Negative inflation-portion interest can't eat into your principal... but can it eat into a previous-period's inflation portion interest?  I'd imagine that amount counts as principal at that point and it can't retroactively go back and steal previously calculated interest. Correct.  Interest is cred...

Still 0% fixed, but look at that inflation factor.  2.3% for 6 months resulting in a 4.6% annual rate That's more than 30 year treasuries, with no interest rate risk and no default risk. And never a cap gain "pop" because there is no secondary market. And only for 6 months (rate can chang...

gold was fixed prior to the 1970's After seeing that statement innumerable times on bogleheads and here, it is time to put it to bed.  The only fixed prices were the official government prices.  The U.S. is STILL a fixed price at $42 per ounce, but we only care about the market price.  The market t...

http://www.usagold.com/reference/prices/history.html That's perfect, Wonk. Thank you! mt, I use kitco as another source for today's prices {in google docs}, but if they have historical data aside from charts, I didn't see it. When you start looking for gold price history, pretty soon you have to as...

lot of it was used in photography before digital cameras came along. The peak usage for photography peaked in 2000 or so.  However nearly all that is used in photography (100 tons per year or so IIRC) is recovered and thus it is not consumed but is available again as part of the annual supply. Howe...

I've heard Harry Browne say that Silver is an "Industrial Metal" and "not a monetary metal" like Gold is. If this is true, why would anyone want to hold Silver to hedge against inflation or currency issues? I assume HB left it out of the 4x25% PP for a good reason. Can someone p...

buy a Canadian Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, or Gold Buffalo sometime.  Those coins are 99.99% gold, as compared to the 92% gold content in Krugerrands and Eagles.  The difference in appearance is not subtle at all; pure gold is strikingly yellow compared to the 92% gold coins.  Absolutely bea...