Editor, Gazette-Journal:
Recently I encountered an advertisement involving the sale of old U.S. coinage and was a bit surprised at the price of these coins. For example, pre-1965 silver dimes in $5 face value (i.e., 50 dimes) were priced at over $130, while a $20 gold piece that sold for $42 in 1964 is now valued at over $2,500 today. This prompted the question, what has happened to our money? I should be more explicit and use the correct term, currency, as we are no longer on a gold standard. According to the Constitution, only gold and silver are considered to be money.
The increase in the dollar value of gold and silver as well as most everything else can be attributed to inflation. President Nixon’s “temporary” closing of the gold window and removing the gold backing of the dollar in 1971 created an increase in the rate and frequency of inflation. Inflation has soared since the uncoupling of the dollar from the gold standard. The excess currency creation—money printing among other ...