GoldFinger1969

What I wrote on the other thread: You're free to not value it as highly as some of us. But I think most of us believe there's definite worth in assembling this research and hidden gems and putting it into easily-accessible notes, books, articles, etc. Taken to your logical extreme, all the information on everything is already out there....so nobody should write about anything since they're just "regurgitating" what is already out there. Quality original research is always good. Might not be your cup of tea, I admit. I'm not into some of Roger's topics or books (like Peace Dollars) but I wouldn't say it is junk just because I don't like it. Someone might say the same thing about his Saints book that I love.

Well, the stuff he uncovered tended to strengthen the L10 position, like the Exchange Letter from March 7th that confounded David Tripp. Roger doesn't control that info, it's available to all. If anything, the government might have more stuff that we don't know about (like the Export-Import Letter). I can't envision a smoking gun KO'ing the L10 position; I could imagine a letter opening the door to post-April 1933 legality of Philly Mint insiders being able to get coins for themselves or their Coin Collector Sugar Daddies in NYC or Philly. As interesting as these debates are to us, the probability is that the day-to-day running of the Treasury and Mint were what consumed 99.99% of their time, and you might only find 1 or 2 letters or comments over a 10 year period on stuff that we obsess about today.

Ehhh....like worrying about "perfect information" and other microeconomic rules and assumptions.

They have some interesting ideas, you have to admit. Just because they may not work in real life as they do in a textbook doesn't make them uninteresting. Rather have studied them for a semester than that Marxist course I took.

I would like more of those on Saints and Morgans, but he probably put most of them into the Saints book, understandably, so I have them there. Wonder if there are more internal correspondences from the Mint/Treasury and Leland Howard/Mary O'Reilly/etc. on the 1933 Saints and/or any other coins after the recall. That would be interesting. They probably had tough calls to make regarding "numismatic interest" in keeping gold coins.

Energy crisis averted !!! We just need 1 trillion more of those chimes hooked up to the grid. Let's get a moving !!!!!!

When do they do their IPO ?? Maybe Elizabeth Holmes can help with the underwriting.......

I think most readers here think that anything that expands the knowledge base is worthwhile, right Zad ? I'm not into alot of the obscure letters and notes that Roger uncovers, but I know they are of interst to some here. So I think it's good he found them and posts them even if don't find them compelling or interesting. Supported by 1 person or every person, it's valuable information. Obviously, stuff he posts on coins I collect -- Saints, Morgans, commemoratives -- is much more of interest to me.

(1) Economics major from Hamilton College, graduated with honors. (2) I like the Austrian School. (3) I LOVE Milton Friedman. (4) I covered the Gold Standard but read alot more about it because Alan Greenspan (Fed Chair) was a backer of the gold standard up to the early-1970's. The WSJ also had dozens of Op-Eds on it during the Reagan Years.

Read my comments, Kurt. I didn't say the talk was lousy just because it was a POV different than mine. I said it was interesting -- he made some good points, had some interesting slides -- but I didn't find it compelling. It was very plain-vanilla and had no Smoking Gun. If he had proved his point even against the position I took, I'd say it and admit it. I wish I was there to have asked him some (hard) questions.

I saw the guy's presentation and slide show. Interesting but quite frankly, not that impressive. My opinion, of course.

Getting Back To Wells Fargo Hoard.....not only should this thread go back to the topic it was created for, but it's actually a nice segue from the back-and-forth you guys have had. Because Ron Gillio, the guy behind the Wells Fargo NM Hoard, has NOT told all of the details regarding the Hoard. Let's hope he does because it gets to the heart of the worth of "original research" that you 2 guys are debating. Similarly, the details on the largest hoard ever found -- the 1983 El Salvador MTB Hoard -- got destroyed in flooding about a decade ago. Gerald Bauman, the chief numismatist, is deceased as is David Akers. This mega-hoard that may have included 150,000 total gold coins (including tens of thousands of Saints) is the source for the bulk of many otherwise-rare Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles. Those of you older than me....with good memories....was there any notices of the 1983 MTB Hoard in the mainstream press like The New York Times ? How about the coin periodicals....did it get lots of articles/space in them? I wonder if NARA might be able to find them.

That's harsh and uncalled for, Kurt. You're free to not value it as highly as some of us. But I think most of us believe there's definite worth in assembling this research and hidden gems and putting it into easily-accessible notes, books, articles, etc. Taken to your logical extreme, all the information on everything is already out there....so nobody should write about anything since they're just "regurgitating" what is already out there. Quality original research is always good. Might not be your cup of tea, I admit. I'm not into some of Roger's topics or books (like Peace Dollars) but I wouldn't say it is junk just because I don't like it. Someone might say the same thing about his Saints book that I love.

Sadly, I didn't do much reading on coins when I was collecting coins in the 1970's. And my studies in the 1980's really didn't cover it. We barely touched on the Gold Standard. Had we gone more in-depth, I think we would have touched upon the specific coins utilized in settling trade and/or the coins being struck more for backing GCs than trade.

Mary O'Reilly lived to 84...she got an exemption for the mandatory retirement age of 70 direct from FDR. They hired Leland Howard to help assist her....eventually FDR stopped with the exemptions....then Howard took over. He's the guy who initiated the 1933 Saint crackdowns.

I was hoping for a Buffalo expert to chime in. I see (?) 2 in 69....2 in 68+.....15 in 68.

And Jed Clampett used those oil and black gold profits to buy coins !!!

If Joe continues to look like Jimmy, our gold is going to skyrocket. I think the gold market is afraid Russia will dump gold for hard currencies but nobody will trade with them so it's a moot point.

Of course we IMPORTED oil to "make profit." What, we should not import ANY oil -- so that the domestic-only price can be $175/barrel ? Oil is a GLOBALLY TRADED COMMODITY (NatGas trades locally for the most part) but oil companies do NOT just "import for profit." If it were up to them, they would source the oil domestically to cut down on raw and transportation costs. They can't do it. The people you see on the news -- with the exception of CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox, and FBC -- don't know what they are talking about when it comes to oil and energy markets. THEY ARE CLOWNS !!! MSNBC has a sociology professor talking about how to produce more oil while sister station CNBC has someone who owns an oil company. Who do you all think knows more about producing oil, the guy with millions at stake or some clown at an Ivy League school ? Nobody on TV who has not read "The 7 Sisters" or "The Prize" should even be allowed to talk about energy policy.

I presume that 69 is the only pop in that grade or one of a few whereas the 68 has plenty of company ? With the price going up 10-fold, I just assumed you got into some rarified atmosphere.

I think she only wants me to use my toboggan .....

All of those are HEAVY OIL which our complex sophisticated crackers and refiners can handle. Opening Keystone XL brings in heavy sulphur crude. Otherwise, we have to get it from Russia and Columbia, since Venezuela is in the crapper.

I am an energy analyst so this is my area of expertise. We are a net importer of energy/oil even though we do export refined products, propane, heavy Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs), and light sweet crude. Capped wells (mostly DUCs, Drilled but Uncompleted) require more work to re-start than a traditional stripper well. Shale is generally short-cycle but not that short ! We are net buyers of energy/oil but are a net exporter of natual gas, something we didn't expect 15-20 years ago.

Urals Crude is selling $15 below Brent. The Russian Discount may widen. Always good to know what the Wuhan Covid-19 Axis is thinking.......

Cost aside, is the 69 really that much better than the 68+CAC ? Buffalo experts ??