Serpo
22nd June 2011, 10:25 AM
Gold is again being seen in Greece as an essential store of wealth, hedge against inflation and safe haven asset. The Financial Times reports that “Greek citizens are emptying savings accounts and buying gold as they brace themselves for the possibility of a sovereign default and a run on the banks.” Sales of gold coins have soared as savers seek a safer and fungible source of value, says the FT. “When the global financial crisis started, our sales of coins to investors overtook bullion for the first time,” said Harry Krinakis, at Sepheriades, a Greek precious metals trader. “Now the sales ratio has reached five to one.” Tomas, a computer technician, has exchanged his euro savings for gold coins: “I keep them at home just like my grandmother did in the second world war.” Greece is the canary in the coalmine and the likelihood is that what is happening in Greece today, people using their cash deposits in banks to buy gold bullion, will be seen in many other countries in the coming months. Indeed, news from the Perth Mint of record sales of silver coins is indicative that this trend has already begun. Bloomberg reports that “Silver-coin sales from Australia’s Perth Mint, which was founded in 1899 and processes all of the country’s bullion, have surged to a record as buyers seek to protect their wealth with the metal known as poor man’s gold
http://www.zerohedge.com/
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