Blog
How Inflation Affects Wages: Protecting Your Purchasing Power
Labor Day exists to honor the economic contribution of workers. It is also, if you look at it honestly, a good occasion to ask a harder question: are workers actually keeping pace? Wages in the United States have risen in nominal terms for decades. But nominal wages...
How Much Physical Gold Should You Actually Own?
This is the question most precious metals dealers either dodge with vague platitudes or answer with a number that happens to be exactly how much they want to sell you. Neither approach is useful. The honest answer depends on where you are financially, what you are...
Farmers Markets and Local Commerce: Where Sound Money Thrives
There is a reason farmers' markets feel different from a trip to a big-box store. The vendor knows where the tomatoes came from because they grew them. The price reflects actual cost rather than a corporate margin target. The transaction is direct: no intermediaries,...
The States Recognizing Gold and Silver as Legal Tender in 2026
The sound money movement has made more legislative progress in the past decade than in the previous five combined. More than 40 states have introduced or passed legislation related to gold and silver as legal tender, sales tax exemptions on precious metals purchases,...
Junk Silver Explained: Why Pre-1965 Coins Still Matter
The term "junk silver" is one of the more misleading phrases in the precious metals world. It sounds like something you would pass over at a garage sale, old, worn coins of little value. The reality is the opposite. Junk silver refers specifically to U.S. coins minted...
Coin Show Networking: How Dealers and Collectors Build Lasting Business
A coin show is not just a place to buy and sell. For the people who take numismatics seriously, and for anyone in the precious metals and alternative currency space, a coin show is one of the most productive networking environments that exists. Dealers who build...
Back-to-School Money Lessons: Teaching Kids About Real Money
Back-to-school season brings new notebooks, fresh routines, and a natural opportunity to teach kids things school probably will not. Financial literacy is one of them. Only 25 states currently require high school students to take a personal finance course, and even...
How to Verify Real Gold at Home: Simple Tests Anyone Can Do
Counterfeit gold is more common than most buyers expect. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized tens of thousands of fake gold bars and coins in recent years. If you are buying gold from a private seller, an estate sale, or an unfamiliar dealer, and...
ANA World’s Fair of Money 2026: A First-Timer’s Complete Guide
The ANA World's Fair of Money is the largest numismatic convention in the United States, drawing thousands of collectors, dealers, investors, and sound money advocates from around the world each year. If you have never attended, the show floor can be genuinely...