If the seller had asked to be paid in silver certificates, cashed them in, and buried the silver in the back yard, the seller would have $1,134,750 worth of silver at the noon spot price (plus more for the copper, less smelting charge).
Despite all the "gains" and the "wealth" tied up in this house and land, there is a very good chance that the seller would be ahead on the deal. Add in taxes and expenses, and the seller is massively ahead.
And for DannyTN: As John Maynard Keynes famously said when challenged about the long run consequences of debt-based money, "In the long run, we're all dead".
Of course as a gay man, Keynes had no interest in posterity. But most of us do.
In the example above, to be specific - the grandchildren of the imaginary seller would be better off than the grandchildren of the owner of the house in question.
THAT is what honest money is all about. It is a keystone in the blessings of Liberty, which we are supposed to be preserving for our posterity.
Back in the day when I was in fifth grade, the year Kennedy was killed, if we had any money and we had a permission slip from Ma or Pa, we could go to the local store at noon recess.
I was always doing something for a nickel..hauling and splitting wood for my aunt or whatever, and they always tossed a nickel or dime my way. You remember that red Liquorice? Well, those were 5 for a penny. Bubble gum was about three for a penney. For a nickel, you could come back from that store with a whole little sack full of candy.
Then I’d sell it for double.