means.

If selling gold to pay debts is what one must do to stay debt free, then congratulations for be resourcefulness in facing this new life the Republicans have marketed to us. Bottom line, know that if you vote Republican you are voting for the party of wealth. Are you wealthy? If not, then you have no business voting for the party of wealth. Good luck as we move forward in the 21st Century under right wing conservative control. Next time know for whom you are voting.