Jack Lawson Sends: Olson on Precious Metals and Other Items of Financial Value, Part One – Dispelling Myths

Here is the latest excerpt from Jack Lawson’s magnificent book series, the Civil Defense Manual. You can grab a copy of his book here. Jack is a strong supporter of American Partisan, and even had NC Scout write the chapter on Radio Communications (Chapter 17 in Volume I). I bought my copy the day it become available and I highly recommend you do as well.

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“Everything you wanted to know about Gold and Silver as Precious Metals but had no one to ask…”

From Jack Lawson, the Author of the Civil Defense Manual…

There are many types of items of value and many justifications as to what makes that item valuable. Thoughts on the fundamental value of rare or Precious Metals, diamonds… to “art work,” Crypto Currencies (aka ‘Bitcoin) and other investments abound.

This essay is edited by an Old School Person (Jack Lawson) as written by a qualified Old School Precious Metals and Fundamental Tangible Investments Dealer (Clay Olson-Contributing Author). We are not dinosaurs nor do we have our “heads buried in the sand.”

To the contrary, we have our “heads on a swivel” as they say in Special Operations ready for anything thrown at us from any direction. Well, at least Clay has his on a swivel regarding Tangible Investments… as he’s experienced about every type of Tangible Investment under the sun in his time.

Experience always outperforms ideas and new enthusiasm. And Clay has 40 years of his own experience plus being born into a family that’s been eating, sleeping and breathing Precious Metals and investments for decades even before he was a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye. Still, he’s always evaluating sound new investments. The trouble is… there is very little in new Tangible Investments.

History shows that by and large those who “Err on the side of caution” regarding financial issues… usually prevail… and don’t lose their investments.

Maybe a few ‘miss the boat’ on opportunities, but we also realize our limitations and who we are, as you should… common people… not the Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk type who live in a different world than us.

Especially when it comes to the Mother of All Issues that affects most people… financial security. Like Clint Eastwood said in the movie “Dirty Harry” “…a man has got to know his limitations!”

You might say to us… “You old fools… you have to change with the times!” Realize one thing… like Laws of Physics do not change… the Laws of Finance and Investments do not change… they are finite. Face it… you are not as smart or devious as some people who stay up until 3 AM to concoct these investment vehicles and schemes… through which they make fortunes… and you lose yours.

Real Estate is not included in this essay evaluation of worth. That would take books to explain and largely determined on the “By guess and by golly” principle. I know people who have lost ten million… to hundreds of millions of dollars in Las Vegas real estate holdings in the 2008 housing collapse that hit the United States… Las Vegas, Phoenix and Sacramento the hardest.

I look in the mirror every morning while shaving and see one of them who lost the lower millions amount. A better investment would have been buying HO Scale Model railroad trains. HO Scale Model trains are two to five times the value now than back then… even though they have little real intrinsic value, unlike grid down useable items.

Art Work

Let’s get one ‘investment’ out of the way. Art Work, history has determined, is diametrically the opposite of winning the musical chairs game. With the musical chairs game, when the music stops, hopefully you have a chair to sit in, or you lose the musical chairs game. In comparison to, when the real-life disaster of financial chaos or disruption comes, it is best to be the opposite of the musical chairs game and “not to have a chair” …that meaning not being the owner of Art Work… as you lose with them as an investment.

Art Work, by historical record, goes by “The Greater Fool Theory” …that there is always a Greater Fool out there ready to pay the unfounded and ridiculous price that the former Greater Fool who owns Art Work is selling it for. And, that the Greater Fool to hold it when financial chaos or disruption comes… loses his money.

I recently told a family member obsessed with investment in Art Work, because of the increasing value of them and what he considers “rock bottom prices” on some he speculates will go up in price like a rocket blasting off…

“Buy edible and combustible Art Work, at least that may keep you fed when the value of it is the caloric food content it has or the heat you can get off it for warmth, boiling water and cooking from it… when it burns.”

Art Work’s value, with a few exceptions, has always been that in times of abundance and expansion of the monetary system through unjustifiable fiat money growth (see the definition), the price of Art Work is driven to its own unjustifiable value by abnormal economic mechanisms and illogical investment thought. If you think I am wrong… good luck to you!

Dictionary Definition

fiat

noun

fi·​at \ ˈfē-ət

Definition of fiat: In the case of money or other financial instruments… that which is created by an authoritative decree, sanction, or order. Money made out of thin air by a decree based on Babylonian Money Magic Principles, an arbitrary decree or pronouncement, especially by a person or group of persons having absolute authority to enforce it such as… “The king ruled by fiat.” Fiat money is usually a government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, such as Gold, Silver or other items of intrinsic value, but rather by the gov