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originally posted by: VictorVonDoom
a reply to: litterbaux
Whenever you're a considering an exchange, which is what this is, you have to consider supply and demand.
When you consider something like silver (or any tangible commodity) there is a fixed amount. Maybe you can find more, or even create more, as in the case of something like corn or wheat, but that takes energy.
Energy is the real "money"
Fiat currency, in whatever form, takes little energy to create. A few keystrokes here, a signature there, maybe a printing press, and Bob's your uncle.
Now let's consider demand.
If you really needed something tangible, for which there was no substitute, you would exchange whatever was necessary to obtain it. For instance, if I offered you a garbage bag filled with air in exchange for a kilo of gold, you would say no. If I made that same offer underwater, you might accept. You see where I'm going with this. The value of any tangible commodity depends on how much you need it.
Demand for fiat currency is a bit trickier. It's artificially created. Let's use the US for an example. Why does everyone use dollars? Suppose you own a business, and you decide you do not accept dollars (which is your right). People want what you offer, so they pay you in gold, silver, corn, dust bunnies, whatever you ask. You run into a problem. The IRS wants their cut. They don't accept gold, silver, corn, or dust bunnies, they only accept fiat currency US dollars.
I've got an interesting story about that, but I don't want to make this too long.
So at some point, you have to exchange your preferred medium for exchange for dollars. And there is where the demand for fiat currency is created. The US had an extra edge after WW2 when it became the world's reserve currency. Skipping a few steps, that meant that any country that wanted to buy oil needed US dollars to do it.
Back on point. Real commodities take energy to produce, and have a useful purpose. Fiat currencies have no real value, and are enforced through the use of violence.
So, when it comes to something like dollars vs. silver, there is a definite interest in those who produce fiat currency to maintain the value of something they can control vs. something they can't. Enter the LIBOR (look it up). They are the ones who say an ounce of silver is worth X dollars or whatever. But they can't control reality.
The reality is that the value of fiat currency will always be worth less as time goes on, and the value of real commodities will always depend on demand.
...cheap on the spot price but the premiums are high...