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Copper: Part I The new currency.
I don’t know if you have noticed what I
have, but lately it appears that people are using Copper as a poor mans
currency. I started to notice during the crash of 2008, that copper was
being sold in a .999 pure bullion. The photo attached is for a single
troy oz of “Fine Copper”. The list price for this copper, as is, was 12
dollars. Think about that for a moment.
Copper sells for about $4 per pound in the
futures market. The contract size is for 25,000 pounds, and it costs
$250 dollars per penny when quoting copper, the December forward month
is currently quoted at 400.60 pennies, for a total cash cost of $100,150
per contract.
I dont know about you, but I would love to
have a business where my future cost of inventory was 27 cents per oz,
and after some remarketing costs, I am able to charge $10 to $12 per oz.
Check out this google link to Copper Bullion for sale.
It’s not just the 1 oz bars, people are now selling copper bullion in
kilo bars, coins, rounds and pretty much anything else they can make it
look like a legitimate currency.
The ironic aspect to this, is that if the
rumored one world currency is deployed, and it has in it, physical
commodities like copper, you can expect an increase in crime to break
out. If people started to look up at power-lines and instead of seeing a
few pennies per pound in realized value at a junk shop, instead becomes
thousands of future World Dollars, we will have problems.
Utilities, which are already heading
underground will have to be moved there even quicker, and the deployment
of new communications like WiMax will be necessary. The era of cell
phones, and 4G internet, will end the need for copper to be installed in
homes going forward. The Net will always be there, and why leave your
phone at home wired to the desk?
In simple terms, we are close to turning a
point in the technology curve, where the value of the copper in the old
POTS (plain old telephone system) is more valuable torn out of the
walls, than left in them. Consider that for a moment. Now, think about
how easily accessible to anyone this stuff is. Savaging will greatly
outweight the cost of trying to find job’s for our chronically
unemployed.
The streets are currently lined with money
hanging from wood poles. When you think about buried fiber optics,
WiMax and Cell phones, the question becomes why do we have all of this
copper in the walls, buried under the yard, etc.
Ironically, copper is already one of the
most owned metals, due to its usage in home building. It could be
argued that it is already distributed to the masses, and as such could
be considered a currency already.
A buyer of an abandoned house in today’s
economy *already* has to make sure that it still has its copper in the
walls. It takes very little effort in the big picture, to strip out
hundreds or thousands of pounds of copper from an abandoned home or
factory.
If Copper becomes part of the next global
currency, the world will have a new crime wave. The only difference, is
that it will be based on a physical commodity changing hands, or at
least represented in the exchange. While there is not enough Gold in
the world, or Silver in the world to act as the physical basis of a
currency, there is enough Copper.
Is that enough of a reason to develop it into an international currency? What say you?
Disclosure: Jack Barnes has no exposure to Copper, or any companies listed in this article. This disclosure and others are available at JackHBarnes.com
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Gold foil. Talk about your "razorthin"! One ounce of gold can be theoretically beat to the thickness of one molecule. An ounce can be, in practice, beaten to a foil that will cover a football field. You didn't eat much value. The chocolate cost more than the gold.
Totally on point GG
Good point.
:: Define "dollar". . .
If it were absolutely necessary to have some gold in the currency, you could have a little section of gold leaf on a printed note, or a bimetallic (or multimetallic) coin with a little plug of gold alloy in the center.
It isn't so much what the currency is made of, as its distribution relative to real goods and population, that determine the economic well-being of a political unit..
The Dollar is defined as 371.25 grains of silver.
And nothing else.
Degrading that dollar is punishable by Death.
(US Coinage Act of 1792).
Thanks LB. For others who might have a passing interest, see it in black and white:
http://memory.loc.gov/ll/llsl/001/0300/03720248.tif
480 grains == 1 oz therefore 1 dollar := .77 oz pure silver
Hence, the Morgan Silver Dollar.
We did it once... we can do it again.
Looks like Americans got some work to do.
Copper aint $
More importantly, you can't eat it! ;-)
fact checking is always good. Copper one oz. stamped "coins"; $1.42. Not of course, $12. The Author is nuts.
http://cgi.ebay.com/UNCIRCULATED-2009-NORFED-LIBERTY-1-OZ-COPPER-DOLLAR-...
This example is for 1 oz copper uncirculated "copper dollar" with a buy it now price of $22.14 The seller is hocking them as if they will only go up in value due to the copper value in the round.
The point was that it's already happening, not that it's a good investment.
In 2008/9 on ebay there was a remarkable business in selling copper, lead tin, etc. "bullion" bars for exorbitant prices...and people were buying them too!
At the time gold and silver were in short supply on the retail level.
It seemed like folks who wanted, but couldn't afford precious metals, were buying these common metals in some kind of groping misguided desire to protect themselves from the fiat money system.
It probably says something about human nature. Dammed if I know what. A fool and his money???
$12 an ounce in current dollars is hilarious.
Agree, I see articles like this one about copper every time PMs start a serious run upwards, I wonder if it is intended as diversion.
Think about that for a moment.
I have, but only for a moment, because only fools believe they can stockpile enough physical copper to make any real money. But there will always be efforts to try to piggyback.
Wanna bet?
We get guys that get zapped all the time grabbing wires, cutting A/C units up, anything to get the copper.
I like it!
I think I am going to get some...
There are big copper mines around here. I always see the trucks with the COMEX deliverable huge copper annodes going east.
People have been getting popped around these parts for stealing pipe from constructions sites and vacant/little used properties. I assume it's due to overall commodity inflation.
Try to sell copper bullion after it turns green in several years. It aint silver or gold. Don't fall for it.
"Pet rock"
Copper has been used as money since the days of Rome. It's just been very cheap money.
Just wipe it down with a little Hot Sauce from Taco Bell...works great!
pop it in some mineral oil, like chunk of sodium
Yeah I bet! Haha.
But the patina is so nice!
I was thinking maybe some stock in Freeport as they run all the copper mines around here.
Although if you could cheaply acquire some of the big annodes that are COMEX deliverable, they might be worth warehousing.
But I guess you'd be buying a whole lot of copper at that point.
Weight, warehousing and transportation=price decay.
In Japan for example transporting steel plates for construction costs more than the steel plates. (Fact.)
Does "around here" means Chile?
New Mexico / Arizona
For anyone interested, Stephen Leeb audio interview from Nov.9:
http://radio.goldseek.com/nuggets.php
You have to scroll down to get to the link
Copper talk begins near 6:00 mark / 28 mins total...interesting call on copper shortages in 5-10 year range