Chris Guzelian: The rediscovery of the United States' constitutional money laws

Stablecoins, Silver's Surging Price, and Trimetallism By Christopher Guzelian Associate Professor of Finance and Economics Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas Sunday, March 8, 2026 Three months ago the market price of silver was about $48 per ounce. In early 2025 the price had been even lower -- about $30 per ounce. Yet a month before this article was written, the silver price reached a staggering, unprecedented $118 per ounce, before settling around $85 (after one of the largest one-day drops in price).  The Economic Times attributes this phenomenal run-up -- seen only once comparably prior in 1980 -- to three economic forces: record silver industrial demand for solar panels, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence applications; a deficit of silver mining over the prior five years; and, most importantly for present purposes, silver's emergence as a safe-haven guard against loss of wealth due to inflation, a role previously claimed most often by gold since about 1873. ... Dispatch continues below ... ... ADVERTISEMENT ... Guanajuato Silver Is Reactivating Silver and Gold Mines in Mexico Guanajuato Silver is a precious metals producer reactivating past-producing silver and gold mines in central Mexico. The company produces silver and gold concentrates from the El Cubo Mines Complex, Valenciana Mines Complex, and the San Ignacio mine. All three mines are located within the state of Guanajuato, which has a 480-year mining history. Additionally, the company produces silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates from the Topia mine in northwestern Durango state.  With four operating mines and three processing facilities, Guanajuato Silver is one of the fastest growing silver producers in Mexico. For more information, please visit: http://www.gsilver.com/ It is this third economic force -- inflation -- undergirding silver's rise that warrants this readership's attention. Inflation of the U.S.  dollar is nothing new. Compared to a century ago, a dollar today buys roughly 96% less in food and 89% less in clothing. What has changed is the composition of what a dollar actually is.  Although it was not the American Founding Fathers' original intention, the word "dollar" today has been reduced to a national brand name of a money -- like the Euro, Yuan, Rupee, or Yen -- rather than to any particular medium of money. Indeed, many different things have historically circulated as "dollars" since 1861: silver, gold, or copper coins; clad base-metal coins; paper bills; electronic bank credits; money certificates; travelers’ checks; and Treasury bonds.  At times Congress has also given different authorities the legal privilege to issue dollars: the U.S. Mint, the U.S. Treasury, and the private Federal Reserve Bank. What is less widely appreciated is that since the 1960s there has been a dramatic convergence of monetary mediums down to essentially one: commercial electronic bank credits.  In 1935 President Franklin Roosevelt -- supported by three troubling, simultaneous U.S. Supreme Court decisions -- unconstitutionally seized almost all privately held American gold and silver coin dollars and bullion, effectively eradicating precious metal dollars and corresponding certificates from circulation.  In 1971 President Richard Nixon cemented the tombstones of gold and silver dollars when he closed the international window to U.S. gold and silver reserves. Copper coins left circulation in 1982 when the Mint stopped producing copper pennies and switched to zinc pennies with a thin copper veneer. (As of 2026 the Mint has stopped producing pennies altogether.) Paper dollars are still legal tender, but they constitute only about 10% of the American money supply. ... ... For the entire commentary: Guzelian-Essay-03-08-2026.doc * * * Support GATA by purchasing Stuart Englert's "Rigged" "Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rigged-Exposing-Largest-Financial%20-History/dp/1651405204/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?keywords=rugged+stuart+englert&qid=1579708888&sr=8-2-fkmr1 * * * Help keep GATA going: GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: http://www.gata.org To contribute to GATA, please visit: http://www.gata.org/node/16 Donations of $500 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work: https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png