www.markholder.org

I am in possession of one ounce of 99.9% pure silver. The coin is an  American Silver Eagle , purchased to commemorate the birth of my son (technically the coin is his, hence my reluctance to use the word "own" in the opening sentence). It's big. It's beautiful. It makes a clinking sound unlike any US coin since the early '60s. It also has a face value of one US dollar, but don't be fooled. A silver dollar is worth more than $1.00. Because of the silver content, a silver dollar is worth at least $19.34 as of this writing. Factor in variables like year of production, etc and the value will increase. You may be asking why. The answer is simple: Silver, and even more so, gold, is money, and has been for 5000 years. The paper in your wallet is currency, issued by a government, reliant on the stability of and peoples' faith in said government. It wasn't always this way. Coins have been free of silver since the mid-1960s, Nixon took the US dolla...

My wife and I recently enjoyed seeing Gone With The Wind projected on a movie screen, a first for us both. We'd seen it on television, but the large screen experience was something quite different. A good many years had passed since I last watched the film, and I was struck by its comedic moments, as well as its more blatant racism and misogyny (times have changed and continue to!) I was also impressed with its rather solid financial advice. For example, when raising funds for "the Cause" (AKA war), Rhett Butler made an impression on the crowd with an offer of gold for a dance. In times of political turmoil, you know, civil war, regime change and such, precious metals are more desirable than paper money issued by a government that may or may not be in power in days to come. This point is hammered home in a later scene, when Scarlett O'Hara returns home to find the family estate in ruins and her father in shock. He tells her not to worry, as he has money. At firs...