Gold may be confiscated.

[Stretch]

Or taxed to death. I'm thinking, worrying that a desperate and reckless government may do some kind of compulsory purchase order on gold when the SHTF. Of course I wouldn't necessarily hand it in but it may become impossible to sell if the government makes ownership of gold ilegal. For this reason I've stopped stacking gold for now and I'm gonna concentrate on silver which would never be confiscated. Do other members have similar worries?

[Kman]

I have no worries about that no 

[Stretch]

Why Kman?

[Stretch]

It's a legitimate and realistic concern. The Americans done it for many decades and the government of the UK is in deep shit with unfunded liabilities, debts that will probably never be paid and a complete inability to live within its means.

[Kman]

It's a legitimate and realistic concern. The Americans done it for many decades and the government of the UK is in deep shit with unfunded liabilities, debts that will probably never be paid and a complete inability to live within its means.

 

They also took silver

 

"Pursuant to the above authority, I hereby proclaim that such gold and silver holdings are prohibited, and that all such coin, bullion or other possessions of gold and silver be tendered within fourteen days to agents of the Government of the United States for compensation at the official price"

[Stretch]

Silver's essential use as an industrial metal will mean they can't confiscate it and even if they do a black market will quickly develop.

[morezone]

Society has changed a lot and I don't think they can get away with such things these days.

If you can't sell in the UK, just pop overseas and sell some there.  Gold is so compact it doesn't take up much space with it currently taking up 1/128th  of the space than the equivalent value in silver.

[morezone]

Silver's essential use as an industrial metal will mean they can't confiscate it and even if they do a black market will quickly develop.

 

Why would that not apply to gold?

[Stretch]

I was thinking of the overseas option Morezone but the gold would set off the metal detectors at customs.

[Stretch]

Why would that not apply to gold?

Golds industrial uses are extremely limited compared to silver.

[morezone]

I was thinking of the overseas option Morezone but the gold would set off the metal detectors at customs.

 

As would everything else metal on your presence. More difficult if they're deliberately looking and checking everything metal.  Otherwise just send it through the x-ray machine with your keys, UK coinage, holiday coinage, watch, phone and all the other metallic things we put through anyway.

[Danny-boy]

They also took silver

"Pursuant to the above authority, I hereby proclaim that such gold and silver holdings are prohibited, and that all such coin, bullion or other possessions of gold and silver be tendered within fourteen days to agents of the Government of the United States for compensation at the official price"

Did they?

[Danny-boy]

Apparently they did, the year after the gold confiscation.

Gold was Executive Order 6102, silver was 6814.

Very interesting. Although it didn't include silver coins, so most of us would be ok.

[Danny-boy]

Kman, sounds like the order you quoted was a hoax.

They did take silver bars though as per the above.

[Stretch]

Apparently they did, the year after the gold confiscation.

Gold was Executive Order 6102, silver was 6814.

Very interesting. Although it didn't include silver coins, so most of us would be ok.

[Stretch]

Yes interesting Danny-boy. A warning from history.

[Stretch]

Apparently nobody was ever fined or imprisoned for not handing in their gold.

[craig12]

sounds like everyone will be buying copper rounds at 99p and palladium bars

[Kman]

Kman, sounds like the order you quoted was a hoax.

They did take silver bars though as per the above.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102

 

I'm not 100% but it seems like the the seizure of safety deposit boxes was a hoax, but they did take silver too. 

[silversword]

At the time , the US was on a gold standard, and still had circulating coins that cointained silver, that's not true of today so the justification used then isn't so valid.

[FTYBR]

Personally I don't think there is ANY danger of this happening.

We're in a different world now.

Excuse me for the waffling but I'm on a train so have a few hours to burn!

Firstly, if the government attempted to confiscate gold then that would mean they are recognising it as money - and a need to be used as a backing for sterling currency. This alone, would be unprecedented and effectively rubber stamp the worthlessness of fiat currency.

I'd estimate less than 1% of population hold equivalent of 1oz gold or less. So for the hell of it, say 700,000 people - 700,000 oz. (I'd be keen to know if anyone else has an idea of public ownership in gold?)

This would be just 7% of the UKs stated holdings in gold. Do you think they would seriously force confiscation of gold/silver ownership on the public (in doing so causing a revolution) in order to obtain a mere 7% extra gold... When already, as is currently stands - it would take about £130,000 per oz in order to 'back' the existing money in circulation (based on 310 tonnes or 10,000,000oz).

The numbers just don't add up anymore.

What's far more likely in other countries with large mining resources, is expropriation of assets/licences. Or quite literally, stealing gold that they were acting as a custodian for.

I'm afraid in a scenario where our government needs gold to underpin its own currency/economy - we're a third world country left with the infrastructure of a developed world.. But unable to afford to import anything to sustain it.

Waffle over, now where's the drinks trolley

[silversword]

That's the thing, there is no need to back the currency with gold anyway. It's a completely different world now.

[Stretch]

As I understand it the day's of fiat currency, our debt based monetary system are numbered.

[Stretch]

Peter Schiff for example has no doubt that we will in the future be on some kind of gold standard.

Max Keiser claims that the day Gordon Brown sold off half our nations gold will become known as the day Britain lost it's sovereignty.

[FTYBR]

As I understand it the day's of fiat currency, our debt based monetary system are numbered.

Maybe. Maybe not. You think every developed world without sufficient resources will walk silently into the abyss? Not a chance, wouldn't be surprised if fiat is allowed to run on for another 10+ years. Don't ever forget who controls this world, and when it comes down to it... Everyone's just trying to keep their jobs. Even at the top!

I'm afraid the public will seldom understand what's happening when the end of fiat begins...and will sell out into a shrinking fiat environment. Almost every single person on this forum would sell out tomorrow if offered £50/oz for silver and £2,000/oz gold and declare it a superb investment return!. And yet they'd not understand what's likely happened. Could be quite tragic given the effort and sacrifices most of us have made to accumulate real wealth