And all those US citizens who have been buying gold should prepare for its seizure, a la FDR.
Das vierte Reich ist dumm nicht.
So how much does Greece’s gold stash equal in dollars/euros?
Silver is on an upswing again.
I gather the gist of this is that the EU thinks it can force those nations that are deeply in debt to remain in the Euro, by confiscating their specie, so they cannot recreate their own currencies.
However, they have forgotten the lesson of the Papiermark, the Rentenmark, and the Reichsmark after WWI.
With WWI (1914), Germany split its currency from gold to protect it from international manipulation, by making it a purely fiat currency. At the end of the war (1918), and deeply in debt, they decided to pay their debt by printing more money, causing hyperinflation. This lasted until 1922-’23.
Then they replace the Papiermark with the Rentenmark, a temporary transition currency, at the rate of 1 trillion Papiermark = 1 Rentenmark. Later in 1924, the Rentenmark was replaced by the Reichsmark.
This was made possible by backing the Rentenmark with industrial and agricultural land. Then, when the Reichsmark was introduced, it was based again on gold.
The Reichsmark was then stabilized further with a fixed exchange rate in WWII, set against the currencies in German occupied nations, with advantage to the Reichsmark.
So how does this compare to Greece, or the other PIIGS?
If Europe thinks that it can force Greece to remain in the Euro, Greece could still recreate the Drachma, but solely as a fiat currency. And while this would stop trade with Greece, any stability at all would attract the attention of the other PIIGS, to do the same. And this could overwhelm the EUs ability to force control over them.
Greece would then just postpone debt repayment, or even abrogate it, and quickly try to move to as self sustaining an economy as possible, likely making bilateral trade deals with some of the other PIIGS for critical supplies.
Since Germany is perhaps the largest creditor nation in Europe, and would lose its shirt in this deal, it would likewise be strongly inclined to abandon the Euro as well, unless there was a major renegotiation of treaties so that Germany would never again be left holding the bag for less responsible nations.
They might even consider leaving the common market.