$1 Trillion Platinum Coin Facts, Myths, Realities by JET1961

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What are the odds of the U.S. Mint creating a $1 trillion coin? Perhaps the idea is mere fancy.

 

"The White House refused to comment Wednesday on the possibility of a $1 trillion platinum coin manufactured by the U.S. Mint. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters, "I would refer you to the Treasury for the specifics on [a coin]." At the end of the press briefing, Carney said, "I have no coins in my pocket." The press secretary was asked at least five times about a $1 trillion coin to solve the country's debt crisis.

 

What are the odds of the U.S. Mint creating a $1 trillion coin? Perhaps the idea is mere fancy.

 

How did the idea start?

 

The idea came about with an online White House petition created Jan. 3. The creator of the petition said, "We would avert the absurd-yet-imminent debt ceiling faceoff in Congress in two quick and simple steps!" In order for the petition to earn an official response from the White House, 25,000 signatures must be added. To this point, there are only 7,349 names on the electronic document. The goal is to reach 25,000 by Feb. 2.

 

How much platinum amounts to $1 trillion?

 

At current prices, a coin made of gold would actually be worth more than one made out of a similar weight in platinum. According to Monex Precious Metals , one ounce of gold is currently worth around $1,675. For the same weight in pure platinum, the metal is worth about $1,630. To equal $1 trillion in platinum, a coin would need to weigh more than 613,496,932 ounces. In the troy system of 12 ounces per pound, that amounts to more than 51 million pounds or more than 25,000 tons. Wired reveals if a coin made of platinum is the same size as a silver dollar, the metal would be worth around $1,200.

 

What have politicians said about the coin?

 

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., balked at the idea of a $1 trillion coin in a press release Tuesday. Walden asserts there is nothing preventing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner from minting a coin out of platinum and depositing it in the Treasury to claim the United States has paid its bills. Current laws limit how many gold and silver coins the treasury mints, but there is no mention of platinum. The lawmaker said his bill "will take the coin scheme off the table" after claiming Rep. Jerrold Nader, D-N.Y., publicly touted the idea of a platinum coin.

 

What are the plans the White House has for dealing with another looming debt crisis?

 

Carney noted there is "no plan B" if talks to resolve the debt crisis fail. He asserted the president's position is to have Congress "pay its bills." Carney ruled out the so-called nuclear option using the 14th Amendment that asserts the validity of the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned. The press secretary neither confirmed nor denied using a platinum coin to solve America's debt problems."

 

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics.

http://news.yahoo.com/1-trillion-platinum-coin-facts-myths-realities-191400134.html

 

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[newprepper]

From what I understand, the idea is not for a coin with 1 trillion dollars worth of platinum to be minted. It is for a platinum coin to be minted that simply says 1 Trillion. Huge difference. It gets deposited and the gov't spends money 1 more trillion dollars. all that has to happen is for the FRB to recognize it as being WORTH 1 Trillion dollars and accept it for deposit. This avoids raising the debt ceiling and issuing bonds (borrowing) to raise the 1 Trillion dollars.