JFK, Silver’s Removal in U.S. Coinage, “Gold Standard” Cons, Dallas, & Today
Executive Order 11110 was issued by President Kennedy on June 4th, 1963, allowing the Treasury Secretary at the time to issue silver certificates in exchange for physical silver. This was signed the same day that Kennedy signed a bill by Congress, HR 5389, that repealed the Silver Purchase Act of 1934, repealed a tax on silver transfers, and authorized the Federal Reserve to issue one and two dollar bills in addition to the notes they already are issuing.
Prior to this legislative bill and executive order on silver and the Federal Reserve, Kennedy had ordered the Treasury Department to stop the sales of silver. Silver’s increase in industrial demand around this time had caused the metal to rise dramatically., far above the government’s fixed price for silver at the time. The Treasury has lost approximately 80% of their silver excess reserves due to the arbitrage actions of firms and individuals buying silver at a discount from the Treasury to sell on the open market for a higher value.
Kennedy’s goal was to halt the draining silver vaults at the Treasury and remove the metal from monetary usage so it could be utilized primarily for industrial purposes during a time period of economic growth in manufacturing in the United States and beyond. One core problem with replacing silver as money at the time is that silver coins and certificates were typically utilized in smaller denominations such as under $1 or $1 or $2 in value. Replacing silver certificates with Federal Reserve Notes in smaller denominated amounts. The silver coin solution would come later, with a new President — after an assassination.
Along with the need to increase the silver available for industrial demand by eliminating it from the money supply, the other argument put forth for transitioning from silver certificates and coins to pure fiat Federal Reserve Notes was the argument that it was backed by Gold and that the U.S. was still on the Gold Standard. As Bullion TP readers have learned in the past though, this simply was not true. A fractional reserve banking system that only required 40% gold backing has been in place since the The Federal Reserve Act passed in 1913 AND the gold window to exchange Federal Reserve Notes for gold has been closed to individuals and was only open to sovereign nations. This was NOT a gold standard by any historical definition of such a concept, they changed the definitions to get their way (sound familiar in modern times?).
Shortly after this move on silver, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, TX. Lingering questions remain about Kennedy’s assasinaton to this day and questions about who and what he may have angered to the point of this action being taken. Theories have been presented, such as those in Crossfire by Jim Marrs, that Kennedy was part of a plot to transfer power of currency and coinage from the Federal Reserve to the Treasury, as the United States Constitution clearly calls for, and that this is what led to his assassination through offending a gang of unscupulous and murderous elites who did not want to lose their power to make currency out of thin air.
After Kennedy’s Assassination his successor, LBJ — never one to challenge the corrupt powers-that-be, quickly passed the Coinage Act of 1965 that provided the silver solution. All silver coins, except Kennedy Half Dollars which remained 40% silver from 1964–1970, had all silver removed (baring some rare exceptions and special mintage years). By 1971 the U.S. was officially not backing any currency with gold in any format and had gone completely fiat when Nixon closed the Gold window.
In subsequent decades, The Federal Reserve’s power would grow even more. Over the same period, the U.S. would enter a dysfunctional and pronounced economic decline, smashing its middle class and manufacturing capacities, and leading to the corrupt and incompetent nation we live in today.
