Live data from Hacker News

Tin cans filled with $10M in gold coins found buried in California

news.com.au

101–105 of 105 posts

Re: Tin cans filled with $10M in gold coins found buried in California

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, so you subscribe to the notion that price increases equals "dollar inflation" The fallacy in your thinking is that because prices increased, dollars were "inflated" vs. gold, in which prices would have otherwise remained fixed. But the gold supply increased dramatically over the same period. As you point out prices increased ~75%, but at the same time US gold reserves increased nearly 3x. 2293 tons in 1913 vs 635…

The value of gold is not determined by the quantity the Fed has. The global supply of gold did not increase 3x. The Fed kept a fixed exchange rate for gold, while inflating the currency supply. As I said, such pegged systems inevitably result in a sharp correction.

> The global supply of gold did not increase 3x.

The government's gold reserve increased 3x.

> The Fed kept a fixed exchange rate for gold, while inflating the currency supply.

"inflating" the current supply of what? dollars? As noted the reserve ratio did not decrease. As there were more dollars there was more gold backing it.

Re: Tin cans filled with $10M in gold coins found buried in California

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious what the melt value would be. I didn't see that in the article. I assume when they say $27,000 they mean the currency value, but if you were to melt it and sell it at the current price for the metal (~$1300/ounce), it would probably be a lot more than that....while less than the $10 million it is supposedly worth as collectibles.

Approximately $1.76 million Starting in 1837, gold coins in the US had 0.48375oz of gold per $10. So $27,000 in coins would be worth $1,755,432 given a price for gold of $1344 per oz. This excludes the value of the copper with which the gold was alloyed, which would be worth roughly another $30.

Cool, thanks for figuring that out for me. :)

Re: Tin cans filled with $10M in gold coins found buried in California

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The value of gold is not determined by the quantity the Fed has. The global supply of gold did not increase 3x. The Fed kept a fixed exchange rate for gold, while inflating the currency supply. As I said, such pegged systems inevitably result in a sharp correction.

> The global supply of gold did not increase 3x. The government's gold reserve increased 3x. > The Fed kept a fixed exchange rate for gold, while inflating the currency supply. "inflating" the current supply of what? dollars? As noted the reserve ratio did not decrease. As there were more dollars there was more gold backing it.

The global supply of gold determines its value, not the supply one entity has.

Re: Tin cans filled with $10M in gold coins found buried in California

#104
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the price of gold fluctuates, you have to be careful inferring meaning - is it the value of gold fluctuating, or the value of the currency fluctuating? It's not an easy question to answer.

No, it's a very easy question to answer. How many cups of coffee would a gram of gold buy me? Yesterday morning, the London gold fix was 803.117 GBP/oz; if i took my gram of gold to my local baristas and traded it, i would get 6.59 flat whites. Yesterday morning, the gold fix was at 798.532 GBP/oz; my gram would have got me 6.55 flat whites. Whereas if i'd gone in this morning with 4.30 GBP in ready money, i would ha…

how many coffees did your gram buy you in 1850 when these coins were minted?

Re: Tin cans filled with $10M in gold coins found buried in California

#105

Because paper money was illegal in California until the 1870s My, how times have changed.

Is that sarcastic? Because in many states, having "enough" paper money is reason enough for the police to take it and harass you. Even without charging you with a crime, mere possession of cash is enough.

I was referring to "paper money" in the abstract sense, i.e., currency not tied to a commodity with a limited supply (such as gold). You're right, of course, that mere possession of sufficient quantities of literal paper money is even today de facto illegal—a situation I join you in deploring.
Post reply on HN