The Real Reason We Left the Gold Standard
Nov 25, 2025 · 13:41
Host Phil Andrews argues that leaving the Gold Standard was an inevitability forced by the laws of nature, tracing the Welcome Stranger nugget, the Brinks-Mat robbery, and modern gold hoarding. The 1869 Welcome Stranger—172 pounds found 1.2 inches down, hidden two nights by men fearing murder—shows gold's meltability made it untraceable money everyone accepts. In the 1983 Brinks-Mat robbery, thieves unknowingly stole three tons from Heathrow in 27 minutes; only a third was recovered. He explains the Bank of England could issue pounds only as gold entered its vault, but anchoring money to finite metal choked credit as one ounce came to cost 120 tons of earth. He ends arguing that capital controls in India, China, Turkey, and Russia keep gold the real standard for billions.
