Re: Gold in them thar Bills...

[Alexander Reynolds <chrome@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu>]

> > 	Since the topic of backing seems to go towards gold, what about
> > the purity of the bullion and who (which government) presses it?  Gold
> > pressed by the Canadian government at .999 troy oz might not be worth a
> > whole lot as backing if that government collapses tommorow. 
> 
> Pardon, but what does the purity of the gold have to do with who mints it?

My parents used to live in Canada and purchased some gold there; I was
using Canada merely as an example.  But the question of how the reputation
of a country might effect the reputation of its gold reserves stands.

> > What's to say it isn't iron pyrite or any similar looking
> > material if the government isn't there to back it?
> 
> Have you ever heard of doing an assay?

Yes, but that would be at the expense of the owner, and if it looks like
gold, feels heavy in the hand like gold, and if it has the word Canada and
the number .999 stamped on it, then people (bankers) might take it at face
value (or might not, depending on the stability of that country).