In all the years I have been writing this column (approaching 35) and in my writings elsewhere, I have to admit that I never foresaw the kind of immense changes that have been wrought during the past two months…

When one of the major currencies in the world begins to decline steadily, based on monetary history we would expect a bias toward positive movements in the precious metals.

...controversy and animosity seem to be steadily increasing, quite possibly to the benefit of our precious metals as gold is now resting comfortably above $1,300—the highest level in more than two years as of mid-February.

Some financial commentators have speculated that bitcoin and other virtual currencies have captured a portion of funds that would have been invested in gold. I find it a bit ironic that people who invest in precious metals would even consider another fiat currency.