Bigworld, I think their ability to effectively suppress gold will end as China's competing gold trading system enters the picture. Rickards says that for now the Chinese want gold cheap while they continue to accumulate (the goal being 8000 tons, or parity with the US). But the Chinese are salivating over having the power to torpedo the dollar at will by raising the global price of gold.
Lately I've been buying the 1/10 size gold Eagles, figuring that they'll be more useful if things really fall apart into a road warrior type scenario. After all, how will you be able to barter for daily items with a 1 oz gold coin worth $10,000? Silver will be useful also, but gold has the portability advantage if you have to saddle up and 'leave Dodge'.
Rickards lays out a pretty convincing case that gold could reach $10,000 if they have to partially back the SDRs with gold to ensure acceptance of the SDR system as the new global reserve. Of course they might not have to back it, but when the SHTF scenario happens (Ice-9) and brings in the SDR, things will be so screwed up that gold will go into the stratosphere anyway. I'd rather have a bunch of gold coins than have everything in digital form floating in the electronic ether, as markets crash and accounts are frozen..
