In contrast with best industry practices ....
Germany’s gold reserves do not seem to be independently verified by a third party.Philipp Missfelder, a politician from Merkel’s own party, has asked the Bundesbank for the right to view the gold bars in Paris and London, but the central bank has denied the request, citing the lack of visitor rooms in those facilities, German’s daily Bild reported. The Bundesbank won't let German parliament members inspect the German gold vaulted abroad because the central bank vaulting facilities supposedly lack "visiting rooms." And yet one of those vaults, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, offers the public tours that include "an exclusive visit to the gold vault".
h/t Adrian
Maybe a bunch of European countries just finally repatriated all the gold stolen from them from 1939-1945?
The separation between shit and fan seems to be decreasing.
The separation between shit and fan seems to be decreasing.
Milton Friedman had a great segment in his "Free to Choose" series shot from the vault of the New York Reserve Bank. He sits on a pile of gold bars explaining the causes of the 1929 crash and ensuing depression.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOO4kPSaD4Y
"Bundesbank" literally translates out to "Bank Of Sgt Schultz"
German finance minister calls press conference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVG1q49yPaY
It would not surprise me that most Nations are lying about there gold reserves.
After all paper money is so cheap to print.
I remember in the 60s. Australia used to have a dollars worth of Gold in every dollar. In Canada we used real silver in Quarters.
America still had a gold standard till Nixon.
This all changed by the 70s. You have to wonder why?
Once the 'faith' has been broken we are all hooped.
What value gold if the Bank of International Settlements tries to use gold rather than the USA$? How do you even measure money supply accurately. Every extension of credit is creating money.
They're just stalling!
You know it takes time to paint those chimney bricks gold and restack them in the middle of the pile!
Just like on TV when the kidknappers make their ransom demands, the crafty marks take packets of worthless paper, put 20 dollar bills front and back, and then fill up the backpack.
Hey, it's worth a try! ;~))
So......the Germans want to see the gold held in trust and the countries that have the gold are making excuses not to show it. I would hate to think that something stinks here, but the odor is overwhelming. Perhaps they could buy some nice bridges instead.
The gold is almost certainly not there. I remember reading years ago that if all the people who had paper claims on silver exercised those claims they would need about thirty times as much silver as there was in existence. I can't imagine that gold is any different. Also there have been several cases of fake gold bars reported lately. Bars of gold have been found that are actually tungsten with a thin layer of gold over the top. These bars had hallmarks and legit serial numbers. They were of a high enough grade that they were probably made by a mint.
minuteman, I can assure you, I didn't make those fake gold bars.
It's probably just a misunderstanding...?
peterj, it seems to me the article is reporting that it is the Bundesbank itself, not the foreign storage sites, that is telling German parliament members they can't go inspect the gold and declining to send its own staff to verify it or engage independent third parties to do so.
Yeah nothing to see here move along... what "fake" gold bars?
@ TheTooner at October 25, 2012 12:50 AM
I suspect there could well be sleepless nights with all the banks involved. The ability for Germany to actually see the gold has to be negotiated by the holders. That alone should send off a lot of warning bells.
"The report says the gold bars "have never been physically checked by the Bundesbank itself or other independent auditors regarding their authenticity or weight." Instead, it relies on a "written confirmations by the storage sites."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-22/german-court-demands-bundesbank-audit-sovereign-gold-holdings
Sounds like a heluva good way to start a gold rush (panic).