U.S. Mint Bureaucrats Continue to Undermine the Once-Great American Eagle Brand / Commodities / Gold & Silver 2023

Preciousmetals markets are ticking lower this week amid an ongoing summer lull ininvestor demand.

Theupshot of soft market conditions for gold and silver is favorable buyingopportunities for bargain hunters. Not only are spot prices down, but so arepremiums on popular bullion products available through Money Metals.

Overthe past three years, premiums on Silver Eagles have been especially elevated due to the U.S. Mint’s chronic failure to keep upwith demand. There may be some relief in sight as the notoriously mismanagedU.S. Mint has suddenly doubled Silver Eagle production. Silver blanks are nowreadily available from the government's sole-sourced supplier as minting demandhas declined.

Thathas led to a big drop in premiums, especially for those wishing to sell their Silver Eagles.This could get unpleasant for those who ignored our warnings and opted topurchase these U.S. Mint silver coins only several months ago when premiumsreached as high as 75% over the silver spot price.

Poorplanning practices at the U.S. Mint, including an apparent refusal to stockpileextra silver blanks during periods of market slack, mean the outlook for futureproduction remains uncertain.

Theinternal problems at the U.S. Mint – combined with the lack of virtually allprivate mints in the United States being willing to deal with the bureaucracythat comes with being a federal contractor – point to perpetual turmoil andvolatility in both production levels and premiums on American Eagle bullion coins,particularly those minted of silver.

AtMoney Metals, we’ve long been disappointed in this situation and have vocalizedthis to our customers and the public. It’s a particularly damning fact thatother sovereign mints across the world rarely experience the problems thatconstantly plague the U.S. Mint and its product line. That’s why we constantlyurge investors to shy away from purchasing Silver Eagles,in particular.

Investorswho want to acquire low-premium silver are wise to favor the products of other sovereignmints or privately minted rounds and bars instead.

Meanwhile,despite less buying interest and little attention from the mainstream media,the fundamental reasons for acquiring precious metals continue to grow.Inflation risk, credit risk, geopolitical risk, de-dollarization, mining supplydeficits, and the potential for a meltdown in the banking system, just to namea few.

Moneyin the bank isn’t what it used to be. Accounts denominated in today’s fiatcurrency units are depreciating thanks to negative real interest rates. In manycases, checking and savings accounts don’t even earn a nominal yield despite astring of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Alsoof great concern is that today’s banking system is being weaponized to enforceideological agendas. Dissenters from prevailing orthodoxy on matters ofpolitics, culture, and healthcare now risk being “debanked” – having theiraccounts cancelled for committing wrongthink.

FormerPresident Donald Trump had his Florida bank accounts closed in the wake of hisdisputed 2020 election defeat. He was also blacklisted by Deutsche Bank forpolitical reasons.

DemocratRobert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been censored on social media and had his non-profitorganization threatened with bank account closures, apparently at the behest ofthe Biden administration. Kennedy is charged with the thought crime ofspreading vaccine misinformation.

Itdoesn’t matter that much of what the public was initially told about the COVIDvaccine by the CDC, the mainstream media, and President Biden himself – namelythat the jab would prevent the acquisition and transmission of the disease –turned out to be misinformation. All that matters is that dissent from whateverthe orthodoxy happens to be at any given moment is now grounds for beingde-banked.

Dissidentdoctor Joseph Mercola recently had his bank accounts deactivated by JP MorganChase.

Alsorecently, anti-globalist British politician and gold advocate Nigel Farage wasblacklisted by his bank for having the wrong political beliefs. Farage warnsthat banks are beginning to work with credit bureaus to review customers’political speech as part of a de facto Chinese-style social credit system.

Thesehigh-profile cases are the tip of the iceberg. Countless numbers oflesser-known individuals and businesses are being cancelled by their banks forideological reasons.

Backin 2013, the Obama administration launched OperationChokepoint to push banks to crack down on supposedly high-risk businessclients. Operation Chokepoint specifically targeted gun dealers, paydaylenders, coin shops, and other businesses with a high volume of cashtransactions. The stated rationale was to combat fraud and money laundering.

Theresult was to set the stage for bureaucrats and bankers to determine whichpersons and businesses are socially desirable and which aren’t, which can havefull access to the financial system and which can’t.

Nowthat the banking system has been politically weaponized, will money itselfbecome a tool for authorities to wield against dissidents? It could be ifcentral bank digital currency replaces all forms of cash.

Aspart of the imposition of a digital dollar, government could arbitrarilydeclare that paper cash may no longer be accepted as legal tender by banks orbusinesses. And since all digital transactions can be logged and monitored inreal time, they can also be instantly denied by the central bank issuer.

Holdingwealth outside the banking system and out of U.S. dollar denominated assets isa must for anyone who seeks to become resilient to being financially cancelled.

Themonetary value of physical precious metals does not change based on thepolitical beliefs of the holder. Unlike a banknote whose value is governed byits issuer, a gold coin has intrinsic value as determined by the free market.And unlike an account at a financial institution, physical precious metals areuncancellable.

By Mike Gleason

MoneyMetals.com

Mike Gleason is President of Money Metals Exchange, the national precious metals company named 2015 "Dealer of the Year" in the United States by an independent global ratings group. A graduate of the University of Florida, Gleason is a seasoned business leader, investor, political strategist, and grassroots activist. Gleason has frequently appeared on national television networks such as CNN, FoxNews, and CNBC, and his writings have appeared in hundreds of publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Detroit News, Washington Times, and National Review.

© 2023 Mike Gleason - All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

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