Video Transcripts

As the head of a company with over 400 employees working from multiple office buildings across two states, I probably take a keener interest in banking and commercial real estate matters than your average citizen. That said, I think it’s important for Americans to know that we may be teetering on the brink of a…

On Monday, our nation will observe one of its most significant holidays: Memorial Day. While many will spend the day relaxing or taking part in recreational activities, this holiday is really all about honoring sacrifice—specifically, the ultimate sacrifice made by the men and women while serving in our nation’s armed forces. Without their dedication to…

I recall first hearing concerns about the financial viability of Social Security when I was in my 20s. At the time, the prospect of that problem affecting me personally seemed pretty remote. 45 years later, I’m now receiving Social Security benefits—and this prospect no longer seems so remote. The loss of benefits would pose a…

When you invest in a gold ETF, what exactly are you acquiring, and how does it differ from possessing physical gold? First and foremost, investing in a gold ETF does not grant you actual ownership of any physical gold nor a direct claim over any physical gold. This is a common misconception many customers have:…

One of my first challenges as U.S. Mint Director was developing a marketing plan for a commemorative coin program that would help fund the staging of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. There is a long history of Congress mandating the minting and sale of commemorative coins for public or private purposes like this. In…

For many months, financial news outlets and analysts have been discussing the chances of a “soft landing”—a situation in which inflation decelerates to normal levels without a recession or other economic downturn. This scenario remains the stated goal of the Federal Reserve as it attempts to tighten monetary policy and rein in inflation. Recent data,…

The current rally in gold prices—now surpassing an increase of $500/oz.—began within hours of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Since then, extraordinary demand from central banks and Chinese retail buyers and uncertainty about inflation and interest rates in the United States have continued to fuel record prices for physical gold. Now conflict…

No matter how the financial industry changes or what new digital currencies are developed, precious metals are still considered a powerful and oftentimes preferred vehicle for wealth protection. That reputation goes back thousands of years, and there’s no sign that precious metals like silver and gold are going to lose their allure any time soon.…

We live in a digital world—one where seemingly every aspect of our lives is in some way controlled or affected by electronic networks. Communication, travel, entertainment, and finance are all areas in which we’re now forced to rely almost entirely on our smartphones, computers, and the internet. It makes sense, then, that when so many…

If you study enough history, patterns begin to emerge. Certain major events become cyclical, with even the most extraordinary circumstances having precedents. This is true for both paper money and for gold, as we can see from the recent failure of a nation’s currency and that nation’s turn to physical gold. But could this failure…

Thirty-four trillion dollars. That’s how much our country owes holders of U.S. Treasury debt—and that’s double what we owed only 15 years ago. The last time the United States ran budget surpluses was from 1997 to 2001. I remember it well. I was Mint Director at the time. The national debt was under $6 trillion…

A fundamental step in learning how to buy silver is knowing how different types of silver are made. Two common types of silver are hand-poured silver and cast silver. They are both silver products, but this comparison explains how they differ in the manufacturing process and why it matters. Understanding Cast Silver The Process of…