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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: long-gone who wrote (28115)	2/12/1999 5:36:00 PM
From: John Mansfield	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116756

Gary North: 'Next Saturday morning -- early -- I will tell 8 million people to buy tenth-ounce gold coins as soon as they can. ' ' Because of the significance of this posting, I will not be posting anything else until Monday afternoon. I do not want any visitor to skip over this posting. I do not want anyone writing me some version of this letter: "Why didn't you warn us? We have been followers of this site for two years. Etc." Art Bell has 8 million listeners. I have been on his show three times in the last seven months. I will be on again on Friday/Saturday, Feb. 19/20. Let's go through some statistics. In fiscal 1998 (ended Sept. 30), the U.S. Mint sold just over one million ounces of gold coins. About 83% of these, I am told, were one-ounce American eagles. Americans are allowed to put American gold eagles in their retirement programs, and the one-ounce coin has the lowest commission. That's the coin of choice for retirement programs. The tenth-ounce coins are best for survival conditions: more transactions per ounce. The Mint's output of these coins was in the 8% range. There was a y2k-driven escalation in 1998, as I have reported before. In January, the Mint sold 268,000 ounces. Maxed out, the Mint can produce a less than 4 million ounces of gold coins a year -- more like 3.2 million. The Mint started rationing coins last week. Art Bell has 8 million listeners. If 40% of them were to buy a single one-ounce coin, that would absorb more than the entire year's output. If 20% of them bought two coins, the same thing would happen. But they can't. The Mint is already maxed out. It's rationing coins. It could not absorb another 3 million buyers. (This is hypothetical; the 100 or fewer coins stores could not absorb a million orders of one ounce each.) But what about the tenth-ounce coins? They are sold in units of 50 coins: 5 ounces each. If 8% of the coins produced by the Mint are tenth-ounce coins, then there will be 260,000 ounces minted in 1999. That would be fewer than 55,000 5-ounce tubes. Therefore, if 1% of Art Bell's audience were to buy just one tube, they would absorb far more than the entire year's output. But they can't do this; the Mint is already maxed out. Next Saturday morning -- early -- I will tell 8 million people to buy tenth-ounce gold coins as soon as they can. I will tell them it's first come-first served. I will tell them if they continue to sit around talking about what they will do next December, they will be out of the competition by April. They cannot buy the coins right now, let alone next December. They must get on a waiting list today. That's what rationing means. Will 1% of them believe me? Next Saturday morning. A word to the wise is sufficient. Will 1% of you believe me? Now, if you want small coins, and you don't want to wait 12 weeks for eagles, try the tenth-ounce Canadian maple leaf. It may be available for another week. Maybe two. (I can hear it now. "Gee, Mabel, what do you suppose Dr. North means? I wish he weren't so subtle.") garynorth.com