Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,
Analysts and authors, myself included, have been warning about the collapse of the dollar as the global reserve currency for years. I described this prospect in my first book, Currency Wars (2011), and in several other books in the years since.
This process can take many years. For example, the decline of sterling as the leading global reserve currency played out over 30 years from 1914 (the beginning of World War I) to 1944 (the Bretton Woods conference).
Still, events today are playing out so quickly that the collapse is happening in front of our eyes.
It’s no longer a matter of a major event on the horizon; it’s occurring in real-time. Russia has just linked the ruble to gold at a rate of 5,000 rubles to one gram of gold. China is discussing with Saudi Arabia the prospect of paying for oil in yuan.
Israel is likewise considering taking yuan in exchange for its high-tech exports. China and Russia are creating new payments systems to avoid U.S. sanctions. You get the point.
Foreign Central Banks Aren’t Dumb
Central banks have been net buyers of physical gold since 2010. Countries all over the world are considering dumping dollars for fear that they will be next on the list to have their dollar assets frozen or seized the way the U.S. seized the dollar-denominated assets of the Central Bank of Russia.
That makes sense. What’s the point of holding dollars in your reserve positions if the U.S. can freeze those accounts on a whim? Americans tend to take dollar strength for granted, but that’s a mistake. It’s helpful at times like this to get a foreign perspective.
The U.S. uses the dollar strategically to reward friends and punish enemies. The use of the dollar as a weapon is not limited to trade wars and currency wars, although the dollar is used tactically in those disputes. The dollar is much more powerful than that.
The dollar can be used for regime change by creating hyperinflation, bank runs and domestic dissent in countries targeted by the U.S. The U.S. can depose the governments of its adversaries or at least blunt their policies without firing a shot.
U.S. financial sanctions are a kind of weaponization of the dollar, which can be turned on any country, not just Russia.
The Oldest Form of Money
As of now, there is no single global currency that’s in a good position to replace the dollar as the leading reserve currency. But there is one monetary asset that could replace the dollar in reserve positions, although it’s not one issued by a central bank.
That asset is gold.
Gold is the oldest form of money. The use of gold is the ideal way to avoid U.S. financial warfare. Gold is physical so it cannot be hacked. It is completely fungible (an element, atomic number 79) so it cannot be traced. Gold can be transported in sealed containers on airplanes so movements cannot be identified through wire transfer message traffic or satellite surveillance.
The world’s central banks and finance ministries will soon reach that same conclusion if they haven’t already. In this state of affairs, the best financial protection is to acquire some physical gold yourself — while there’s still enough physical supply.
But wait, hasn’t gold gotten hammered lately?
Yes, gold has suffered one of its periodic beatdowns in recent weeks. Gold was $1,986 per ounce at the close on April 19, and today it’s trading at $1,867.
When you widen the aperture slightly, gold was $2,043 per ounce on March 8, not far from its all-time high. So that’s a substantial decline over a short period.
It’s Not Gold That’s Volatile
But gold is volatile. I should say that the gold market is volatile. That’s because most of it is paper gold, with only a small amount of physical gold to support it.
Think of the gold market as an inverted pyramid, with a small amount of gold at the bottom, holding up a huge amount of paper gold. The paper market could be 100 times the size of the physical market.
That means there are 100 paper claims upon each ounce of physical gold. Imagine a coat check at a restaurant issuing 100 claims for one actual jacket. Well, there’s only one coat so 99 claimants are out of luck.
It’s the same in the gold market.
It’s the paper market that creates the volatility. Gold itself is remarkably stable. It only appears unstable because its price is quoted in dollars, which fluctuates. When gold goes down, it’s really because the dollar is going up. When gold goes up, it’s really because the dollar is going down.
A Rigged System
And the paper market is highly vulnerable to price manipulation. Gold manipulation can be done by market players like hedge funds and other major players using ETFs and leasing and unallocated contracts. These manipulations do exist and can influence the price of gold in the short term.
The price of gold is a struggle akin to a tug-of-war between physical and paper transactions.
The price of gold will move, in part, because of manipulators’ actions. There’s very strong mathematical evidence that the gold market is manipulated to suppress prices.
How do they do it?
The easiest way to perform paper manipulation is through rigging the futures market. Rigging futures markets is child’s play. You just wait until a little bit before the close of trading and put in a massive sell order.
By doing this you scare the other side of the market into lowering their bid price; they back away. That lower price then gets trumpeted around the world as the “price” of gold, discouraging investors and hurting sentiment.
The price decline spooks hedge funds into dumping more gold as they hit “stop-loss” limits on their positions. A self-fulfilling momentum is established where selling begets more selling and the price spirals down for no particular reason except that someone wanted it that way.
Eventually a bottom is established and buyers step in, but by then the damage is done.
If you want more details on this topic, please see my book The New Case for Gold. Specifically, read Chapter 4, “Gold Is Constant.”
Take the Long View
But the shrewd gold investor takes the long view. That’s how patient investors preserve wealth in the gold market. For those who flit in and out and occasionally buy rallies and sell dips in panic mode, all I can say is good luck. You’re probably going to get crushed.
My advice to investors is that when you have gold, you should think about the quantity of gold by weight, not dollar price. Don’t get too hung up on the dollar price, because the dollar could collapse quickly and then the dollar price wouldn’t matter. What would matter is how much physical gold you have.
The goal is to preserve wealth for the long run.
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approx 4.5 billion ounces of above-ground gold in the world.
approx 1.0 billion ounces of above-ground silver in the world at any time.
that’s 4.5/1. g/s.
Link please
Why people obsess about gold in an economic collapse in this day and age
aren’t connected to reality.
The only heavy metal with existential value soon will be lead.
Invest heavily.
Your life WILL depend on it.
Buy a few LifeStraws too. You’ll still be alive and healthy to use your lead.
I’m with you Colorado. Those and a bugout place. Also, get a good book on edible plants in the area you will bugout to.
Liftstraw – check
ammo – check (but how many rounds are ‘enough’?)
Whatever you have you’re a hundred short, keep buying!
“but how many rounds are ‘enough’?”
assume a survival rate (your own) of .95 for each magazine expended, then factor that until you reach a probability of survival of .25 – that’s about 27 magazines worth.
you can play with the survival rate and probability survival value if you like.
“Gold is physical so it cannot be hacked”
sure. but to run a modern international economy “based on gold”, you’ll need an electronic payment system – and that can be hacked, especially by the people running it for their own benefit.
gold’s great for a 19th century economy. won’t support a modern one.
This is what my friend Gerry has said from the very beginning. But holding gold in a time of rapid inflation preserves purchasing power over the medium term. This is what Rickards is selling and it’s not snake oil. He is not saying it could be used for a means of exchange; for this you must have a credit system, consider:
“The price of a toga in ancient times was equivalent to 1oz of Gold, the same as a handmade suit now. And that under King Nebuchadnezzar (605 – 562BC), 1oz of gold would buy you 360 large loafs of bread – again, roughly the same as now. How true are these statements?”
However Gerry has a proposition for a viable alternative to the bond issuance model which has got us into all this trouble: it could work:
Equally, CBDCs would work too but only if issued by the Treasuries not the CBs because they don’t have the ability to create money – only commercial banks do that.
“The price of a toga in ancient times was equivalent to 1oz of Gold, the same as a handmade suit now. And that under King Nebuchadnezzar (605 – 562BC), 1oz of gold would buy you 360 large loafs of bread – again, roughly the same as now.”
sure – within established economic systems already providing goods and services. in unstable economic collapses where goods and services are disappearing, not so much.
I understand your argument but under generally accepted economic theory of demand and supply, shortages create inflation which is compounded by excessive increases in money supply – so we have both now and this is where PMs can offer some degree of protection. It’s not perfect but in the long run history so seem to support this hypothesis. Thank you for your thoughts on this difficult subject where IMHO nobody is an expert.
Yawn.
“I can imagine a hellish world in which not even gold will be worth anything anymore.”
What a fantastic, compelling argument against gold.
You should be proud of yourself.
Hint:
Perfectism(*) is what got us in the mess we are currently in.
(*you’ll figure what that word means, which is deliberately different from perfectionism.)
Perfectism(*)?
Could Not find a definition anywhere, other than here..
https://www.wordnik.com/words/perfectism . “Same as perfectionism”, and a few other uses, mostly blogs.
Easy to ‘highlight’ any word or phrase and look it up seamlessly, copy/paste same anywhere, like here. It pays to increase your word power…if for no other reason than to stop the BS of the intentionally deceitful/verbose.
Alternatively, 50¢ words can speak volumes in a single word.
“I can imagine a hellish world in which not even gold will be worth anything anymore.”
Most definitely. Inevitable. Written.
I said figure out, not look up.
“when I use a word it means exactly what I want it to mean, neither more nor less.”
The similarity to perfectionist might give you a hint…
“You should be proud of yourself”
I’m not speaking against gold, I’m pointing out that it won’t be or do what you expect. you’re speaking from your presumptions and to your hopes. you might want to examine them.
How do you know what I expect from Gold. Where did I state what *I* expect it to do?
You might want to examine your preconceptions.
Peter,
But, right now Gold is losing the same as the dolla. If gold was rising the same amount the dolla is falling than, yeah, you’re winning. But it’s not. Why not? Is it because they are controlling the price of gold?
Oh yes, so true GNL, so long as the Masters of the Financial Universe have access to fiat, physical gold will only reflect the true value on money when this ceases – so it is a long term gambit. As Rickards says, paper gold has been proven to be manipulated but I think this may be ending.
GNL – CHS has some good observations on money:
http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-community-economy-needs-its-own.html
Gold is a hedge against losing everything in a dollar collapse. When,not if,the dollar collapses your gold coins will be confiscated like Roosevelt did in 1932.If you hoard gold( that will be Uncle Sam’s term) hoard it in the form of small gold wedding rings. 90% junk silver will serve the same purpose.
Then don’t buy gold, you’ll be fine.
So long as we have a “modern international economy” you got nothing to worry about.
Looks kinda janky to me right now, but, to each his own.
“Then don’t buy gold, you’ll be fine”
gold is fine, as long as you understand the implications of it being money again, and the fact that this transition will take decades, and that many locations won’t survive long enough for the transition to take place.
There isn’t enough gold to back a currency. Wasn’t that part of the problem in 1972? I watched a video where someone explained why there wasn’t enough Gold. I’m not too worried about it.
“There isn’t enough gold to back a currency”
sure there is, it’s just a matter of valuing it enough. using gold and ignoring silver I calculate $20,089/oz gold to cover all worldwide debt.
That’ll do. Just don’t forget the 94% Windfall Tax applied to any and all We The Peons trying to capitalize on the revaluation.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I do not doubt this.
Yes, this is true Yahsure. Basing currencies on PMs or other physical commodities limits the ability to rapidly accelerate economic growth over and above the nature rate which reflects the true growth of goods and services. Fiat is steroids to an economy but it is unreal and unsustainable which is why we have inflation in this model with booms and busts.
7, it looks like you have bought the bankers line. Gold will work just fine. Block chain allows unlimited division of an ounce or gram or grain with the ability to track. The Austrians proved 100 years ago that the argument concerning limited amounts of Gold simply are false in regard to it being viable.
“Block chain allows unlimited division of an ounce or gram or grain with the ability to track”
sure, absolutely. and who will run this system? same people that run the system now. “meet the new boss. same as the old boss.”
the whole point of gold as money is that it’s physical. putting it into digital form negates that.
Harrington,
What happens when a rich guy gets/owns most or all of the gold?
Ha Ha – so as things change, they stay the same 🙂
until you identify the “bosses” ….
Good one HR – ummm…gold backed Bitcoin?
Spending down my cash assets for STUFF worth having , a new trailer for my beach community lot , a couple cases of good bourbon and Ammo , long term food and canned goods to trade off also sound crazy but all manor of sanitary feminine products .
The women already rule , might as well have something to keep me in their good graces !
Some say it’s a bit nutty and I respond that $100 k you saved buys less than 60% of what it bought 4 or 5 years ago but nobody I know got a 40 plus % raise in their pay , retirement or social security so WTF
GOLD you can’t eat it and it may just end up as a nice paper weight
“to trade off”
alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, coffee, coca-cola (in bottles, not cans).
Agree with your first sentence, but disagree with your last one.
We can’t eat gold, but you won’t be eating a case of maxi pads, either, and those might just end up as improvised sponges if your new trailer has a water line leak, Bocephus.
Besides, any woman who needs those urgently isn’t going to barter with you by bringing you a casserole into the swap.
She might just go apeshit on you and steal a few.
Then you’ll have to tap into your bottles of bourbon to nurse your wounds.
But, I digress. Obtaining useful STUFF with our ever decreasing purchasing power of the $USD is a viable strategy to maybe prolong your survival during the storm that’s-a-comin’.
Batten down the hatches.
“She might just go apeshit on you and steal a few”
not to mention the boys who come looking for alcohol. fact of the matter is that banditry is the number one go-to solution in such circumstances. a cheap handgun and a few bullets will get you anything you want (that exists anymore).
Squiggly former life trained with all manor of firearms and still keep my skill and in command and control of multiple platforms and calibers doubt I’ll have to throw down over a tampon .
That part of our prep was suggested by women in the family and I support them as they have me .
Had my nerves rattled more than once in my experiences and haven’t cracked yet but I’m well aware for all things there is a first time
Kinda like ammo?
Barter economy hasn’t changed.
One round of .45 Colt buys a “shot” of whiskey.
It’ll be just be swapping one sought-after commodity for another.
Hmmm…Red that’s good news…not a whiskey drinker…but I do like a drink…and I am a barter kinda guy who sleeps next to a Colt Commander Lightweight for 40 years…with enough of that knock down power to fuel many a deal.
Pretty soon, we might be paying the same rate for a shot glass full of DIESEL.
It’ll cost me two pallets of .45 Colt just to feed my tractor!!!
“kinda like ammo?”
absolutely not. in an environment where people are starving to death, if I have ammo and you don’t, sorry but that’s just the way it’s going to stay.
You’re not wrong. At the beginning of the pandemic hoarding in early 2020, I encountered several people who’d returned to the grocery store because they’d forgotten to buy feminine hygiene products and diapers. If the SHTF for real, life is going to get very unpleasant for any family who doesn’t have these supplies for their women and infants.
Old technologies will return to prominence and daily use – for example, cloth diapers.
Just what I was thinking.
There may soon be a shortage of curtains and sheets!!!
Better brush up on your sewing skills…
Got me a pneumatic staple gun.
That’ll do in a pinch.
Elmers glue and save all your soft cotton rags for the female thing and wash them like a diaper. I bought several bundles of cheap terrycloth washcloths at Wallly’s for TP.
If you don’t have enough TP…Lots of soft washable sponges will come in handy…then there is the water/liquid soap need…
I put in two super deep outhouses…have plenty of lime…have to put/hide the Golden Horde someplace quick???
Abigail, that is precisely what I’ve been trying to convince my GF to do–buy a commercial-grade machine (with metal, not plastic bits/gears). Hell, I might do it myself. There’ll never be a shortage of cloth and clothing does wear out. My shingle will be: “Jo’s Auto Repair and Fine Tailoring”. Har!
You are so right James – have you been reading my book – Chapter 13, The New Emergent Economy? I wouldn’t be surprised if we get out of this in the 19th century in the not too distant future.
more likely the 9th century.
Genesis 31:35 “And she said to her father, ‘May my lord not be angry that I cannot stand in your presence, because the way of women is upon me.'”
At what point does “spending down my cash for stuff I actually need” becomes something not far from hoarding? Asking for a friend.
when the shortages start, having anything at all will be defined as “hoarding”.
“the decline of sterling as the leading global reserve currency played out over 30 years”
sterling didn’t collapse, rather britain’s economic/military power did. britain minted gold/silver as money because they knew it would return to them. now china and russia have that same confidence.
I’ve been watching the Ruble vs. the Dollar for several weeks. How can it be that the Ruble after devaluing to a low of 139 to the USD, now be hovering in the low 60’s. Doesn’t that mean that the EU is now paying twice as much for Russian gas/oil than it was six weeks ago? And how can than be? The dollar has strengthened against every currency I checked (Yen, Au dollar, Euro, etc.), but declined against the Ruble. I noted that Yahoo finance had articles about other currencies declining against the USD, but not a thing about the Ruble.
I see financial guru comments like this today:
The dollar soared back to some of its highest levels in almost 20 years on Thursday, while the pound took a beating and investors sold off U.S. equities and bonds, following a grim economic outlook from the Bank of England.
Is not a soaring dollar good for US? I’m a dummy how “it” works”. I’ve only worked , saved some and owe no one other than the property tax scammers being up to date on that robbery system.
I get this:
“It’s the paper market that creates the volatility. Gold itself is remarkably stable. It only appears unstable because its price is quoted in dollars, which fluctuates. When gold goes down, it’s really because the dollar is going up. When gold goes up, it’s really because the dollar is going down.”
Not this. So today the dollar goes up and gold goes up as well. Hum.
That’s true, … in theory.
33rd season I understand.
“The dollar has strengthened against every currency I checked”
you’re looking at it the wrong way. every currency has declined against the dollar.
“not a thing about the Ruble”
most people won’t face truth, let alone advertise it to their detriment.
My point is the USD versus the Ruble. The Ruble initially cratered, but now it has appreciated to a level not seen in about three years.
Still can’t find a place to buy the physical rubles yet.
Almost like the trade in them would be a good deal.
Funny how it seems so out of reach………..
Falcon- The dollar looks much better than it really is because it is in a BS loop where foreign companies are buying treasuries at 3% because THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE. Eventually, that will deflate our money supply. I love to watch (((them))) work. Russia is flying high because the “Sanctions” are BS and are gradual over 8 months. Meanwhile the EU will pay them 40 BILLION A MONTH….har, har.
I must not be clearly stating my point. The Ruble went from 139 to the USD to now approx. 64 to the USD in a matter of a month and a half…all within the framework of massive sanctions, stolen reserves, and boycotts against the Ruble. The Ruble should be weaker, not stronger. I guess that I’m looking for an monetary/economic explanation. I’m referencing the dollar because it is the reserve currency.
Because Russia demanded payment in Rubles so people had to buy or trade for Rubles or simply pay the Russians in Gold. There aren’t a lot of Rubles outside Russia so a scarce thing in demand goes up.
Bingo. The Ruble crashed early when sanctions hit, then it reversed when some EU countries realized they needed that oil/gas.
It’s because the ruble is backed by real commodities and that’s where the value is. Russia has massive land and untapped resources – the elites want it and believe they can get it because they have the military and can print the money. They think they have the whip hand – I wouldn’t bet on the outcome, but if I did, my money would be on the BRICS for better or worse which is why I am moving into their sphere.
Modern Monetary Theory explained.
Good one ICE-9 – here’s one back:
https://ejoy-english.com/go/video/the-monty-python-channel-merchant-banker/6370
The USA is in all but open war with Russia. War is upon us. I don’t mean to sound fearful or alarmist, because I am not.
The USA murdering Russian Generals means there will be blowback and the USA has no credibility to be a good actor.
I believe China is winding down their Western economic ties to prepare for war with the USA, not locking down over “COVID”.
There is no future in dealing with a government as corrupt as the USA. D.C. is going to burn and none of us should clamor to rebuild it.
“I believe China is winding down their Western economic”
the legitimacy of the chinese communist ruling class families depends on ever-increasing wealth accumulation by the people at large – if this wealth accumulation is disrupted it will lead to “chaos under heaven” there. you may think the u.s. is corrupt but china is ten times more corrupt culturally and systemically, and they desperately need western economic connections to maintain the ponzi/fraud they have running there. they can’t wind down their western economic connections until a suitable substitute is found, and russia is entirely insufficient.
Gold is up 6% for the year. The Dollar is up vs Euro 7%, up vs Yen 13%, and up vs Yuan 5% since the beginning of the year. To me it doesn’t look like the dollar is having a problem. Maybe the plan was to crash the rest of the world with sanctions?
That also makes our goods less attractive to foreign buyers.
On the secular front:
Physical Gold (and Silver) have no COUNTY PARTY RISK. That is massive considering the controlled demolition of the international economy under way to create the greatest CRISIS in human history.
What do you think is going to happen as far as COUNTER PARTY RISK to all FIAT toilet paper CURRENCIES before the next U.S. election? Serious question? How much time do you think you will have when the plug is pulled? Fiat is at the top of the SUCKER DRAIN.
Maybe when TLPTB (L=Luciferian) get PUNCHED IN THE MOUTH (by God) the plan might not go exactly as planned?
Gold is a macro WEALTH hard asset (generational wealth if you know what you are doing)…Silver is a day to day transactional hard MONEY asset. However, at this moment in time Silver is positioned to go further – faster than Gold as far as the current reality.
If you are not wealthy don’t touch Gold…have as much Silver as you can…after you have PREPPED to survive the CONTROLLED DEMOLITION IN PROCESS (Its not an event).
If you don’t have water, food, shelter, medical, defense, tribe, yada, yada, yada, get in gear FAST…don’t worry about Silver…worry about staying alive…
TIC FRIGG’IN TOCK.
Nice article, wish I could invest in Au. But, I got all muh muney tied up in tulip bulbs.
I heard they are the best investment right now. Sell crypto buy tulip bulbs.
Plainfield…you don’t need no stink’en gold…just some tulip bulb recipes.
It’s no joke. I built a greenhouse for some Dutchies in Hightstown who said during the war they had to eat tulip bulbs. They answered my surprised look with a shrug and said “It was something in the belly.”
The tipping point that James has warned us about so many times is finally upon us. This snowball is growing bigger by the day and is about to land on our heads.
Bring it. It’s the only way to start over.
I think it will take longer than most think. It all has a slow motion vibe to it, which I am surprised about. In 2006, I was sure that this 4th turning will climax by 2010 and here we are, more than 10 years later and still putzing around.
My guess is that it will be anticlimactic…I know, not popular among this group.
I’ve got some hardcore preppers in my family and they have been waiting years, YEARS, for STHF. They want their money’s worth, ya know.
AA- It took well over a hundred years for the Roman Empire to completely crash. The global elite want the depop plan complete by 2040. You have a max of 18 years to party down.
For decades we have been in the “gradually” and we have just entered the suddenly all at once.
Ok, I will use my time wisely.
Beans and rice AA, beans and rice. 🙂
You will look pretty damn stupid making it through the worst of it, only to starve to death from not believing it could ever happen.
Yes, sir. But…does one care how they look if starving? 🤔
Smart-ass
🙂
After prophesying events leading up to a time of “great tribulation,” Jesus added: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:3-36; Mark 13:3-32)
“nor the Son, but only the Father”
from a trinitarian perspective, how is it possible for the father to know something that the son does not?
Exactly, if you read the Bible carefully – there is no evidence of the promoted ‘Trinity – God as One’. They are always treated as separate entities but I understand this is a fundamental bone of contention among Christians.
“there is no evidence of the promoted ‘Trinity'”
well there’s evidence, it’s just never stated outright – which, given the trinity’s radical departure from the judaic understanding of the messiah, seems very strange not to state outright.
“fundamental bone of contention among christians”
well they’re following paul’s teachings – “to follow god means to follow me”, evolved into “to follow god means to follow the church” (meaning its human leaders) – and acknowledging the trinity is a good way of imposing that litmus test.
You might ask: ‘If the Trinity is not a Biblical teaching, how did it become a doctrine of Christendom?’ Many think that it was formulated at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD
The Council of Nicaea did assert that Christ was of the same substance as God, which laid the groundwork for later Trinitarian theology. But it did not establish the Trinity, for at that council there was no mention of the holy spirit as the third person of a triune Godhead.
The Encyclopedia Britannica relates: “Constantine himself presided, actively guiding the discussions, and personally proposed . . . the crucial formula expressing the relation of Christ to God in the creed issued by the council, ‘of one substance with the Father’ . . . Overawed by the emperor, the bishops, with two exceptions only, signed the creed, many of them much against their inclination.”
Hence, Constantine’s role was crucial. After two months of furious religious debate, this pagan politician intervened and decided in favour of those who said that Jesus was God. But why? Certainly not because of any Biblical conviction. “Constantine had basically no understanding whatsoever of the questions that were being asked in Greek theology,” says A Short History of Christian Doctrine. What he did understand was that religious division was a threat to his empire, and he wanted to solidify his domain.
None of the bishops at Nicaea promoted a Trinity, however. They decided only the nature of Jesus but not the role of the holy spirit. If a Trinity had been a clear Bible truth, should they not have proposed it at that time?
Most intriguing to me–a reluctant Luddite– is the sheer anonymity of Au: Think gold coins sewn up in the hems of one’s clothing while stealthily crossing the border. And when the midnight knock on the door arrives, it can be met with, “Oh that gold. It was lost, y’see, in a tragic boating accident somewhere in the Gulf Stream. Honest!”
“It was lost, y’see, in a tragic boating accident”
you don’t understand. in their minds you have no rights, they won’t listen to any excuse you give, they simply will hit you until you produce what they’re looking for.
I got the gold right here, Pa!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAxkpE96Wj0