I have searched I cant find if any country is still on a gold standard

I have searched both ATS and the wider web and though there is tons and tons of info about the gold standard and how the US used to be on it etc. I can not find if any country still is on the gold standard.

Any help with reference would be great help. This is just out of curiosity since I want to look at the history of said countries still on the gold standard. Plus on the more paranoid conspiracy side of things if there are no countries left on a gold standard then perhaps the central bankers have won a huge battle.

in Switzerland , 70% of currency is backed by precious metals

reply to post by Desolate Cancer

I have searched [and] I can’t find if any country is still on a gold standard. I have searched both ATS and the wider web and though there is tons and tons of info about the gold standard and how the US used to be on it etc. I can not find if any country still is on the gold standard. Any help with reference would be great help. This is just out of curiosity since I want to look at the history of said countries still on the gold standard. Plus on the more paranoid conspiracy side of things if there are no countries left on a gold standard then perhaps the central bankers have won a huge battle.

reply to post by sadchild01

 

in Switzerland , 70% of currency is backed by precious metals

I think there are three good reasons for the shift away from gold or other precious metals - usually silver and platinum - as a currency or backing of a currency of 99% of the world’s countries.

1) There is not enough gold, silver, platinum or other precious metals to go around. To run a world wide economy with nearly 7 billion people and a $30 trillion annual gross product requires MORE money that specie would or could provide.

2) National leaders enjoy the flexibility they have using fiat money. I think the US abused that power recently. With hindsight, We seem to be saying Fed Chairman Greenspan deserves a lot of blame for continuing the cheap money policies TOO long. OTOH, I do not recall ANYONE objecting to that policy when it was going on! And everyday brought a new high in hte DJIA!

3) Note the wide fluctuations in the price of gold over the past 5 years. I say Switzerland is “blowing smoke” somewhere they have no business to be! Or they are self-deceiving when they claim the Swiss franc is backed by gold to a fixed percentage. BS!

[edit on 3/13/2009 by donwhite]

Originally posted by donwhite
BS!

Currently, there are no countries operating on a Gold Standard. The Swiss requirement of 40% currency backing was reduced to 25% in 1998 - similar to the gradual debasement of the US Gold Cover Clause.

The CHF statutory link to Gold was abolished altogether by constitutional amendment in 1999. The Gold Cover Clause was eventually abandoned under Nixon - by act of congress in 1968.

Swiss Narrowly Vote to Drop Gold Standard

The Gold Cover Clause


GL

Originally posted by OBE1

Originally posted by donwhite
BS!

Currently, there are no countries operating on a Gold Standard. The Swiss requirement of 40% currency backing was reduced to 25% in 1998 - similar to the gradual debasement of the US Gold Cover Clause.

The CHF statutory link to Gold was abolished altogether by constitutional amendment in 1999. The Gold Cover Clause was eventually abandoned under Nixon - by act of congress in 1968.

Swiss Narrowly Vote to Drop Gold Standard

The Gold Cover Clause


GL

Wow so thats it huh? There are no modern day examples for us to explore to see how a gold standard works in todays globalized economy.

For all those of us who say bring back the gold standard we need a pilot program or example to show its superiority over fiat (if it is better, no way ot tell).

So what do we do from here? were do we go to prove that a gold standard works better, there are no modern day examples.

reply to post by Desolate Cancer

There are no modern day examples for us to explore to see how a gold standard works in today’s globalized economy. For all those of us who say bring back the gold standard we need a pilot program or example to show its superiority over fiat.

So what do we do from here? where do we go to prove that a gold standard works better, there are no modern day examples.

Well, you do what Adam Smith did 250 years ago. You do what Malthus did 200 years ago. What Karl Marx did 150 years ago. What J. Maynard Keynes did nearly 100 years ago. What Milton Friedman did 50 years ago.

First, you assembler as many relevant facts as you can. Then you concoct a hypothesis that best explains those facts. I think Mr. Friedman actually had decided on his theory before he marshaled his facts since he has been disproved by this calamity we are now into.

You can start with the CIA World Factbook. It has very good short takes on every nations economy. Most of all, you are here, now, while it is actually happening every day!

Good Luck!

[edit on 3/13/2009 by donwhite]

1) There is not enough gold, silver, platinum or other precious metals to go around. To run a world wide economy with nearly 7 billion people and a $30 trillion annual gross product requires MORE money that specie would or could provide.

That's not the reason. Like most people, you think a country on a gold standard needs to have as much gold to back up every bit of money in the economy!! Nonsense. Strictly speaking, a country on a gold standard doesn't need ANY physical gold though a 5% reserve would be nice.

]post by Desolate Cancer

You can start with the CIA World Factbook. It has very good short takes on every nations economy. Most of all, you are here, now, while it is actually happening every day!

CIA factbook??? Oh yeah - you can trust them.

reply to post by MakeSpeedLimit45

1) There is not enough gold, silver, platinum or other precious metals to go around. To run a world wide economy with nearly 7 billion people and a $30 trillion annual gross product requires MORE money that specie would or could provide.

That's not the reason. Like most people, you think a country on a gold standard needs to have as much gold to back up every bit of money in the economy!! Nonsense. Strictly speaking, a country on a gold standard doesn't need ANY physical gold though a 5% reserve would be nice.

Now I'm curious.

How can you say you are on the gold standard when you have no gold? Are you sure your name is not Bernie Madoff?

To me, a gold standard means you have gold (or silver or platinum) in sufficient quantities to guarantee anyone the exchange of paper money for specie anytime. The US, holding the largest gold reserve in the world, tried that but it failed. We tried to hold the price at $35 an oz, but when it was disconnected from our currency, the price spiraled to $800 an oz before falling back to $300-$400 for years. And Nixon’s friends got rich!


[edit on 3/14/2009 by donwhite]

reply to post by Make Speed Limit 45

CIA factbook??? Oh yeah - you can trust them.

Yes. I trust the CIA. The CIA workers in the trenches are highly qualified and are very loyal and dedicated to their country.

It is at the top level where the BS takes place and presidential politics prevails over reality on the ground.





[edit on 3/14/2009 by donwhite]

Originally posted by donwhite
reply to post by MakeSpeedLimit45

 

1) There is not enough gold, silver, platinum or other precious metals to go around. To run a world wide economy with nearly 7 billion people and a $30 trillion annual gross product requires MORE money that specie would or could provide.

That's not the reason. Like most people, you think a country on a gold standard needs to have as much gold to back up every bit of money in the economy!! Nonsense. Strictly speaking, a country on a gold standard doesn't need ANY physical gold though a 5% reserve would be nice.

Now I'm curious.

How can you say you are on the gold standard when you have no gold? Are you sure your name is not Bernie Madoff?

To me, a gold standard means you have gold (or silver or platinum) in sufficient quantities to guarantee anyone the exchange of paper money for specie anytime. The US, holding the largest gold reserve in the world, tried that but it failed. And Nixon’s friends got rich! We tried to hold the price at $35 an oz, but when it was disconnected from our currency, the price spiraled to $800 an oz before falling back to $300-$400 for years.


[edit on 3/14/2009 by donwhite]

Well why would someone artificially try to keep the price of gold down? I mean part of the gold standard would be that gold would rise in accordance with economic progression and lower with recessions and big bounties of it being found and mined.


CIA world factbook is very trustworthy and reliable this is based on pure research and calculations. Like said by donwhite its the political top appointees where the criminality comes from. I would trust the fact book more than any other book providing the same type of info.

The middle East countries, are discussing going on a currency for all of them, backed by gold..................... beginning, next year........... that is probably one of the reasons the Saudis, just bought 3.5 billion worth of it, a couple of months ago.

reply to post by Desolate Cancer



WHY? are they keeping it DOWN?

EASY......................

Because the U.S. has to "pretend" our money is valuable right now....... otherwise people would lose "faith" in the dollar and T-bills, and if gold started going up up up.............. then people would make a "flight" to metals. The U.S. DOES NOT WANT THAT!!!

They want to keep pretending our dollar has LOTS of value.......... so, they suppress the gold price!

check out this site.......... lots of info - on the manipulation of gold, including who has "admitted" it>

www.gata.org...

very good site.

reply to post by Desolate Cancer

Well why would someone artificially try to keep the price of gold down? I mean part of the gold standard would be that gold would rise in accordance with economic progression and lower with recessions and big bounties of it being found and mined.

For a long time the going price for gold was $20 an ounce. Like I'm thinking from the 1850s to the 1930s. Yes there were fluctuations because the US did not set out to control the price of gold. Rather, that was what people were willing to pay for gold. I supposed the "natural" law of supply and demand set the price.

In 1933, scrambling to get out of the FIRST Great Depression, and following the newest economic theory of the day, Keynesian economics, it was determined to control the economy by controlling the value (amount) of money. Because you cannot ‘make” gold but you can “make” money, gold was not conceptually suited to the task.

When you wanted to lower the price of money, you print more. To raise the price of money, you burn some when it comes in. On a grand scale, and within some uncontrollable parameters, a government can more or less regulate its economy. It is probably easier to MACRO manage an economy than to MICRO manage one. (This is before globalization talk and is probably not valid anymore).

We - the world - have been MONITIZING debt since 1933 for sure and probably before then but we did not notice it. By MONITIZING I mean we intentionally reduce the value of money - inflate it - over time. I believe the US has determined upon a 2% annual inflation rate. As long as our productivity increases at a rate MORE than 2%, our economy looks to be sound. OTOH when inflation exceeds productivity, we LOSE ground. It is pretty much universally agreed neither we nor any country wants DEFLATION. That’s the old saw, “a rising tide floats all ships.”

So why would we - the US - want to stabilize the price of gold? Well a lot of international contracts were based on the price of gold. Because it had been 100% stable from 1933 to 1969, $35 was like a message from GOD. It was a fundamental. You don’t mess with fundamentals but if you do, it is at your peril. There may also be a component of jingoism or excess hubris that we - the United States - can do anything we want, including setting the price of GOLD!

This is my best effort to explain why the US wanted to set the price of gold. You may have a better explanation.

[edit on 3/14/2009 by donwhite]

reply to post by questioningall

The middle East countries, are discussing going on a currency for all of them, backed by gold ..................... beginning, next year ........... that is probably one of the reasons the Saudis, just bought 3.5 billion worth of it, a couple of months ago. WHY? are they keeping it DOWN? EASY ......................

Because the U.S. has to "pretend" our money is valuable right now ....... otherwise people would lose "faith" in the dollar and T-bills, and if gold started going up up up .............. then people would make a "flight" to metals. The U.S. DOES NOT WANT THAT! They want to keep pretending our dollar has LOTS of value .......... so, they suppress the gold price!

I’m not worried. Already there are such organizations. Two come quick to mind. OPEC and EU. OPEC was founded in the 1970s when the US backed Israel in the Yom Kippur War, to make us pay. See Note 1. And that they have. Several trillions of dollars we would not have paid but for OPEC and our “unfailing” support of Israel.

The EU began as the European Coal and Steel Community in the late 1940s. The notion of a ‘United States of Europe’ has been around for much longer but the first real co-operation came following the massive destruction and national impoverishment all of Europe suffered in WW2. I guess that proves misery loves company?

The Persian Gulf countries are a ONE commodity economy. If we should EVER find another Ghawar oil field under the Gulf of Mexico, the Persian Gulf would be sucked down the bathtub drain! The world’s RESERVE currency - that which most foreign countries hold in reserve - is the US dollar. That is not because the world LOVES us, but because there is NO other currency that can meet those needs. Swiss franc? Sure, but how many can they print? English pound sterling? Same problem. Russian ruble? Not even Russians want rubles, US dollars being the currency of big deals in the old USSR since 1991. The YUAN of China? No, who wants to go to court in Beijing? The EU Euro? Ha! They can’t even adopt a Constitution. Not likely. So what’s left? Right, the US dollar.

To own or hold gold is pure speculation. Those who own gold SHARES are even more likely to get hoodwinked! At least if you overpay for a Mexican Gold Peso or an American Eagle, you will always have the piece of gold to treasure but if you get snookered into taking a piece of paper when you think you are buying GOLD you are just the fellow Bernie Madoff was looking for! See Note 2.

Note 1. Ghawar is an oil field in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest in the world, even larger than the earlier East Texas field. It is located about 60 mi WSW from the city of Dhahran in Al-Ahsa county of the Eastern Province. Measuring 170 mi × 19 mi, it is by far the largest conventional oil field in the world. The field is entirely owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, the nationalized Saudi oil company. Relatively little is known about Ghawar because the company and Saudi government closely guard field performance information and per-field production details. Available information is predominantly historical (pre-nationalization), from incidental technical publications, or anecdotal. en.wikipedia.org...

Note 2. Mike Zielinski, editor of the Gold and Silver Blog, reports that the U.S. Mint has suspended or delayed production of nearly all gold and silver products except for the basic 1-ounce gold and silver eagles, which themselves are being rationed. It sure seems as if the Mint doesn't want to go into the market to bid real metal up to meet public demand. You can find Zielinski's report, headlined "U.S. Mint Suspends Production of More Gold and Silver Coins," www.gata.org...


[edit on 3/14/2009 by donwhite]

Originally posted by donwhite
It sure seems as if the Mint doesn't want to go into the market to bid real metal up to meet public demand.

Hi Don. They can't go into the open market. The US Mint buys directly form US refineries - required by law to mint PM mined within the US.

This is the paragraph that jumped off the page - from your link...

Additionally, as a result of the recent numismatic product portfolio analysis, fractional sizes of American Eagle Gold Uncirculated Coins will no longer be produced.

The fractional sizes are super-popular with investors looking to gain a lower cost exposure to Gold.

GL

reply to post by OBE1

Hi Don. They can't go into the open market. The US Mint buys directly form US refineries - required by law to mint PM mined within the US. The fractional sizes are super-popular with investors looking to gain a lower cost exposure to Gold.

Mr OBE1, are you taking Mr Mike Zielinski, editor of the Gold and Silver Blog to task?

Actually, I don’t see how that - the US Mint buying gold on a closed market - would have any effect on the retail price of gold coins. It might artificially raise the price of domestic produced gold but even that escapes my mental capacity to accept.

I’m thinking the US produces about 10-15% of the world’s gold. Unlike ethanol which has a similar Most Favored Nation provision, the market surely would not support paying say, $300 per oz of gold unless it is US produced gold which then I would pay $400 per oz.

Even if that is the case, two prices for one commodity and it fungible? Would not the retail sales price necessarily be governed by the once hailed as the MIGHTY Free Market? I mean if the Mexican 1 oz gold peso is $900 why would I pay $1,100 for a 1 oz American Eagle?

Once upon a time Credit Suisse issued 1, 2, 5 and 10 gm gold tabs. As a survival tool I am not sure about the value of gold. I think I would rather have a pound of lead - made into bullets - than a pound of gold when it comes to GETTING food or water from a reluctant seller.

I still cannot bring myself to label the buying of gold, platinum or diamonds as an INVESTMENT. It may be fun, and it surely is beautiful, but an investment? Uh uh.

[edit on 3/14/2009 by donwhite]

Originally posted by donwhite
reply to post by OBE1

 

Hi Don. They can't go into the open market. The US Mint buys directly form US refineries - required by law to mint PM mined within the US. The fractional sizes are super-popular with investors looking to gain a lower cost exposure to Gold.

Mr OBE1, are you taking Mr Mike Zielinski, editor of the Gold and Silver Blog to task?

Not in the least Don. I'm simply responding to your speculation regarding the US Mint avoiding buying the public Gold market - they can't. Mr. Z didn't go there. I commented on the discontinuation of fractional GAE's because this policy essentially forces small investors to purchase fractional Eagles in the secondary market - where record premiums on these popular 1/10 - 1/4 - and 1/2 oz beauties - are bound higher as a result.

*US Gold Reserves are still valued on the books at the official price of $42oz*

GL

try Uruguay or Paraguay. I think one of those countries still has most of their treasury back with actual gold. It's not much of a treasury though but at least they are trying to do it sorta right.

reply to post by BASSPLYR

Hi BASSPLYR. All Central Banks hold Gold as a % of official currency reserves. US = over 70%. Currency Reserves not to be confused with currency backing - convertablity - or mechanism for the settlement of international trade, i.e > The Gold Standard.

Official Gold Reserves