Precious Metals News & Analysis - Gold News, Silver News from Money Metals Exchange

Despite Correction Gold Remains One of the Top-Performing Assets in the Last 12 Months

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

Despite the steep correction and increased volatility, gold remains one of the best-performing assets over the last 12 months.

It feels like gold has tanked this year, but the yellow metal was only down about 7 percent through the first six months of 2026. The sharp price rally to kick off the year exacerbated the scope of the ensuing correction. Gold is down about 28 percent from its record highs.

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Gold started the year with a bang, hitting 12 all-time highs and pushing above $5,000 an ounce in January. After a brief spike at the beginning of the U.S.-Iran conflict, gold has been generally range-bound between $4,000 and $4,500 an ounce.

Gold’s volatility spiked to over 50 percent early in the year. It has since moderated to around 30 percent; however, this is still far above the 20-year average of 17 percent.

Even with the correction, gold has still outperformed most assets over the last 12 months with a gain of around 33 percent. Only emerging market stocks have done better than gold in the last year.

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The selloff has led some pundits to declare the gold bull market is over, but it's important to remember that https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/06/25/deep-corrections-normal-during-bull-markets-005006";>corrections are normal and healthy during a bull market, and the dynamics that drove gold to record highs remain firmly in place.

However, in the short-run, gold continues to face headwinds due to expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain a tighter monetary policy to combat price inflation. However, mainstream prognosticators seem to be ignoring the massive https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2025/11/15/debt-black-hole-putting-increasing-stress-on-american-consumers-004483";>Debt Black Hole and https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/07/02/fed-chair-warshs-will-vs-economic-reality-005034";>the difficulty it creates. A debt-riddled bubble economy does not function in a higher interest rate environment.

World Gold Council analysts say they think the current gold price is in line with the current economic backdrop of “moderate growth, cooling but still elevated inflation, and expectations of further – but limited – central bank tightening.”

“Under these conditions, gold will likely stay relatively rangebound (±5%).”

However, they say the “stage is set for a possible breakout.”

“On the upside, clear catalysts – a worsening economy or renewed geopolitical shock, a shift towards lower interest-rate expectations, or a wave of dip buying – could reignite gold’s momentum and lift it back towards US$4,500/oz or above. If the signals are strong, gold could push even higher. Conversely, an environment of resilient growth, rising yields, and calmer markets could see gold slip further – though a fall of more than 10 percent from current levels may be tempered by bargain-hunting demand. Meanwhile, enduring central bank demand and policy shifts in key markets like India are additional wildcards that could subtly influence gold’s path in the second half.”

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World Gold Council analysts picked up on an interesting trend through the first half of 2026. North American investors have driven the sell-off, with Asian investors taking advantage of price drops to add to their gold holdings. World Gold Council analysts call Asia "the engine of price support."

"Interestingly, intraday analysis suggests that the bulk of gold’s movements have been linked to activity during Asian and U.S. trading hours. Many of the pullbacks occurred during US hours and, conversely, gold’s rebounds generally occurred during Asian hours."

During Asian trading hours, gold was up 12.9 percent through the first six months of the year. During North American trading hours, the yellow metal was down 15 percent.

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De-Dollarization Alert: Central Banks Plan to Keep Swapping Dollars for Gold

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

Central bankers expect https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2025/03/11/de-dollarization-gold-and-a-shift-to-a-multipolar-world-003898";>de-dollarization to continue over the next several years, with gold and other currencies taking on a growing role in the global monetary system, according to a survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF).

This comes on the heels of https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/06/25/survey-central-bankers-plan-to-keep-stacking-gold-005007";>a World Gold Council survey reflecting the same sentiment.

According to the OMFIF survey, more central banks plan to cut dollar allocations than increase them over the next year. The World Gold Council survey mirrored these findings, with 74 percent of the respondents saying they expect their share of dollar reserves to be lower in five years.

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Meanwhile, 79 percent of the central banks surveyed by the OMFIF indicated that the world is moving toward a “multi-polar” monetary system, with other currencies taking on a larger role as the dollar's importance wanes.

Nearly all the central bankers surveyed by the OMFIF indicated that holding yuan provides diversification, and two-thirds said the euro has become more attractive in international trade.

However, the dollar isn’t being replaced by the yuan or euro. It is being knocked off its monetary throne by gold.

According to the survey, gold "has moved to the center of reserve management strategy."

The survey found 82 percent of respondents now hold physical gold. That was up from 71 percent a year ago. Thirty percent plan to increase their gold allocations over the next one to two years.

Last year was the fourth-largest expansion of central bank gold reserves on record, at 863 tonnes. That was down 21 percent year-on-year, but still well above the 2010-2021 annual average of 473 tonnes.

The all-time high was set in 2022 (1,136 tonnes). It was the highest level of net purchases on record, dating back to 1950, including since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971.

Last month, the European Central Bank confirmed that https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/06/02/ecb-confirms-gold-has-overtaken-treasuries-as-top-global-reserve-asset-004959";>gold had overtaken U.S. Treasuries as the world’s top reserve asset.

According to the OMFIF report, this shift toward gold has been “driven by protection against geopolitical risk and growing doubts about the stability of the international monetary system.”

OMFIF head of research Andrea Correa said she thinks this trend will continue into the foreseeable future.

"Gold is not moving anywhere. Reserve managers of the central banks are still very bullish on gold. Despite the fact that the gold value itself keeps rising, they are still demanding it."

Correa said gold is the one asset that everybody perceives as “safe” in the midst of increasing geopolitical shocks and growing uncertainty. Protection against geopolitical risk was cited by 51 percent of reserve managers as a reason to own gold, up 11 percentage points from 2024.

“That is not going to change in the short term,” Correa said.

She also said there seems to be a long-term commitment to the yellow metal.

"When you ask central banks about the long term—10 years—gold is still the second asset they name. They no longer say they want to increase government bonds. Instead, they shift toward corporate bonds, then gold, and then public equities."

It's not surprising that central bankers are spurning government bonds, given the unprecedented level of government debt. Governments can't seem to stop borrowing and spending. At some point, a wise man stops loaning his drunk uncle money.

The survey notes that the dollar isn’t in any danger of falling off its perch as the world’s reserve currency. However, even a modest de-dollarization spells trouble for the U.S. economy.

Since the global financial system runs on dollars, the world needs a lot of them, and the United States depends on this global demand to underpin its bloated government. The only reason the U.S. can borrow, spend, and run massive budget deficits to the extent that it does is the dollar’s role as the world's reserve currency. It creates a built-in global demand for dollars and dollar-denominated assets. This absorbs the Federal Reserve’s money creation and helps maintain dollar strength despite the Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies.

But what happens if that demand drops?

A de-dollarization of the world economy would cause a dollar glut. The value of the U.S. currency would further depreciate. At the extreme, global de-dollarization could spark a currency crisis. You and I would feel the impact through more price inflation, eating away at the purchasing power of the dollar. In the worst-case scenario, it could lead to hyperinflation.

Smoke on the Launch Pad

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

While we may have called the bottom for gold in late June, it’s important to remember that a bottom is usually a process — and the next few weeks will likely be the premier buying opportunity of the year.

If you’re a long-time reader, you’ve seen me say this nearly every year about this time. That’s because in my long experience in this market, I’ve seen gold typically bottom anywhere from mid-July to mid-August.

My qualitative experience is backed up by the cold, hard quantitative data.

If you’ve been on financial social media recently, you may have seen a number of analysts quoting posts from the respected Seasonax service showing the https://www.moneymetals.com/gold-price";>10-year and even 50-year seasonal trends for gold:

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It’s important to note that seasonality doesn’t work every year for gold. Sometimes other fundamental factors completely override the natural strengthening of the metal’s price.

But when it works, it’s one of the easiest ways to get a jump on the market — especially in junior mining stocks.

That’s because, along with the factors that work to turn gold itself higher, there’s a lack of attention in junior miners as investors, traders, brokers and everyone else are distracted by summertime vacations.

Interestingly, this also coincides with the exploration season in northern latitudes and a flood of drill results coming into a market where fewer people are paying attention.

Again, when it works… it’s the premier buying opportunity of the year.

And it looks like it’s working right now.

Calling the Bottom?

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A couple of weeks ago, gold plummeted over $100 after new Fed head Kevin Warsh concluded his first FOMC meeting with a surprisingly hawkish tone.

The markets immediately began pricing in two rate hikes this year — a far cry from the two rate cuts that had been expected at the beginning of the year.

Gold not only fell through the key $4,000 level on that day, but it also completed a classic “death cross,” where the 50-day moving average falls through the 200-day MA.

It was a dour day for gold bugs...and it seemed to me that we had suddenly reached peak pessimism for the market. The next day, I issued a Gold Newsletter Alert to our subscribers, saying:

“I’ve seen this movie before, many times. And while I can’t call a bottom yet, and would be foolish to try...it sure felt like one yesterday.”

Did I call the bottom that day? Granted, I threw in enough caveats to make it essentially useless as a market call, but it did seem like we had reached the point of capitulation for this correction.

Regardless, a market bottom is usually a process rather than a one-session event. And even if June 24th was the precise bottom, we’re seeing some smoke on the launch pad… and the next few weeks to months should represent the best buying opportunity of the year.

From a fundamental standpoint, the market’s sudden fixation on a hawkish Fed was misplaced from the beginning in my view. As I noted to my Gold Newsletter readers, the simple math behind the spiraling federal debt and deficit in the U.S. alone will pressure the Fed toward easier monetary policy.

But then we got a nonfarm payrolls number last Thursday that came in at just 57,000 jobs — https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/06/29/a-deep-dive-does-government-job-data-reflect-reality-005018";>about half the expectation — and quickly threw cold water on rate hike expectations.

Gold leaped on the news, and has now put about $150 between the price and the $4,000 level. We have some upward momentum now, adding some urgency to those looking to get positioned.

To get Brien Lundin’s ongoing commentary on the markets at no charge, https://goldnewsletter.com/golden-opportunities-sign-up/?tblci=GiBdY-MYH1-nD-WW6UXCXAtHBPIEdPpDc50r48qPeOICrCDKuWUow8jry8SFw-EvMLzYPQ"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here to subscribe to his free Golden Opportunities newsletter.

How Much Is a Silver Dollar Worth? - Melt Value, Dates & Mint Marks - Morgan, Peace & Eisenhower Values - Money Metals

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

It seems counterintuitive to ask “how much is a silver dollar worth.” It sounds like it should be worth one dollar. And yet a silver dollar can be worth anywhere from $50 to several thousand dollars. The exact value depends on the coin's silver content, rarity, mint mark, condition, and collector demand.

Most old silver dollars are worth more than their face value because they contain real silver. Others carry extra premiums because collectors want them.

That means two silver dollars with the same design may have very different prices.

For example:

A common, worn Morgan dollar may sell for $30
A rare Carson City Morgan dollar may sell for thousands
A high-grade Peace dollar can command strong premiums
A modern silver may trade close to melt value only

If you inherited silver dollars or found one in an old collection, the first step is identifying exactly what type of coin you have. From there, you can start identifying what the coin's value will be.

We'll walk you through the crucial information you'll need to discover the worth of your silver dollars. We'll look at why silver dollars have value, their silver content, how to calculate melt value, and more.

Quick Answer

How Much Is a Silver Dollar Worth Today?

Most common silver dollars are worth at least their melt value in circulated condition. Rare dates and higher-grade examples can sell for significantly more than this.

It's important to note that the value range for silver dollars can change frequently. This fluctuation can occur because the spot price of silver moves daily.

Collector demand can also shift over time.

Why Silver Dollars Have Value

Silver dollars derive their value from two main sources:

Precious metal content
Collector demand

One important takeaway is that silver dollars are always worth more than their face value. The silver dollar has 90% silver content and it weighs 0.7734 troy ounces.

The strongest silver dollar markets usually combine both factors.

How to Calculate Silver Dollar Melt Value

Fortunately, it's not difficult to calculate a silver dollar's melt value. You can use a very straightforward equation to get a close sum that shows your coin's minimum worth. The formula below will calculate that sum:

Silver Melt Value = Silver Price x 0.7734.

Let's break that down with an example. Let's say the current spot price of silver is $75. With the coin weighing 0.7734 ounces and 90% silver content, it would be worth roughly $58.005 at minimum. Plugged into the formula, it would look like this:

75 x 0.7734 = 58.005

So, at the very least, a silver dollar is worth keeping as a junk silver coin. However, many iterations of silver dollars have numismatic value as collectible items.

One excellent example is the Morgan silver dollar. These coins contain nearly three-quarters of an ounce of silver, but many also carry collector premiums well above melt value.

Silver Dollar Melt Value vs Collector Value

One of the biggest misconceptions about silver dollars is that their value comes entirely from their silver content. However, a silver dollar can have worth that far exceeds its melt value.

To reiterate, melt value is the value of the silver contained in the coin. Most Morgan and Peace dollars contain 0.7734 troy ounces of silver, so their melt value rises and falls with the silver spot price. If silver is trading at $75 per ounce, the melt value of a common silver dollar is roughly $58.

Collector value , also called numismatic value, is the premium collectors are willing to pay above the coin's silver content. This premium is based on factor such as rarity, date, mint mark, condition, and demand. A rare Morgan dollar may contain the same amount of silver as a common one, and yet it may be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars more.

For example, a common 1921 Morgan dollar may sell for little more than its melt value. In contrast, an 1893-S Morgan dollar contains the same amount of silver but can sell for thousands of dollars because of its scarcity.

Understanding the difference between melt value and collector value is one of the fastest ways to determine whether a silver dollar is simply a silver investment or a potentially valuable collectible. While every genuine silver dollar has intrinsic value because of its silver content, only certain dates, mint marks, and high-grade examples command significant numismatic premiums.

What Types of Silver Dollars Exist?

Many people assume all silver dollars are the same, both in their composition and value. This is simply not true.

To begin, the silver dollar has had many more designs than the most recent Eisenhower model. Other older coins have different designs and histories that set them apart.

Each coin within these different series can have differing values and collector demand.

Generally, when we talk about silver dollars, we are looking at three main models:

Morgan Silver Dollars
Peace Silver Dollars
Eisenhower Silver Dollars
American Silver Eagles

You can see a quick summary of their values in the table below:

Coin	Silver Content	Typical Value
Morgan Dollar	0.7734 oz	$30-$300+
Peace Dollar	0.7734 oz	$28-$250+
Eisenhower Silver Dollar	0.3161 oz	$10-$25+
Silver Eagle	1.0 oz	Spot + Premium

Morgan Silver Dollars

Morgan dollars are by far the most collected silver dollars in America, and investors who want direct exposure to this classic U.S. coin can https://www.moneymetals.com/buy/silver/silver-dollars/morgan-dollars";>buy Morgan Silver Dollars through Money Metals.

It was a long-running series, spanning from 1878-1921. The coin was produced by the U.S. Mint and had full legal tender status.

The coin famously featured Lady Liberty on the obverse, or front of the coin. The back of the coin, or reverse, depicted a bald eagle. Between these two images, the coin depicted two of the most prominent symbols of American identity. That made the coin extremely popular.

There are several reasons that collectors love Morgan dollars:

Old West history
Carson City mint issues
Large silver size
Strong collector market
Hundreds of date and mint combinations

Most circulated Morgan dollars sell for the standard junk silver rate. Better dates or otherwise rare coins can reach significantly higher values.

Valuable Morgan Dollar Dates

Some Morgan Dollars are much scarcer than others. Rare mint marks and years can add significant collector premiums. Here are some of the more valuable mint years and marks for the Morgan dollar.

1893-S : considered the “king” of the Morgan series, this San Francisco mint coin had an extraordinarily low mintage of just 100,000. Finding one in high uncirculated (Mint State) condition is incredibly rare. These coins can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction
1895: The Philadelphia issue from this year was not minted for business production. Only a few hundred proof strikes were produced and survived making it a true numismatic prize. This coin, too, can fetch hundreds of thousands at auction.
1889-CC: Carson City Morgan dollars are long-beloved of collectors due to their historic frontier origins and lower overall mintages. The 1889-CC is the crown jewel of this series.
1901-P: While millions were minted in Philadelphia, nearly all of them entered circulation, making uncirculated (MS) examples virtually impossible to find.
1884-S: The San Francisco mint struck a very low number of 1884 Morgans, and a large portion of them were lost or melted down over decades.

Peace Silver Dollars

Peace dollars replaced the Morgan dollar shortly after World War I. This series of silver dollars ran from 1921-1935.

The Peace dollar got its name from the peace that followed the war. The obverse of the coin features the profile of Lady Liberty, much as the Morgan dollar did. In this version, she wore a radiant spiked crown that resembled the Statue of Liberty.

The coin's reverse depicted a bald eagle clasping an olive branch, rather than the arrows of war, looking out over a glowing sunrise. If there is a mint mark present, it will be stamped on the lower reverse, just above the tips of the eagle's wings.

Many collectors hold this coin in high regard and consider it one of the most beautiful U.S. coins ever produced. Investors and collectors can also https://www.moneymetals.com/buy/silver/coins/peace-silver-dollar";>buy Peace Silver Dollars through Money Metals.

Valuable Peace Silver Dollars

1925-S: Mintage numbers were moderate for this series, which gives even circulated coins in this series a collector premium. Surviving uncirculated examples are scarce, though, which can make top Mint State condition coins worth thousands of dollars.
1924-S: This is another moderately produced coin series which can have collector premiums. When it is certified in uncirculated condition it can gain even sharper premiums.
1927-D and 1927-S: Both these editions are considered highly scarce in higher grades. They demand strong premiums from collectors who want to complete coin date sets.
1928-P: This coin series has the lowest mintage (360,649) of any regular-strike Peace Dollar. Even heavily circulated coins in this series can garner tens of thousands of dollars.

Eisenhower Silver Dollars

The Eisenhower dollar was minted from 1971-1978. It features President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the obverse and an Apollo 11 moon mission design on the reverse.

This coin differs drastically from the two iterations we've talked about to this point. Unlike them, the Eisenhower dollar was minted as a clad coin. For the most part, these coins contained no silver.

However, there were some collector edition Eisenhower dollars that contained 40% silver. These silver-clad coins came from the San Francisco Mint. These uncirculated (Blue Ikes) and proof (Brown Ikes) coins carry a premium.

American Silver Eagles

The American Silver Eagle is technically not a dollar coin for circulation. Nevertheless, many people still call it a silver dollar due to its nominal face value. The coin has a legal tender value of $1, even though its silver value gives it far more intrinsic worth.

Silver Eagles contain:

One full troy ounce of silver
.999 fine silver purity
Legal tender face value of one dollar

Most Silver Eagles trade based on the current spot price of silver and additional dealer premiums. For much of 2026, the Silver Eagle has fluctuated between $80-$95 in value.

How to Identify Your Silver Dollar

If you're wondering how much is a silver dollar worth in your collection, the first step is identifying what coin you have. You can usually get an idea of how much a coin is worth based on its:

Date
Mint mark
Silver content
Condition

Check the Date

The date is often the quickest way to narrow down a silver dollar's value. Different coin series were produced during different periods of U.S. history. Once you know the coin type, you can compare the date against known key dates and low-mintage issues that may carry higher collector premiums.

Find the Mint Mark

The mint mark tells you where the coin was struck. Some mint marks are significantly scarcer than others and can dramatically increase value.

Common mint marks include:

CC = Carson City
S = San Francisco
O = New Orleans
D = Denver
No Mint Mark = Philadelphia

Carson City silver dollars are especially loved by collectors for their connection to the American West. They also tend to have lower mintage rates, making them scarcer and therefore more valuable in the numismatic market.

Determine the Silver Content

Not every dollar coin contains the same amount of silver. Morgan and Peace dollars contain 90% silver and 0.7734 troy ounces of pure silver, while some Eisenhower dollars contain 40% silver and many contain none at all.

Knowing the silver content allows you to estimate the coin's melt value and establish a baseline worth before considering any collector premium.

Evaluate the Condition

Condition plays a major role in determining value. Coins with sharp details, minimal wear, and original luster generally command higher prices than heavily circulated examples.

Even a common silver dollar can be worth substantially more if it is in uncirculated condition. When in doubt, compare your coin to professional grading examples or consider submitting valuable pieces to a grading service such as PCGS or NGC .

Following these steps can help you quickly determine if your silver dollar is better used as junk silver or whether it could be a valuable collector coin.

How to Tell if a Silver Dollar Is Real

The best way to verify your silver dollar's authenticity is to send it to a professional grader for an appraisal . However, there are some home tests you can do to gain more confidence about the silver content in your coin. This is important because counterfeit coins exist and have only become more prominent in online sales.

First, check your coin's weight. A genuine Morgan or Peace dollar should weigh close to 26.73 grams. Major weight differences can indicate a fake.

Second, examine the edge of your coin. Real silver dollars usually show a solid silver-colored edge. In contrast, clad coins often reveal copper-colored layers on the edge. Their reddish hue is a sharp contrast from a silver coin's glossy white edge.

Third, use a magnet. Silver is not magnetic. If your coin sticks to a magnet, it is highly likely to be a counterfeit.

Fourth, look for surface problems. Several counterfeit coins show grainy surfaces, soft details, incorrect fonts, and strange coloring.

Should You Clean a Silver Dollar?

Do not clean a silver dollar. It almost always reduces the coin's value.

Many beginners damage coins in an effort to make them shiny. However, collectors and the numismatic market prefer original surfaces. That remains true even if a coin appears dark or toned.

In contrast, improper cleaning can:

Leave scratches
Remove mint luster
Lower collector demand
Reduce resale value

Some cleaned coins lose large portions of their value. If a silver dollar may be valuable, leave it untouched.

Should You Get a Silver Dollar Graded?

It never hurts to get a silver dollar graded by professionals. That said, getting it graded makes more sense in some cases than in others.

Junk silver investors may not need their coins graded, provided they are confident of its silver content. This is especially true if they have bought their junk silver from a trustworthy exchange.

However, grading makes much more sense if you suspect your coin has numismatic worth. Seek professional grading if you have:

Rare dates
Carson City coins
High-grade coins
Coins worth over $150-$200

Professional grading helps:

Authenticate the coin
Establish condition
Protect against counterfeits
Improve resale value

However, common, worn silver dollars are generally not worth grading fees.

Where to Sell Silver Dollars

There are several ways to sell silver dollars. Each of them has their own advantages – and drawbacks.

Local coin shops offer many conveniences for coin sellers. Coin shops offer fast transactions and in-person evaluations. However, there are difficulties with these shops. Each has its own graders and policies, which can result in vastly diverging price offers. To mitigate this risk, it's best to get several offers from different shops.

https://www.moneymetals.com/";>Online bullion dealers are another excellent option. Major precious metals dealers buy many common silver dollars. These companies often price coins based on:

Silver content
Current market demand
Collector premiums

Online dealers may offer stronger prices than local shops for common coins. The inconvenience of these transactions is that there is no in-person transaction.

Rare silver dollars often perform best at auction. Competitive bids can drive strong prices for scarce coins. However, auctions also charge fees for participants, which can reduce seller profits. Sellers should compare options carefully to ensure they find the best auction.

Finally, there are peer-to-peer marketplaces. Online marketplaces allow direct sales to potential collectors. This comes with a tradeoff: prices may be higher, but risks also increase.

Common concerns include:

Counterfeits
Fraud
Payment disputes
Returns

Why Investors and Collectors Still Buy Silver Dollars

Silver dollars continue to appeal to two main groups.

The first group are precious metals investors. Investors https://www.moneymetals.com/buy/silver/silver-dollars";>buy silver dollars because they contain physical silver and may hold value during inflation or economic uncertainty. Many buyers also appreciate the historical connection that these coins have. Unlike modern bullion products, silver dollars were once used as everyday currency.

The next group is coin collectors. Collectors love these coins for their:

Historic designs
Mint mark varieties
Rare dates
Old West history
Long-term collecting challenges

Morgan dollars remain especially popular because they combine silver value with deep collector demand.

Are Silver Dollars a Good Investment?

Silver dollars can perform well over long periods, especially rare and high-quality coins. However, not all silver dollars rise in value equally.

Common-date coins move with silver prices. That is where their chief value comes from.

Rare coins may outperform silver itself because collector demand can grow independently. Given that, buyers should ensure they understand:

Market cycles
Premiums
Authentication risks
Dealer spreads

Numismatically valuable silver dollars are much harder to find. On top of that, the numismatic market has many additional factors that make it more complex than the silver market. While it's not impossible to make a significant profit in the market, it is often difficult for beginners to master.

In contrast, silver dollars have more silver content than most other junk silver coins. Their value stays relatively consistent, tracking the silver spot price. These factors make them a more stable and reliable investment than numismatic issues.

How Much Is a Silver Dollar Worth? Frequently Asked Questions

A 1921 silver dollar can be worth anywhere from $50 to several hundred dollars, depending on the type of coin and its condition. Morgan dollars from 1921 are generally common. In contrast, the 1921 Peace Dollar is a highly sought-after first-year issue that often commands much higher premiums.

A silver dollar with no mint mark was struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Its value depends on the date, condition, and rarity of the coin. Common examples are often worth little more than their silver melt value, while scarcer dates can command much higher collector premiums.

No. Most Morgan and Peace dollars contain 90% silver, but later dollar coins like the Eisenhower coin contain little or no silver. This coin was struck with a copper-nickel alloy. However, the San Francisco Mint did produce some collector editions with 40% silver.

The 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar is widely considered the rarest and most valuable silver dollar in U.S. history. Well-preserved examples have sold for more than $10 million, making it one of the most valuable coins ever auctioned.

Most Morgan and Peace silver dollars contain 0.7734 troy ounces of pure silver and are composed of 90% silver and 10% copper. Modern silver dollars vary, with American Silver Eagles containing a full troy ounce of .999 fine silver.

Final Answer: How Much Is a Silver Dollar Worth?

Most silver dollars are worth at least their silver content, which places even the most worn examples at roughly $50 in today's market. That is the simple answer to “how much is a silver dollar worth.”

However, some silver dollars far exceed that value. The most valuable can gather tens of thousands of dollars. If you're unsure of whether your coin might be more than a common junk silver item, start by checking the following:

Coin type
Date
Mint mark
Condition
Current silver prices

Small details can make a huge difference.

An ordinary-looking silver dollar could be worth only melt value, or it could be a rare collector coin worth far more.

Rosland Capital Bankruptcy Is a Reminder That HOW You Buy Gold Matters

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

Since Money Metals was founded in 2010, we've warned investors that how you buy precious metals can be just as important as what you buy.

Last week's https://www.moneymetals.com/uploads/content/Rosland-Capital-Bankruptcy-Petition.pdf"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">bankruptcy filing by Rosland Capital – one of the industry's most heavily advertised names, familiar through its Fox News commercials featuring William Devane – is another powerful reminder of why.

What Happened at Rosland Capital

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Last week, https://share.google/jnSxiaXziTxLUuHhb"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rosland Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following years of mounting financial problems. According to sworn court filings submitted by the company's newly appointed Chief Restructuring Officer, Rosland dismissed nearly all its employees last month and hopes to liquidate its business under court supervision.

According to the filing, some 617 customers are owed at least $60 million in undelivered orders and repurchase obligations.

For years, Rosland had achieved decent revenues. According to the bankruptcy declaration, annual sales exceeded $150 million in 2021 and remained near $100 million even through 2025.

And since it often sold supposedly “rare” or special coins at extremely high markups and paid huge commissions (15% to 35%) to its high-pressure sales team, it generated gross margins ranging from approximately 18% to 9%.

But the last year the company turned a profit was in 2021, after which profitability steadily deteriorated. The company lost $24 million between 2022 and 2025 – and $3.2 million so far this year.

With a capital deficit now greater than $60 million, Rosland apparently wasn't purchasing and paying for the metals it sold until months after customers placed their orders.

According to the bankruptcy petition, when gold continued rising in recent years, Rosland often found itself paying substantially more for replacement inventory than customers had originally paid.

This suggests Rosland didn’t even offset its price exposure through hedging or other risk-management practices.

The filing also states that the company is the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation concerning its precious-metals IRA business and that the New York Attorney General has been investigating the company’s sales practices as well.

Perhaps the most startling statement appears later in the declaration.

According to the Chief Restructuring Officer: "The Debtor no longer possesses any inventory of precious metals, coins, or bullion..."

Instead, he says the company's principal remaining asset consists largely of its customer lists, marketing records, and related customer information, which it hopes to sell through the bankruptcy process. This adds insult to injury for customers who entrusted the company not only with their purchases, but also with their personal information.

Why We Constantly Warn About This Business Model

Longtime Money Metals customers may recognize something familiar.

Among countless articles and investor education guides we’ve published on this topic was https://www.moneymetals.com/guides/five-traps-to-avoid-when-buying-and-holding-precious-metals";>Five Traps to Avoid When Buying and Holding Precious Metals.

The first trap we warned about was television celebrity precious-metals dealers – not because of the celebrities themselves, but because of the economics behind the business model.

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National television advertising, celebrity endorsements, lead-generation campaigns, and large commissioned sales forces are expensive. Those costs must be recovered somehow.

In most cases, they’re funded by selling high-premium collectible or semi-numismatic coins carrying markups far above their bullion value. Investors frequently believe they're simply buying gold or silver when they're paying thousands more than necessary (Indeed, a quick perusal of Rosland's website, still online, shows a wide variety of nonsense custom https://roslandcapital.com/products-categories/gold/"; target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">gold and https://roslandcapital.com/products-categories/silver/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">silver products that are heavily pushed rather than standard bullion items).

What’s particularly amazing is that despite charging excessive markups of 50%, 100%, or more, many of these firms nevertheless couldn’t even deliver the actual metals customers purchased.

Rosland Capital is only the latest blowup. https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2024/10/28/crooked-gold-ira-dealer-regal-assets-nailed-hard-by-the-feds-003573";>Regal Assets, https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2023/06/19/scam-alert-gold-and-silver-investors-being-targeted-002761";>Red Rock Secured, https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2020/10/05/coin-scammers-strike-again-002138";>Chase Metals, https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2024/09/09/new-scandal-watch-for-these-dealer-and-depository-red-flags-003444";>Oxford Gold Group, Safeguard Metals, and Merit Gold are among the others.

Why Money Metals Took an Entirely Different Path

Money Metals wasn't created to imitate that model. It was created because of it.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, https://share.google/zxkJhSJunCviiQIjp"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stefan Gleason, Mike Gleason, and Clint Siegner founded Money Metals to challenge an industry increasingly dominated by aggressive telemarketing, opaque pricing, phony collectibles, and excessive markups. We believe investors deserve transparent pricing, competitively priced bullion, and education—not pressure.

We believe informed customers make the best customers. That philosophy was a bedrock of our foundation and https://www.moneymetals.com/about";>continues to guide every aspect of our business today.

Rosland's bankruptcy should serve as a reminder that investors should carefully evaluate not only the products they buy, but also the business practices of the companies from which they buy them.

A dealer's marketing strategy, pricing philosophy, fulfillment speed, inventory management, and overall business model matter.

The lesson from Rosland's bankruptcy isn't that every dealer using expensive television ads or a company with a celebrity spokesman is destined to be the next scandal. Investors must understand how their dealer makes its money.

Business models built around aggressive sales tactics and “special” products carrying massive markups over the bullion spot market price create incentives that work against the customer.

That's a lesson worth remembering long after the headlines about Rosland Capital fade away.

Silver Aids Genetic Research and Other Silver News

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

Silver is an amazingly useful metal. In addition to serving as money, silver is used in a wide range of applications, from the tech sector to medicine.

And scientists continue to find new uses for silver.

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For instance, Japanese researchers have discovered that silver can facilitate the cutting and re-ligation of DNA structures.

This is one of several interesting developments in the silver market reported by the Silver Institute in https://silverinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Silver-News-JUNE.pdf"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">its recent Silver News publication.

Genetic engineering has a wide range of applications, from creating insect-resistant vegetables to developing new vaccines. A gene-editing technology known as CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is at the heart of all gene-altering processes. Japanese researchers discovered properties of nano-silver that aid the precise cutting and reconnection of DNA structures.

According to the scientists, silver nanoparticles serve four functions in the CRISPR process. First, they help locate and trigger the best angle to cut the strands. Second, silver replaces enzymes usually used to split sites and does the job more cleanly. Third, the introduction of silver creates longer overhangs, thus making for tighter joints, and fourth, unused or waste DNA fragments are attracted to the silver and carried away.

“We believe this technology will be useful for synthesizing genomic DNA, with many possible applications in areas such as an mRNA library establishment for cancer vaccines and gene therapy, as well as the development of artificial protein drugs and genome crops. We have shown that two DNA fragments can be joined. Now, we need to confirm whether multiple fragments can be joined at the same time – a key step for building genome-scale DNA.”

The Silver Institute reported several other interesting technological and market developments related to silver:

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After 45 years, Bunker Hill Mining Corporation has resumed silver mining in Idaho. The operations shut down in 1981 when the company could not comply with environmental regulations. The underground mine was flooded, and the entire area was remediated as part of the EPA’s Superfund Program. In 2020, a team began efforts to restart mining operations in the area after the EPA started allowing Superfund sites to be returned to economic use. Before shutting down, the Bunker Hill Mine produced 165 million ounces of silver and 4.5 tonnes of base metals, including lead and zinc.
Scientists in the UK have discovered that a ‘reversible’ glue using silver particles to keep electricity flowing can replace solder and facilitate the recycling of electrical components. Solder is typically used to connect electronic components. However, solder, along with screws and other connectors, makes it difficult to recycle e-waste because of its strong bonds to the printed circuit board. Using silver-based glues in electronics is not new; however, this new conductive adhesive is unique in its ability to be easily dissolved and unbonded on demand.
Silver is keeping AI chips and datacenters cooler. The heat generated by the silicon carbide chips often used in data centers can cause bonding failures. However, engineers have found that the chips can operate in heat as high as 350°C when sintered with silver paste. Sintering is a process that fuses powdered silver using heat and compression.
On May 22, Abaxx Exchange launched Silver Singapore (SSP) futures to help manage the physical silver trade in Asia. As silver industrial supply chains grow alongside rising investment demand, an active, two-way physical market has expanded across Asia. However, global price discovery has remained anchored to legacy hubs in London and New York. For commercial participants managing physical trade in Asia, this geographic mismatch introduces severe basis risk, timing friction, and unnecessary logistical costs. The 1,000-ounce contract is deliverable to vaults in Singapore. According to the Silver Institute, the contract is built for commercial trade. “SSP aligns with regional physical realities by requiring fournines silver, the higher-purity material needed by many industrial users to reduce unnecessary reprocessing or quality swap costs.”
Linalool (LN), a naturally occurring alcohol, has been shown to shrink brain tumors. However, it has trouble breaching the brain/body protective barrier. Researchers in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have found that adding silver nanoparticles to Linalool allows it to reach the brain and interact with tumors more easily.
New research from Korea shows that using an acidic, phosphorus-based liquid instead of chemicals offers a way to electroplate silver more safely without sacrificing smoothness or thickness. This discovery allows for expanded use of silver electroplating for companies that do not want workers to handle dangerous chemicals or worry about their release into the environment.

Government Plans to Expand Scheme to Incentivize Indians to Let Go of Their Gold

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

The Indian government plans to expand a program designed to incentivize people to turn in their gold after the original plan fell flat.

In 2015, the government created https://www.rbi.org.in/commonperson/english/scripts/FAQs.aspx"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">a gold monetization scheme (GMS) to encourage Indians to put “idle” gold into the country’s financial system. Under the plan, individuals can deposit as little as 10 grams of gold into an account maintained by a commercial bank.

After being tested for purity, the gold is melted and refined into standard .995 purity bars. Depositors receive interest in rupees. At the end of the term, depositors receive their choice of an equivalent quantity of gold or the value in rupees at the current gold price.

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Initially, the program included short-, medium-, and long-term deposit options. However, the medium- and long-term variants were discontinued last year, while the short-term program remained in effect with terms from one to three years.

Officials hoped the plan would incentivize Indians to turn in some of their gold. This would lower the country’s dependence on imported gold.

In 11 years, the GMS monetized only 39 tonnes of gold.

That may sound impressive until you realize that the government estimates Indians hold nearly 30,000 tonnes of gold.

Indians value the yellow metal as a store of wealth, especially in poorer rural regions. Around two-thirds of India’s gold demand comes from beyond the urban centers, where large numbers of people operate outside the tax system. Many Indians use gold jewelry not only as an adornment but also to preserve wealth.

According to a 2018 survey, 87 percent of Indian households owned some gold. Even households at the lowest income levels in India hold some of the yellow metal. According to the survey, more than 75 percent of families in the bottom 10 percent of income managed to https://www.moneymetals.com/buy/gold";>buy some gold.

The government would love to ratchet some of that gold out of the public’s hands. Lowering gold imports would help the country’s trade deficit. Beyond that, gold fuels India’s black market, and the government wants to “legitimize” that large segment of the Indian economy. (By legitimize, I mean tax.)

The new monetization scheme will reportedly allow jewelers to participate in the program. Industry officials say the government hopes to have the new program in place before the fall festival season.

"The government is seriously examining the proposal to bring jewelers under the scheme because their involvement can help channel idle household gold into the formal system," a senior gold trade official told the Times of India.

Jewelers would serve as collection and aggregation centers to channel the gold to authorized refiners. In return, they would receive a handling fee. They would also have access to monetized gold, providing jewelers with a “dependable and relatively lower-cost source of raw material,” while lowering dependence on imports.

The problem with this program is that most Indians would rather keep their gold in their hands.

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This isn’t the first time government officials have tried to lower gold imports by discouraging gold “hoarding.”

In 2016, the government implemented tax reporting requirements, requiring customers making gold purchases over 200,000 rupees to disclose their tax ID, known as a Permanent Account Number (PAN). Instead of forcing these large transactions into the light, the regulation drove many dealers into the underground gold trade. According to a Reuters report at the time, “Some jewelers [are] moving to unofficial trade from official. No one wants to lose customers just because they don’t have a PAN card.”

Of India’s 1.25 billion people, only 223 million held PAN cards when the law went into effect

Instead of complying with the regulation, many dealers simply split large transactions into multiple smaller invoices.

You can see why the government wants to stop the flow of gold into these areas. The yellow metal allows people to hold on to their wealth outside the official system. But no matter what the government does, it fights a losing battle against much stronger cultural and economic realities.

Indians also understand that their gold holdings can become a lifeline during a crisis. For instance, after the Indian government locked down the country during the COVID pandemic, banks tightened credit to mitigate the default risk. Unable to secure traditional loans, Indians used gold to secure financing. As Indians endured a second wave of lockdowns, many resorted to selling gold outright to make ends meet.

You can use your gold during a crisis if you don’t have it in your possession. This explains why, despite the monetary incentive, most Indians ignored the monetization program. In all likelihood, the expanded scheme won't fare much better.

Happy Fourth of July from My Family to Yours

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

Dear Fellow American,

As we celebrate our nation's 250th birthday today, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to you.

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Money Metals CEO Stefan Gleason

On behalf of everyone at Money Metals, thank you for your trust, your business, and your friendship.

It is a privilege we never take for granted.

This Fourth of July reminds us that our nation's greatest strength has always been its people—free men and women willing to work hard, think independently, and take responsibility for their own futures.

Those same values have guided Money Metals since my brother Mike, my brother-in-law Clint, and I founded the company sixteen years ago.

We didn't set out simply to build another precious metals business. We wanted to build a company worthy of your trust—one dedicated to honest pricing, exceptional service, customer education, and the timeless principles of sound money.

Every decision we've made has been guided by those ideals, and we're humbled that over one million Americans have chosen to make Money Metals part of their own financial journey.

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Independence Day is also a fitting reminder that freedom extends beyond our political institutions. Financial independence matters too. The ability to save, invest, and protect your family's purchasing power has always been essential to preserving personal liberty.

Our Founding Fathers understood that truth well. They believed economic freedom and political freedom were deeply connected, and many of them viewed honest, reliable money as one of the cornerstones of a prosperous republic.

While the challenges facing our nation today are different from those of 1776, the principles that made America exceptional remain remarkably relevant. I remain optimistic about our country's future because I continue to believe in the ingenuity, resilience, and determination of the American people.

All of us at Money Metals remain committed to earning your confidence every day. We'll continue working to provide outstanding products and service, advocate for sound money policies, and help more Americans protect what they've worked so hard to build.

From my family to yours, I wish you a joyful Fourth of July filled with family, friends, gratitude, and celebration.

Happy Independence Day—and happy 250th birthday, America!

With gratitude,

https://www.moneymetals.com/uploads/content/stefan-gleason-sig.png"; alt="stefan gleason signature" width="150" height="51" loading="lazy" />

Stefan Gleason
President & CEO
Money Metals Exchange

America's Founders Knew Something Huge About Gold... We've Forgotten It

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

Happy 250th Anniversary to America, Happy Fourth of July and welcome to this week’s Market Wrap Podcast, I’m Mike Gleason.

Coming up don’t miss this week’s interview with Ralph Benko, gold standard advocate, author of The Ten Commandments of Capitalism, co-author of The Capitalist Manifesto and the editor of the 500th Anniversary Edition of Nicolaus Copernicus' book titled https://www.amazon.com/Minting-Money-Nicolaus-Copernicus/dp/0982075642"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">On the Minting of Money.

Mike Maharrey’s guest this week dives into the little-known backstory of Copernicus – most famous for his achievements as a scientist and astronomer – and how he was actually a monetary expert in his day, and proposed solutions to the problems of currency debasement and inflation, which of course are very relevant now some 500 years later.

So, be sure to stick around for that and much more during a wonderfully fascinating interview with Ralph Benko, coming up after this week’s market update. And if you enjoy this material, please do us a favor and like and subscribe to this podcast wherever you consume this content.

Although we've seen a bounce in gold and silver over the last couple of days, the biggest driver behind the recent weakness has been the market's sudden shift in expectations surrounding the Federal Reserve.

Just a few months ago, investors widely expected at least one more interest rate cut this year. Now, following a series of hawkish comments from new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, many traders are betting the next move could actually be a rate hike.

Speaking this week at the European Central Bank's annual forum, Warsh left little doubt about where he wants to take monetary policy. He declared that the Federal Reserve remains fully committed to restoring inflation to its 2% target, insisting that anyone expecting the Fed to tolerate higher inflation "will be disappointed."

That tough talk has strengthened the U.S. dollar, pushed bond yields higher, and added more pressure to precious metals, which generally struggle when real interest rates are rising.

The question, however, isn't whether Warsh wants to defeat inflation. It's whether he can.

The Federal Reserve doesn't operate in a vacuum. It must contend with a federal government carrying unprecedented debt, an economy built on years of artificially low interest rates, and financial markets that have grown increasingly dependent on easy money.

That's the dilemma.

If the Fed keeps rates high – or raises them further – it risks exposing the excesses created during nearly two decades of aggressive monetary stimulus. Higher borrowing costs threaten heavily indebted consumers, businesses, commercial real estate, and perhaps most importantly, Washington itself.

On the other hand, if economic growth slows sharply or financial markets stumble, history suggests the Fed will once again face enormous pressure to reverse course.

That's why many long-term precious metals investors remain focused on the bigger picture rather than today's headlines.

As veteran investor Brad Dunkley recently observed, policymakers have repeatedly shown they're unwilling to tolerate prolonged recessions or deep market declines. Instead, they eventually respond with lower interest rates, renewed liquidity, and additional monetary stimulus.

Whether it's the 2008 financial crisis, the pandemic response, or numerous market interventions in between, the pattern has been remarkably consistent.

For now, markets may continue reacting to Warsh's hawkish rhetoric. But the larger structural forces haven't changed. Massive debt burdens and persistent deficit spending continue to favor a long-term environment of monetary debasement and negative real interest rates.

Those are precisely the conditions that have historically supported gold and silver – and they're unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

As for the weekly market action, through Thursday’s close anyway, gold comes in up about 1.1% to check in at $4,135 and looks to end a 4-week losing streak.

Silver, through Thursday, was up nearly $2 an ounce and trades at $61.72.

As for platinum, it checked in at $1,633 as of the U.S. close on Thursday, essentially unchanged on the week. And finally, palladium got a nice bump this week, rising $64 to come in at $1,279.

The market is open until midday U.S. time on Friday with the market observing the 4th holiday a day early here in the States. Money Metals is open for business however until 3:30pm Mountain Time (5:30pm Eastern) on Friday – so give us a call and we’d be happy to assist.

Before we celebrate America's 250th birthday this Fourth of July, it's worth reflecting on one of the Founding Fathers' greatest – and perhaps most overlooked – legacies: their understanding of sound money.

Across the country this weekend, Americans will gather for parades, backyard barbecues, fireworks, and celebrations honoring the Declaration of Independence. We rightly take pride in our nation's remarkable history, its enduring commitment to liberty, and the generations of patriots who built and defended the United States.

But there's one aspect of our founding that deserves more attention today than it often receives.

The men who founded this nation had firsthand experience with the dangers of inflation and paper money.

During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress printed enormous quantities of paper currency – known as Continentals – to finance the fight for independence. At first, those notes helped sustain the war effort. But without sufficient backing in gold or silver, and with rampant overprinting and counterfeiting, they rapidly lost value. The collapse was so severe it gave rise to the expression "not worth a Continental."

In his excellent July 4th essay https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/07/01/patriotism-shouldnt-apply-to-the-debauched-dollar-005033";>posted at MoneyMetals.com, author Stuart Englert explains how that experience left a lasting impression on America's founders.

George Washington warned that paper money would "ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice." Thomas Jefferson called paper currency "the ghost of money," arguing that only gold and silver could serve as honest and dependable money over the long term. James Madison likewise understood that governments inevitably abuse paper currencies and that excessive fiat money drives sound money out of circulation.

Those hard-earned lessons found their way into our nation's founding documents.

Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution, prohibits the states from making anything but gold and silver legal tender for the payment of debts. A few years later, the Coinage Act of 1792 established the U.S. Mint and defined the dollar in terms of a fixed weight of silver and gold.

In other words, sound money wasn't an afterthought. It was woven into the very foundation of the American republic.

Of course, over the past two and a half centuries, America gradually moved away from that system. Today, our economy operates on a purely fiat currency issued by the Federal Reserve – one backed not by precious metals, but by confidence in the government's ability to manage its finances.

Meanwhile, the purchasing power of the dollar has steadily eroded. Inflation has become a permanent feature of modern life, quietly reducing the value of savings and increasing the cost of everything from groceries to housing.

That doesn't diminish America's extraordinary accomplishments or the freedoms we enjoy. Patriotism doesn't require pretending every government policy is wise. In fact, one of the defining characteristics of our republic is the freedom to debate, question, and improve our institutions while remaining deeply proud of our country.

As we celebrate this historic Independence Day, it's fitting to remember that many of the same leaders who secured America's political freedom also believed economic freedom depended upon honest money – money that couldn't simply be created at will.

Whether or not the United States ever returns to a precious-metals monetary standard, the principles that guided the Founding Fathers remain remarkably relevant. Gold and silver continue to serve the same purpose they have for thousands of years: preserving purchasing power through times of inflation, uncertainty, and monetary experimentation.

So, as fireworks light up the sky this Fourth of July and Americans commemorate 250 years of independence, it's worth remembering that the founders gave us more than a nation founded on liberty. They also left us timeless lessons about financial responsibility, sound money, and the importance of protecting the value of our hard-earned wealth.

Well now, without further delay, and for a little more history on this subject, and how the understanding of the importance of sound money predates even America’s founders, let’s get right to this week’s exclusive interview.

Mike Maharrey: Greetings, I'm Mike Maharrey and I'm joined today by Ralph Benko. He is the author of 10 Commandments of Capitalism and the editor of the 500th anniversary edition of Nicholas Copernicus' On Minting Money, which is what we're going to focus on today. How you doing, Ralph?

Ralph Benko: I'm doing fine, but just let me add one element. I'm also the lead co-author of The Capitalist Manifesto, which preceded the 10 Commandments of Capitalism, which was a companion book that went into greater depth of which Commandment Five was prescribing the gold standard.

Mike Maharrey: Gotcha. Sorry, I missed that. I neglected your bio. Bad host.

Ralph Benko: That's okay! If you're running out of things to read, you have wonderful shelves full of very fascinating books behind you and you'd like a copy of the Capitalist Manifesto, shoot me a surface address. I will send you a paper copy, or if you prefer them electronic, be more than happy to provide you with the electronic version.

Mike Maharrey: Awesome. I will do that for sure. Well, what I want to talk about today is the more recently released edited edition and translated of Copernicus's work. And of course, he's probably best known. I always think of him as the space guy. He's the guy that set us straight and taught us that the sun is the center of the solar system, not the earth. I didn't even know, honestly, until I came across your work that he had written anything on money, which is probably a bad show of ignorance on my part, but it is what it is.

Ralph Benko: It's very common. Let me just say, I myself, it was found very enlightening as I began to dig into Copernicus to learn that he wasn't just the guy who put the sun at the center of the solar system. Astronomy was his hobby. He was a senior civil servant. He handled the defense of his city. He handled the administration of his city, and he wrote this very powerful book, short tracked for the king of Prussia saying, "It's catastrophic to debase your currency,” which the King of Prussia totally ignored and in fact catastrophe followed.

Mike Maharrey: Imagine that a government person ignoring good wisdom. So, I'm curious as to what motivated you to take on this project. I'm sure editing a 500-year-old work is no easy task on top of the fact that it had to be translated as well. So I'm curious what motivated you to do this?

Ralph Benko: Well, I'm an original gangster, gold standard kind of guy. My mentor was Lewis E. Lehrman. May he rest in peace and may his memory always be for a blessing. He just passed on about a month or two ago. He was one of Reagan's gold commissioners. He and Ron Paul were the only two pro-gold gold commissioners. And Lewis appointed me as one of the 23 official witnesses before the Reagan Gold Commission based on a paper that I had written in law school about the constitutional history of the gold standard based upon a footnote that I discovered in my commercial paper class and I went to the library. You remember those?

Mike Maharrey: I do.

Ralph Benko: I went to the books, remember those?

Mike Maharrey: Yep.

Ralph Benko: And I discovered that there was an absolutely fascinating historical provenance that was almost forgotten about American monetary policy. And in fact, the flip where the federal government became supreme versus subordinate to the states was a gold standard case named Julliard versus Greenman. And it was the 1970s. We were in stagflation. Jimmy Carter was sitting in the White House and says, nobody knows where inflation comes from. I give him great credit for the craft beer renaissance because he was the one who deregulated beer. He was a great deregulator, the best deregulator ever. Boy was he Dunns when it came to monetary policy.

So I just said, "Hey, there's a rich history here." And I wrote up a memorandum and I sent it to Jack Kemp's economist, John Mueller. And he's told me to send it to several people and actually maybe Jude told me to send it to Mueller. He told me to send it to Lehrman. Lehrman called me up and said, "I've got to talk to you. This memo, Constitutional Gold is great." So I was going to be in New York the next week for US Open. So I swung by to talk to him and he told me he was going to be running for governor, but also he wanted me to be a witness before the Gold Commission. I was one of the two pro - gold witnesses out of the 23. The other one was Alan Reynolds, who was Jude Winisky's chief economist. And that kind of got me hooked and started and I stuck with it.

I published a number of articles in the New York Bar Association Banking Business Incorporation Law Journal and in the Dallas Morning News and whatever. And so I just got hooked on this fascinating and very relevant, if very out of fashion thing called the classical gold standard. And when I tripped across in my perusals, the fact that Copernicus had written this wonderful lucid tract only 17 pages long talking about how catastrophic it is, one of the four big sources of catastrophe, including up there was civil unrest and degradation of the soil. And I forget for the fourth, but he said the basement of the currency, which is not even noticed by most people, which is interesting because Keynes, who is well aware of Copernicus, said the exact same thing in his economic consequences of the piece where he was talking about how depreciating the currency was the surest way to overthrow capitalism.

So, I'm going to stop right there because I probably qualify as a safe and effective remedy for insomnia there, Michael, if the FDA hears about this, but if that gives you the context as to how I came about this, I just tripped across it on the internet and it was nowhere in print

And all of the translations of it were very old. I said, "Well, I have to change this. " And so I worked with my friend Chuck Cadillac about 13, 15 years ago to bring out a new edition, but that has gone out of print and it was only the electronic edition. And when I realized we were coming up on the 500th anniversary of Copernicus's magnificent book, I decided to bring it out in my own boutique edition.

Mike Maharrey: Yeah, it's fantastic work and I'm glad you did it. And it's interesting because we're talking about something that this goes back 500 years. These ideas aren't new and yet we go today and policy is actually 180 degrees different than what Copernicus recommended. I mean, currency debasement is a matter of policy in this day and age.

Ralph Benko: They think that they're being very responsible by only depreciating the value of the dollar by 2% a year when they are on target. I don't remember whether it was Einstein who said that the most powerful force in the universe is compound interest. 2% a year doesn't sound like much, but when you compound that over 20 years, you have reduced the value of your currency by 50%,

Which is in a generation, which is very dramatic. When Nixon under the malign influence of the to be future bankrupt secretary of the treasury, John Connolly, the other guy who Lee Harvey Oswald shot was his treasury secretary and he was an arrogant son of a gun. And he was the one who basically pushed us to close the gold window in August 15th, 1971. Now, everybody at the time, almost old enough to remember, expected us to adjust the value of the dollar from $35 an ounce to probably 42, $43 an ounce. But Nixon got swept up in the Watergate crisis and the impeachment and the resignation. And General Ford was not the brightest bulb at the chandelier. So we never ever got around to refixing the price of gold, the price of the dollar relative to gold because gold does not change in its purchasing power.

It's been incredibly well documented over 5,000 years. In ancient Rome, an ounce of gold would buy you a very fine toga and in 21st century America, an ounce of gold will buy you a very fine Seville grow suit.

Just as another sidebar, it didn't end with Copernicus. When Sir Isaac Newton, you may have heard of him, who saw the apple fall from his mother's apple tree, spent the last 30 years of his life as the master of the royal mint. And as master of the royal mint in 1717, he accidentally invented the international gold standard. He was trying to invent the international silver standard, the pounds sterling, but he missed the adjustment by just a few pence. And that evolved very, very shortly thereafter into becoming the official monetary policy of the world, except France. The same year that Sir Isaac invented the gold standard, a scoundrel named John Law put France on the paper standard and caused a massive inflation, a destruction of the French finances, a destruction of the fortunes of many people, including his own. So to me, it's just odd that we had a monetary system that led to 200 years of wonderful economic growth with zero inflation. :

It would go up by a few cents. It would go up by a percentage over a few years and it would go down by a percent or two. So there were these longitudinal waves, but inflation was unknown except in times of war,

Whereas the paper standard has always and forever led to great losses of public welfare. And why that is not taught in every high school and every college economics course, I'm just not sure I have a theory, but I don't know if you want to hear it.

Mike Maharrey: I have a theory. I'll tell you my theory that paper money empowers governments. It allows governments to expand and grow and do much more than they could under a sound money system. And so it's a benefit to the government, even though in the long term it's destructive. Politicians are short-term thinkers, their next horizon is the next election. And so it just kind of goes from there. That's how I see it anyway. What do you think?

Ralph Benko: There's a lot of merit to what you say, but don't sugarcoat it, Michael. As a matter of statistical fact, Uncle Sam now spends every three days what it spent cumulatively from 1789 when the federal government was founded until 1900.

Mike Maharrey: That's insane.

Ralph Benko: In other words, it took us 11 years or something like that for the federal government to spend cumulatively, not annually, what it now spends every two to three days. So just to give you some idea of the monstrosity of the scope, that's really a shocking fact and that they don't teach that in high school economics or college economics either.

Mike Maharrey: No, they don't. So I'm curious, we have the history, we've seen the results of the collapse of these fiat systems and yet here we are. And I'm curious as to from That's Copernicus’s point of view and from this essay, why does he think that the government is debasing currency? Does he address that at all or is it more just a warning to not do it?

Ralph Benko: It's more just a warning not to do it. He says it just does bad things to everybody in society, particularly working people across the board. And he was too politic, I think, as a senior civil servant to attack the motivations of the royalty, but he pulls no punches in this book in terms of just how catastrophic debasing your currency is. And back then it was gold and silver and what they did was they poured brass and copper. And so the intrinsic value, if you will, or the intrinsic value is a little problematic, but it's good enough for a podcast. It became functionally worthless and less and prices went up. And by the way, this was not by any means the first time this happened. The Roman Empire experienced catastrophic currency debasement and the attended wage and price controls under Diocletian and several of the other very prominent emperors.

So, the depreciating currency, you were absolutely right, provides certain unfair advantages to the ruling class while it destitutes or at least depreciates the welfare of us working stiffs.

Mike Maharrey: Yeah, absolutely. So, you mentioned that this was written in the context of Prussia. Can you give a little bit of historical background on what was going on? What exactly specifically was Copernicus addressing?

Ralph Benko: Yeah, he was asked to... He was a very respected polymath. Although just as an aside, he was buried in unmarked grave. We only found his remains about 10 years ago. They finally put up a marker to him. Well, he was a church warden and they buried them under the floor of the cathedral. They didn't bother to put up markers. And Copernicus was a humble fellow. He was not self-aggrandizing. I don't know whether he would've ever succeeded in getting Heliocentricity adopted if they had social media back then.

Mike Maharrey: No doubt.

Ralph Benko: He was asked to make an assessment by the court as to what their monetary policy should be and being a man of great integrity, he gave it to him straight. So, the answer was, as best as I can tell, that he was asked what the facts were and to make an analysis of the facts. He studied the facts very assiduously. He was very, very much a pragmatist, not a romantic. And he wrote up this report, which then essentially got ignored and got basically lost to the world for almost 500 years.

Mike Maharrey: Fascinating, fascinating. So, a skeptic would say to you, Ralph, this is great, but it's 500 years old. We're modern people and we have modern systems. Why does this even matter? We're beyond all of this. How would you respond to that kind of criticism?

Ralph Benko: Well, let me just say this about that. We are now following the monetary policy of William Jennings Bryan, who is well known for prosecuting John Scopes for teaching evolution in the public schools. That's how he's mostly remembered because of inherit the wind. Why we are following... And he's also remembered for his great line that shall not press down this crown of thorns upon laborers brow, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. He was 35 years old, that gave him the presidential nomination. He lost to McKinley who re-implemented the gold standard in 1900 and the economy took off like a rocket. What happened, there's just been a grotesque misunderstanding. We went off the gold standard in the Revolutionary War and had enormous inflation. George Washington wrote some very poignant letters to, I think it was John J saying, "It takes me a wagon load of continental currency, paper currency to buy a wagon load of supplies from other troops." But then after we won the Revolutionary War and created the Constitution of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, who was a very rigorous, highly principled economist, put us on a bimetallic standard, which eventually evolved in practice into the gold standard because you just can't keep gold and silver adjusted.

One will be too high, and one will be too low and the one that's too high will get exported to France or whatever. So, in any case, until Andrew Jackson came along and created the panic of 1830, we had it really well. Now, Jackson was another soft money guy that's not usually talked much about, but it is historical truth.

Then when the Civil War came along, we went to the Greenbacks and that caused the relative price of everything to go up by 50%. And after we won the Civil War or the War of Northern Aggression, if you happen to be a Southerner, then we went into a long deflationary period, which was a mistake. It was very painful to farmers and to industrial workers. In fact, it's well documented now that The Wizard of Oz was a parable of populism, the Prairie Populist movement in the book, Dorothy was wearing silver slippers, not ruby slippers. And on the yellow brick road, Oz Ozie Ounce, she had a long and winding road. My gene at Amherst College was the one who discovered this, Henry Littlefield, he rest in peace and wrote it up. And so, you had the little man behind the curtain, which was the president who was projecting great images.

And then in any case, the post-Civil War deflation caused enormous suffering. That was the cross of gold that Brian was actually legitimately complaining about. If we had redefined the dollar according to the post-Civil War prevailing price level, we would not have had any of that. We could have just resumed. And by the way, as someone much smarter than me once said, the only thing we learned from history is that we never learned from history. So in 1925, I think it was, when Winston Churchill was the chancellor of the ex-chancellor; he put the pound sterling back on the gold standard at pre-war parody, which caused a massive depression through three quarters of a million people out of work and made him into a political pariah for 10 years. He followed the advice of his central banker, Montague Norman, who told him to repeg at pre-war parody and he ignored Maynard Kings' advice to repeg it at the prevailing level.

Then after World War I, there was a conference in Genoa which they decided to slightly not go to the classical gold standard, but go to the gold exchange standard in which the pound Sterling was treated as an official reserve asset because it was convertible into gold,

But it lacked the automatic adjustment mechanism of the classical gold standard. Under the classical gold standard, if the price of gold went up by a penny or two, the monetary authorities would stop printing money and went down by a penny or two, they would start printing money. It was a very elegant system, which Robert Mundell, the father of supply side economics, talks about it at length in his 1999 Nobel Prize acceptance speech called The Reconsideration of the 20th Century. If you haven't read it, there's a treat line in store for you there. But Rueff, Luis Lehrman's mentor, Lewis Lehrman was my mentor, said that the gold exchange standard was a grotesque caricature of the gold standard, but people missed the distinction. And so my parents, God rest their souls, when I asked what caused the Great Depression, they said, "The gold standard." The gold standard had been out of business for a good decade

This fake gold standard, the gold exchange standard was there in its place. So, there really is a very rich history, but there's on fatal flaw and that is the classical gold standard doesn't need PhD economists to work. And so the whole economics profession doesn't particularly like it because it renders them irrelevant, at least when it comes to monetary economics. And so the experts are very hostile to the gold standard because it... And so the people that the politicians go to to say, "What should we do? " Surprise, surprise, you should do what we tell you to do,

Not what the gold standard says. So, in part, I'm trying to resocialize the prestige and the reputation of the gold standard by pointing out Copernicus is great and very easy to read work, by the way, by pointing out Newton's contribution. And Joseph Priestley, who was the father of modern chemistry before he evented oxygen, before that we all had to brief Lagestan was also a big advocate of the gold standard. So it has a very, very profound dignified scientific provenance in ways that macroeconomics, which Hayek indicted as scientism in his Nobel Prize speech simply lacks. And so I'm doing my little bit to try to persuade people like your listeners to call up their congressmen or congresswoman or write letters and say, "Why aren't we restoring the gold standard?" That is the solution proven historically over and over and over again to the affordability crisis. It will get economic growth roaring again and it will stabilize the price of everything.

So, Michael, I'm counting on you to pester your listeners and your devoted followers to actually take action. If they want, they can go to Amazon.com and buy my copy of on the Minting of Money. It's not terribly expensive. They can get a kindle, they can get a paperback, they can get a hardcover if they want to bone up on this a little bit. And preferably buy two copies, my royalties are paltry. So this is not a mercantile sentiment on my part. One to send to their congressmen, one to keep and one to send to their congressmen. The only way that we can set matters to write is if we the people get out of the elect neglect and reject motivation, which is currently what we're doing and use our citizen power, which is enormously powerful. We're the stockholders of this corporation, but if we ignore them and we don't give guidance to our elected representatives, we've got nobody to blame but ourselves.

Mike Maharrey: I'm so glad you said that and I really appreciate the fact that you kind of wrapped up the discussion with a call to action because that is so very important. So consider this audience pestered and we will continue to do so. Okay.

Ralph Benko: Well, I'm pestering you. I'm expecting you to contact your congressperson and send them a copy of Minting of Money. If you're too broke to afford one, I'll send you a complimentary two copies, one for your library and one for your member of Congress.

Mike Maharrey: Well, I can handle the cost and I'm not sure that my Congresswoman has the mental capacity to grasp it, but I'll do my best. We'll try to educate her.

Ralph Benko: Let me tell you, don't denigrate these people, okay? They are where they are because they are really good at reading the room. If they're not hearing from their constituents, they don't care. If they're hearing little flare-ups from their constituents that then go away, or one of the very few hot button issues like gay marriage or abortion or whatever, then if you're not giving them... They're really bright people and if they're hearing responsible, emphatic, but respectful guidance from the folks back home, they will 80% of the time do exactly what you want them to do. So please, they're not morons. They're just heuristically structured to read the room and to do what their voters and their constituent groups want. So I've spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill. I've gotten legislation passed personally without a budget and without any campaign contributions through two Congresses. If you just treat them with respect, but treat them consistently and stop with the elect, neglect, and reject stick, your listeners can go a long way toward putting America back on the right track.

Mike Maharrey: Well, I really appreciate that. I really appreciate that perspective and thank you for the work that you're doing and we will do our best to magnify and extend that. Is there any place else you'd like to send folks... The book is available on Amazon. Is there any place else you'd like to send folks that can follow your work more closely?

Ralph Benko: Well, I was a weekly columnist for Forbes for about eight years and then a weekly columnist for Newsmax for about three years. And I still do occasional freelance stuff, but I'm very preoccupied with my neuromorphic concurrent computer software platform, which is in the process of revolutionizing AI and a bunch of other things. So, I only write occasional columns. So, there's nowhere that they can go that they can reliably find me. But if they want to know more about me, they can go to claude.ai or ChatGPT or Gemini and probably Perplexity and stuff like that. Who is Ralph Benko? It's kind of like, “Who is John Galt,” but advanced into the 21st century and learn more about me. And I'm probably going to regret this, but if they want a free electronic copy of the Copernicus book and they are willing to say, I will call my Congressman, I will follow up.

I will consistently advocate to people in power that they do the right thing, which is restoring the classical gold standard. If they write to me at ralphbenko@gmail.com. If they're willing to make a moral commitment that they will follow through and not just throw their Sabbaths at the TV screen out of frustration, but they will actually contact their congressman and say, "Why aren't we going to the gold standard?" I will send them a free copy, a free electronic copy. I'm very, very busy, if I don't respond immediately, be patient, but I will follow through. Anybody who emails me and asks for a free copy about the minting of money, free electronic copy, I will be sending that to them with They link to Amazon with a request that they give a five star review and maybe even buy an on paper copy.

How's that?

Mike Maharrey: That sounds like a heck of a good deal. Folks should take you up on that. I really do appreciate you taking a little time out of your busy day to talk with me today. It's a great discussion as we head into Independence Day and consider the fact that we have been greatly blessed in this country with a lot of opportunities and a lot more liberty than a lot of people enjoy. We do in fact still have the ability to make a difference within that system. I appreciate that you've given us that reminder today and thank you for the work. So appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Ralph Benko: If I haven't already board you into a stupor, shoot me an email. You've got my email address now. I laid out a complete complex about how 100,000 people, 300,000 would be better, but 100,000 people to activate themselves into local nonpartisan civic leagues to communicate to our members of Congress. Senators are the goalies in the game of politics. I don't care about them. Representatives are the live wires. I will send you a link to my transpartisan review article and you will have the blueprint and maybe you will be the person who saves us from the impending doom.

Very interesting conversation there and I’m so glad we had Mr. Benko on to share his wonderful insights with us about the importance of sound money, a truth – as we’ve discussed quite a bit here today – that has known by many key figures throughout history.

Well, that will do it for this week. Be sure to check back next Friday for our next Weekly Market Wrap Podcast. And to check out any of our audio programs, including our second podcast, the Money Metals Midweek Memo, just visit https://www.moneymetals.com/podcasts";>MoneyMetals.com/podcasts or find them wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. And as a big help to us we would ask you to please like, subscribe, download and rate our podcasts. Doing so helps us extend the reach of this material.

Until next time, this has been Mike Gleason, thanks for listening. And from all of us here at https://www.moneymetals.com/";>Money Metals, we wish you and your family a safe, joyful, and patriotic Independence Day. Happy 250th birthday, America!

July 4, 1776: 13 Free and Independent States

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 EST

On July 4, people all across these United States of America shoot off fireworks, grill meat, and march in patriotic parades to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

July 4, 1776, was "the birth of a nation," or so we are told. But that’s not exactly what happened.

A "nation" implies a single, unified political society. However, when the founding fathers inked their names on the Declaration of Independence, they didn't birth a "nation." In fact, the colonies became 13 sovereign nations in their own right.

What Does the Declaration of Independence Say?

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Most Americans are familiar with the Declaration of Independence – or at least the first few paragraphs. Students learn many of the opening lines in school.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

In the first several paragraphs of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson laid out important foundational principles. After establishing the source of our rights, he asserted that governments derive their “just powers from the consent of the governed.”

He also declared that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Indeed, the Declaration of Independence is a secession document.

Sadly, most people don’t read past these fundamental principles. They set the document aside once they get to the list of grievances against England. But by failing to read to the end, they miss the key truth.

Because while the principles Jefferson articulated created a philosophical foundation for Independence, they didn’t actually do anything. You don’t get to the operative and binding section of the declaration until the final paragraph.

It is here that we find the colonists had no intention of birthing “a nation.” The Declaration birthed "13 free and independent states."

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.” [Emphasis added]

Note that it doesn’t read "free and independent state" – singular. Jefferson wrote “states” – plural.

The colonies declared their independence from Great Britain as individual sovereign political societies, each with the power to do all things “which independent States may of right do.” In principle, each state existed as a separate nation – think France, Great Britain, Virginia, New York. Great Britain affirmed this at the end of the war, recognizing the 13 sovereign states in the Treaty of Paris and naming them each individually.

A United Confederated Republic

Yes, the colonies were united. They ceded some of their authority (specifically relating to war, trade, and foreign policy) to the federal Congress. However, they never gave up their sovereignty, and they weren't formally united for five years.

You may think I'm nitpicking, but this is a crucial distinction.

Black’s Law Dictionary, a primary legal source in the founding era, described the difference between a nation and a federal republic.

“A national government is a government of the people of a single state or nation, united as a community by what is termed the ‘social compact,’ and possessing complete and perfect supremacy over persons and things, so far as they can be made the lawful objects of civil government. A federal government is distinguished from a national government by its being the government of a community of independent and sovereign states, united by compact.”

Although Alexander Hamilton held strong nationalist convictions, even he conceded the United States was not “one nation” in Federalist #32.

“An entire consolidation of the States into one complete national sovereignty would imply an entire subordination of the parts; and whatever powers might remain in them, would be altogether dependent on the general will. But the plan of the convention aims only at a partial union or consolidation, the State governments would clearly retain all rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, exclusively delegated to the United States.”

And while the states were united in their act of declaring independence, they never relinquished their sovereign individuality. It wasn’t until the states ratified the Articles of Confederation in 1781 that they were formally united, and even then, the Articles specifically affirmed the sovereignty of the states.

“Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.”

So, the "one nation" narrative is a myth. The colonies declared independence as sovereign states. They ratified the Articles of Confederation as sovereign states. And they ratified the Constitution as sovereign states. They never ceded their sovereignty. To this day, the United States are a union of sovereign political societies.

The document we celebrate this week testifies to this truth.

The One Nation Myth: The Root of Centralized Power

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But why does it matter?

Because the "one nation" system is contrary to the founders' vision. Most governance was intended to happen at the local and state levels. James Madison articulated this brilliantly in https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed45.asp"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federalist #45.

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State. The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security."

Today, this system is flipped on its head. Washington, D.C., controls virtually everything, all of the time, and states have been relegated to administrative jurisdictions. Power has been centralized in the "nation's capital" to the extent that the federal government decides what kind of light bulbs you can screw into your fixtures and how much water can flow through your toilet. That is the exact opposite of "powers few and defined."

While the U.S. still isn't technically a nation, it functions as one in practice -- much to our detriment.

When the U.S. was still small compared to today, Thomas Jefferson warned that this kind of centralized power would prove disastrous.

“Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government. Public servants at such a distance, and from under the eye of their constituents, must, from the circumstance of distance, be unable to administer and overlook all the details necessary for the good government of the citizens; and the same circumstance, by rendering detection impossible to their constituents, will invite public agents to corruption, plunder and waste.”

When you couple a massive centralized government with https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/05/26/sound-money-the-enemy-of-big-government-and-a-friend-to-liberty-004939";>a central bank that can create money at will, you end up with the bloated, overbearing, overreaching, liberty-destroying government we have today.

Some food for thought as you enjoy those burgers and hot dogs. Perhaps as we celebrate, we should consider restoring the vision of the founders through decentralization.

Precious Metals News & Analysis - Gold News, Silver News from Money Metals Exchange

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Check the Date

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Evaluate the Condition

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How much is a 1921 silver dollar worth? http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"; viewbox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke-width="2" stroke="currentColor" class="size-5 shrink-0 transition" aria-hidden="true" x-bind:class="isExpanded ? 'rotate-180' : ''">

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Final Answer: How Much Is a Silver Dollar Worth?

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July 4, 1776: 13 Free and Independent States

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A United Confederated Republic

The One Nation Myth: The Root of Centralized Power