First, read THIS for background information:
18-Dec-2009
In Response To: UN Minting Gold Coins
When I first read these articles, my immediate thoughts were that this doesn’t sound right, or make any sense, at all. Is someone dreaming, or just speculating based upon rumours. However, because it is based upon the subject of gold, it was worthy of further analysis, so let’s just look at a few salient points:-
a). The UN, to the best of my known knowledge, doesn’t own any gold and does not have any mandate to use its income from the member countries to buy gold, or even speculate within the commercial markets. It is therefore necessary to establish as to “How” it intends to issue such Gold Coins, or as the reader puts it, “Licenced the minting of Gold Bullion coins bearing its logo to provide a "public option" world savings currency”.
The question here is, “Is the UN in a legal position to be able to licence such things”. The word “Licence” is the prominent word here, and based upon its legal definition, I would seriously doubt if the UN holds any such authority.
The UN however, could contract with any minting operation (which is usually Government of Central Bank operations) for such Bullion Coins to be minted on their behalf, utilizing their logo on the coin. Such coins however could only be referred to as “Commemorative Coins”, or “Collectors Coins” as the UN does not carry any authority to issue “Currency Coins” which are intended to act as a form of currency in the legal sense of a “Means of Exchange”.
We should therefore assume, until such time as we have evidence to the contrary, for which the original poster may be in a position to provide such information; that these may be “Commemorative Coins”, or “Collectors Coins” only with no actual Currency Value, only the value attributed to the coin based upon its Gold content as against its actual selling price.
b). Let’s now look at another question which is part of the equation and perfectly questioned within the follow-up response to the initial article, that being where did the Gold come from to be used within these “Bullion Coins”
Many people will not know that both the London Bullion Authority and the World Gold Council hold records of exactly what amounts of gold are held by persons / organizations, and what amount of gold is exactly available within the actual Gold Markets (Currently approximately 130,000 MT). There is also an organization known as “Egmont” that is responsible for tracking all Gold and other precious metal movements, to ensure that all precious metals within the market place are legal and genuine (Note: They do not appear to be very efficient when Gold Plated Tungsten, sold as Gold, is located in various parts of the world, do they).
Irrespective of the above, we all know deep down, even though we may not be able to prove it, that there is a large “Black Market” in precious metals. For the purpose of clear explanation we will refer to it as “Spurious Gold” or the “Spurious Gold Market”
This is a substantial market whereby “off market” trades in substantial quantities of precious metals take place and are never recorded, or never pass through the London Bullion Market / World Gold Council recording process. This is a market in which the wealthy, large institutions, the International Banks, Governments, Refineries, and some others, actively play in, both independently and collectively, because it is very lucrative.
So, how do they manipulate the system in such a way that allows this “Spurious Gold” through the normal systems, initially contained within a “Spurious Market” but ultimately referred to as legitimate?
i). Small illegal Refineries, is one way. These smelt and re-block (usually into 1 Kg bars) stolen gold, which by the use of forged or fabricated Certificates is then sold into the “Private Gold Owners” or “Jewelry” market at discounted rates, which is then either stored / deposited privately in small vaults, Safe Deposit Boxes, etc, or, transformed into necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc. complete with a “Hallmark” but no certification, which for the more public market is fully acceptable.
Similar principles apply to the “Gold Coin” market. It is extremely rare to find a “Gold Coin with a Certificate of Origin and / or a Certificate of Ownership, or even a Certificate of Assay” (All are required for official registered Gold), whereby to be able to purchase “Gold Coins” “Gold Medals” etc, through what many people regard as legitimate and trustworthy organizations, such as the UN or the British Mint, or similar, eliminates the need for such Certification as the credibility (That is what the uninformed believe) lies within the producer / seller of such “Gold Commemorative Coins”.
It should also be pointed out here that there are various categories of Gold, based upon percentage of purity of as in the jewelry trade “Carots” or “Karots”.
A “Commemorative Coin” may be sold on the basis that it contains 1 troy ounce of Gold, without actually stating the purity of the Gold contained therein. A ‘Gold” necklace or ring from a Jeweler may be 14 crt / krt (Less Purity of Gold) or 24 crt / krt (Greater Purity of Gold)
ii). Gold Mines / Producers, is another way. These parties buy “Stolen Gold”, mixing it with their own Gold Ore extracted from the mine and then cast into “Rough Block’ which is then sold onto the large registered international refineries for final refining and block to GLD standards.
iii). International Registered Refineries (Johnson Mathey, Degussa) These organizations usually work with the large institutions, Governments, Central Banks, Commercial Banks, who have Gold Deposits, or who may have acquired “Stolen Gold”. This Gold is moved to the Refinery, smelted, mixed with legitimate Gold, Blocked to GLD standards and then returned to the institution, Government, Central Bank, Commercial Bank, complete with legitimate documentation.
Having paid the Refining, Hallmarking and registration cost, they still make a profit, the degree of which depends on what value they acquired the “Stolen Gold” in first instance, and the current market price.
Note: It was Johnson Mathey who worked with Gold (Collateral Account Gold) stolen from the Philippines and Indonesia, converting it to Gold Alloy, but Officially and Documentary wise, recording it as 99.5% Gold Purity. This was not officially noticed until the early 90’s by the authorities, when after realizing what had happened, the regulations in respect of gold were changed very quickly.
iv). Governments, Central Banks, Treasury and / or Minting organizations. These organizations, usually the Central Banks or Treasuries, buy “Stolen Gold” and place it on their accounts as an asset, after all, who will ever question a Central Bank, Commercial Bank, or Government? Then they lease it out for an annual lease fee (The Gold never actually moves from their Vaults), or, they utilize it, either in part or full, within their own Coin Minting operations, for which no documentation of legal genuineness is usually required.
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Note: If any of the above involved Currency of any description, or Bank Transfers of a Monetary Value, it would be referred to, under the criminal code, as “Money Laundering”. As it stands, with Gold and other precious metals, the only illegality is the “Stolen Gold” factor. All other factors are “Border Line” between legality and illegality. The questionability of these transactions are never brought to light because the parties involved are small in number and work closely with each other. Generally speaking, the public hold a high degree of trust in such organizations, so there is very little questioning as to legality or otherwise. The “Laundering” Laws are ambiguous, to say the least, and they do vary from one country to another across the world. There is no uniformity in such laws, allowing the “Holes” in the law to enable such questionable and possibly illegal operations to exist.
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Previously above I mentioned the recording and registration of all Gold (Buy / Sell) transactions by the London Bullion Authority and the World Gold Council. This applies to the Buying and Selling of registered Gold, and other Precious Metals. What it doesn’t accommodate is what the Buyers do with the Gold after they have bought it. In this instance we must look at the “Jewelry” market and the “Commemorative Coin” market for a reasonable amount, albeit small in comparison, of “Spurious Gold” laundering.
These are Two (2) operations that are reliant upon either the credibility of the party, such as the Central Bank - Government / Minting operations, or, the individual “Hallmarks” of the Jewelry Manufacturer, for the genuineness and legality of the end product you as a member of the public are buying.
In these cases, there is no way of you, as a buyer, knowing where the Gold originated from, whether it was “Gold” obtained legally, or, “Spurious Gold” obtained illegally.
There are however, ways for a more knowledgeable person or party, or specialist, to establish from where the Gold originates, albeit very time consuming and expensive.
The first simple way is “Colour” of the Gold. This actually does vary depending on where the Gold Mine is located and in what country (Peru has a different colour to Russian, which has a different colour to South Africa, and so on. Therefore an extraordinary colour not considered as being within a standard range, would be questionable immediately.
A second method is a DNA test on the actual metal. Each producer and locality holds a slightly different DNA characteristic to the next mine, or next country. Even if metals are mixed, it is still possible to distinguish the origin of the different parts of the mixed metal. Time consuming and expensive as this method is, it is rather easy if all the metal is held in one vault.
However, the difficulty arises when, say, “Stolen Gold” is utilized in “Commemorative Coins” or “Jewelry”. It just isn’t that easy, in fact almost impossible, but it is not insurmountable, to track the hundreds of Thousands, if not millions, of people who have purchased “Gold Jewelry” or “Commemorative Gold” Coins.
It all comes down to one basic issue. It is simply a way of laundering “Stolen Gold” which is actually legitimized by the credibility, or assumed credibility, of the end seller, whether via a registered “Jeweler”, or, Central Bank, Institution, Minting Organisations.
The “Jewelry” market consumes in excess of 1000 MT of Gold per year (At a market rate of $1100 USD per Troy Ounce = $38,667,200,000-00 per year minimum for the “Jewelry” market.
We have no figures as to the volume of Gold absorbed annually into the “Commemorative Coin” market, nor do we have figures for Gold which is Sold over the Counters (without Official Documentation) in various sizes from 1 Troy Ounce – 1 Kg, in places such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, etc.
CAVEAT EMPTOR …….. Let the Buyer Beware………. Inadvertently you may, via your inexperience or lack of knowledge, be buying “Stolen Gold” which in most countries is a criminal offence and does not give you legal title to such Gold, even though you have purchased the Gold in good faith, believing it is legitimate, from what you consider, or what would normally be considered, as a reliable and trusted “Seller” party.
Finally, where “Gold” is stolen, especially Gold which is legally owned by the Collateral Accounts, such theft can only be implemented and organized from the top echelons of Government
or Society. Normal / Ordinary people do not have the mechanisms, operational capacity, knowledge, or connections, to be able to implement and carry out such illegal operations.
or Society. Normal / Ordinary people do not have the mechanisms, operational capacity, knowledge, or connections, to be able to implement and carry out such illegal operations.
Note: This is a brief only and does contain full detailed information, nor does it cover all known factors surrounding the “Illegal” or “Black Market” Gold transactions / manipulations known to exist in the past or even at the present time.
WHISTLEBLOWER.
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=162888
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