U.S. Investing

What has the Government Done to Our Money?

“Every piece of gold jewelry or coin ever made still has value. Can you say the same thing about stocks or bonds?” — Nicholas Colas

How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver! — Proverbs 16:16

I picked up a couple of rolls of newly minted 2017 American Eagle silver dollars last week to hand out to my students at Chapman University upon completion of my class. We took a picture throwing the silver dollars in the air in front of a statue of Adam Smith.

I give each student a silver dollar to remember the class and to see what our currency used to be like. Prior to 1964, Americans carried silver dollars in their pockets, and prior to 1933, gold eagles and double eagles. These are beautiful coins that signaled the greatness of America and the gold standard. Sadly, fewer and fewer Americans even know what a gold double eagle or silver dollar look like.

More than 50 MILLION of these beautiful American eagle silver dollars were minted last year, and where are they? Sitting in safe deposit boxes in the dark, unviewed and unappreciated!

Today, we have token coins and paper money for our monetary system, a reflection of the decline of Western culture. When I passed out the silver dollars to my students, I contrasted the sound of the silver dollar with dropping four token quarters on a desk. What a difference in sound! Students never forget it.

If President Trump really wants to make America great again, how about bringing back into circulation these beautiful gold and silver coins of a bygone era?

Mark Skousen

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., is a professional economist, investment expert, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. He earned his Ph. D. in monetary economics at George Washington University in 1977. He has taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Grantham University, Barnard College, Mercy College, Rollins College, and is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He also has been a consultant to IBM, Hutchinson Technology, and other Fortune 500 companies. Since 1980, Skousen has been editor in chief of Forecasts & Strategies, a popular award-winning investment newsletter. He also is editor of four trading services, Skousen TNT Trader, Skousen Five Star Trader, Skousen Home Run Trader, and Skousen Fast Money Alert. He is a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, a columnist to Forbes magazine (1997-2001), and past president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York. He has written articles for The Wall Street Journal, Liberty, Reason, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Christian Science Monitor, and The Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has appeared on ABC News, CNBC Power Lunch, CNN, Fox News, and C-SPAN Book TV. In 2008-09, he was a regular contributor to Larry Kudlow & Co. on CNBC. His economic bestsellers include “Economics on Trial” (Irwin, 1991), “Puzzles and Paradoxes on Economics” (Edward Elgar, 1997), “The Making of Modern Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2001, 2009), “The Big Three in Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2007), “EconoPower” (Wiley, 2008), and “Economic Logic” (2000, 2010). In 2009, “The Making of Modern Economics” won the Choice Book Award for Outstanding Academic Title. His financial bestsellers include “The Complete Guide to Financial Privacy” (Simon & Schuster, 1983), “High Finance on a Low Budget” (Bantam, 1981), co-authored with his wife Jo Ann, “Scrooge Investing” (Little Brown, 1995; McGraw Hill, 1999), and “Investing in One Lesson” (Regnery, 2007). In honor of his work in economics, finance, and management, Grantham University renamed its business school “The Mark Skousen School of Business.” Dr. Skousen has lived in eight nations, and has traveled and lectured throughout the United States and 70 countries. He grew up in Portland, Ore. He and his wife, Jo Ann, and five children have lived in Washington, D.C.; Nassau, the Bahamas; London, England; Orlando, Fla.; and New York. For more information about Mark’s services, go to http://www.markskousen.com/