Tim May: > > > My contention is that physical gold sitting in a warehouse > > > in, say, the Bank of Bermuda, is no different from a stack > > > of $20 bills sitting in that same bank.
James A. Donald: > > The difference comes when the physical stuff has to move in > > and out of the bank in Bermuda. > > > > The gold does not carry serial numbers, and if it does the > > bank can melt it down. Tim May: > I must be grossly misunderstanding something here. When I > "transfer" $1000 to an account in Bermuda, no "serial numbers" > are involved. In that case, the bank or co-conspirator doing the transfer now can connect your american identity and number of the beast, to your Bermuda identity and account number. Perhaps you would be considerably better off if serial numbers *were* involved. > > This important difference gives the issuer of that stack of > > $20 bills more power to meddle if the bank in Bermuda is > > carrying $20 bills than if the bank in Bermuda is carrying > > bars of gold. Tim May: > But it _doesn't_ store stacks of $20 bills. If it does not, then it has to have an intimate connection with a bank that does, and pressure is applied to it via that connection.
