Michael Zielinski: U.S. Mint discouraging gold ownership

8:36p ET Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Coin market analyst Michael Zielinski, editor of the Mint News Blog, has analyzed the actions of the U.S. Mint over the last six months and gotten awfully suspicious. Zielinski concludes:

"Whether or not it was the U.S. Mint's intention, every significant action they have taken since August has either limited gold availability, eliminated gold product options, or increased the cost of acquiring gold. Has it all just been a consequence of surging global demand for gold, supply chain mismanagement, and bad timing for policy decisions? Or is there something else going on here?"

The Mint's explanation -- a gold shortage -- isn't terribly persuasive if one believes the claim of its parent agency, the U.S. Treasury Department, that it still owns more than 8,000 tonnes of gold. Further, federal law requires the Mint to produce as many gold and silver coins as are necessary to meet the public's demand, and rather than diminish production or draw down the Treasury's gold stock the Mint could simply buy more gold, as on the New York Commodity Exchange.

Of course that would drive up the gold price, the surreptitious suppression of which lately has seemed to be the Treasury Department's first priority.

In any case the law requiring the Mint to meet coin demand plainly is being violated, and if GATA had sufficient funds, we well might sue the Mint to force compliance with the law.

Of course the World Gold Council, with its annual budget of more than $60 million, easily could afford to undertake such a lawsuit if its executives weren't too busy draping jewelry over lovely fashion models -- and if the primary purpose of the World Gold Council wasn't to ensure that there never IS a world gold council.

Zielinski's analysis is headlined "Actions of the U.S. Mint Discourage Gold Ownership" and you can find it at the Gold and Silver Blog here:

http://goldandsilverblog.com/actions-of-the-us-mint-discourage-gold-owne...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

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