Executive Insights

“There was the greatest bubble I’ve ever seen in my life.... The entire American public eventually was caught up in a belief that housing prices could not fall dramatically.”  Warren Buffett, testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, 2010 Ten years ago, we were deep in the weeds of the Great Recession when American homeowners saw…

The West Point Mint is one of the highest security mints in the nation. It's both a storage and manufacturing facility. What goes on inside this featureless concrete building surrounded by turrets? U.S. Money Reserve, America's Gold Authority®, is here to give you a peek inside. Learn about the history of the West Point Mint,…

According to the Baker Library Historical Collection at Harvard Business School, the three Lehman brothers, Henry, Emanuel, and Mayer, emigrated from Germany in the 1840s and opened up a dry goods store in Montgomery, Alabama. During this time, cotton was a vital and high valuation crop and the brothers quickly began accepting raw cotton in…

Every year in July, the festival of San Fermín is held in Pamplona, Spain. San Fermin is the co-patron saint of Navarre who was martyred at the age of 31 and apparently dragged through the streets by a bull. Despite the fact that it was likely Saint Saturninus who actually met his fate in this…

It’s somewhat fitting that the future of global monetary policy and the path of U.S. interest rates will be discussed in a place renowned for the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar complete with saddle stools, Wyoming Whiskey, and thousands of Morgan Silver Dollars embedded into the bar top. The Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is a yearly…

The only certain things in life are death, taxes, and, one could argue, another financial downturn. Recessions are inevitable. Some economists believe they’re a natural outgrowth of business cycles. Others maintain that booms and busts reflect the inherent cadence of capitalism and a market economy. Still others assert that downturns represent an outgrowth of excess…

What if I told you that Goldilocks was not a fair-haired child but rather a horrid old woman apparently up to no good? What if I told you that the three bears were not as high-minded as they’re often portrayed but rather wild, ravenous, and a bit vindictive? In the Goldilocks tale first published by…

Ever wonder where your gold and silver coins begin their lives? How about your pocket change? America has official, coin-producing minting facilities from east to west, north to south. These facilities are some of the most popular and trusted coin minting facilities in the world. In order of date established, the mints are located in…

Get ready for the toxic TV commercials, mounds of election mail, and—depending on where you live—door-to-door vote trolling. The midterm elections are now mere months away, and while there’s a lot on the line for both political parties, there is even more at stake for U.S. consumers, particularly those watching their nest eggs. The midterm…

Burnished. Is it a coin type? Classification? Grade? To "burnish" something means to make it shiny or lustrous, especially by rubbing. In the world of numismatics—the study of coins and currency—a burnished coin is more than a polished piece of gold or silver. The basics: What is a burnished coin? The burnishing process was first…

MS-60. AU-55. G-4. What’s next, 007? MI-9? Not quite! When you examine a certified gold or silver coin, you aren’t looking at a secret code or the calling card of a British spy. You’re looking at letters and numbers from the Sheldon Scale, the de facto standard for coin grading that communicates important information to…

People buy physical gold for many reasons: to protect against losses in other asset categories, for security in times of crisis, and because it's a tangible, liquid, and private asset. Why might YOU buy gold? The choice is yours. Make an informed decision. Learn more as we dive deeper into each of these reasons to…