Friday, April 13, 2012

Meet the 2012 Loonie and Toonie

Have you ever wondered why the Canadian Mint's Loonies and Toonies look like they are made from silver and gold? Well they are neither silver nor gold but plated steel.

The reason that they are made to look like silver and gold is because we humans have recognized silver and gold as being a meaningful currency for thousands of years. In fact we in Canada and the US had a defacto currency based on gold until August 15, 1971.

Then one once of gold was worth US$35 - today, as I write this entry, gold is selling for US$1668. That is 47 times what it sold for in 1971. That is to say both the Canadian and US Dollar are worth a little over 2 cents in 1971 money.

So why is the Canadian mint celebrating it's new coins? They are really celebrating the stupidity of the populace to put up with the debasement of their currency. The current digitally created money is relatively worthless when compared to the real mined representation of convertible wealth, silver and gold.

Some would say that if you have no debts and extra cash on hand that people might consider buying and taking possession of physical silver or gold MINTED coins. The Canadian Maple Leaf silver and gold coins are usually regarded as top quality bullion.

The Canadian Mint introduces the 2012 Loonie and Toonie - and no, it isn't precious metal