“What is the most
important silver news in the last month?” asked David Morgan as
we sat in his office in the beautiful countryside just outside of Spokane, Washington.
“The Mexican ‘Bill’!”
promptly answered this writer, referring to the communiqué sent by the
governors of all 31 states of the Mexican Republic to the Ways and Means
Committee of the Mexican House of Representatives, in which they expressed
their unanimous support for the monetization of silver and urged the
Committee to approve a bill which aims to achieve precisely this objective. (See
original article by Hugo Salinas
Price)
“What is the most important silver news in the
last year?” continued Mr. Morgan, nodding in agreement with my
reply.
“The Mexican ‘Bill’ . . . ?”
responded yours truly, this time with less confidence.
“What is the most important silver news in the
last decade?” further inquired Mr. Morgan, again nodding with
approval.
“The Mexican ‘Bill’!”
blurted out Mr. Morgan seeing that I had paused, trying to remember all that
has happened to silver in the past ten years.
There you have it from Mr. Silver himself: The
most important silver news in the last decade is the ‘Bill’ on
monetization of silver submitted unanimously by the governors of the Mexican
states to their House of Representatives.
“Have you seen it in the Wall Street
Journal?” launched Mr. Morgan again, unaware that I don’t read
this revered outpost of mainstream economic media. “Think you will read
about it in Money Magazine?” he continued to muse, as we savored a warm
and sunny winter day in the week before Christmas. An unusual warm front, or
perhaps lack of a cold one, had settled over the great Northwest and it felt
almost like spring.
I wondered if this was the beginning of a new spring
in the history of silver. It must be, for the only people who picked up the
story were the fellows at Le Metropole Café and a few other
precious metal sites. David Bond of SilverMiners.com followed up
with an excellent piece of his own. But
I have yet to see it on CNBC and I’m not holding my breath either.
I have had plenty of time to ponder the implications
of this event. Most likely the ‘Bill’ will not be passed in
Mexico. Not yet anyway. But the psychological effects from its consideration
by the government of a major country (one might argue about Mexico being
labeled ‘major’, but I could not bring myself to calling it
‘minor’) should be lasting. If you haven’t heard about this
groundbreaking event folks, please adjust your radar – this kind of
information is not to be missed, especially if you care about your financial
wellbeing.
Back home, in an effort to do some last minute
holiday shopping, I decided to visit the two coin dealers I know in New York
City. That’s right, in the heart of New York’s famed Jewelry
District on 47th Street there are a total of 2 coin dealers. Guess what?
There were two coin dealers, as in used to be! One of them –
let’s call him “Jeff” to extend the courtesy of keeping our
conversations private – has been talking about retirement for a while. Seeing
my keen interest at one point, Jeff offered to sell his business to me. He
was even willing to train me for a few months, to teach me the tricks of the
trade and to pass on all pertinent knowledge he gained during a 35 year
career. On numerous occasions we talked at length about rising silver price
and its impact on bullion markets. Jeff told me of the past. I ventured to
discuss the future, shared my views on silver price surpassing prior highs
sooner rather than later and tried to convince him to hang on.
“There is no money in bullion,” Jeff
shook his head in disbelief, packing another box. What could I tell this
dealer with a life-long experience in the coin business? That bullion is
money? That the charts are telling a different story? That the dry spell is
over?
“Inevitable does not mean imminent,” I
reminded myself. Everything takes longer than expected. We do what we must
today. And today there is a coin business up for sale with buyers nowhere to
be found.
“Take it all, I will give you the bags
‘at face’ ,” uttered Jeff, resorting to the marketing
tactics worthy of flea markets, but not the noble metal which 96% of polled
Mexican citizenry want as their money. This dichotomy – despised in New
York and revered in Mexico – typifies the precious metals market and
ensures that the bull market will be long and prosperous.
Further evidence can be found in the stock markets – this past week I
have been contacted by 3 exploration companies about potential private
placements. Off the top of my head, I can name perhaps another 3 that will be
raising capital early in the New Year. One of them is priced at 20 cents;
they can’t seem to give the shares away. And this at a time when the
Dow is trading at a new three year high. I know these exploration stocks are
risky and not all of them will make it, just like not all coin dealers will
make it. Still, we are not talking about slim casino odds here!
Even if nothing else matters to you, what should is
whether you will make it when silver and gold return as money. It could
happen first in Mexico or Malaysia, but
once it happens in one country, others will follow. They always do. We could
be among the first or last to treat silver and gold as money – the
choice is ours.
On an offbeat note, according to studies reported by
Bill Bonner’s Agora Publishing, Mexicans topped the list of the
happiest people on earth . . . a coincidence?!?
By : Sean
Rakhimov
Editor, www.silverstrategies.com/
|