If all the issuers of gold and silver certificates (ETF's, banks, mints, and retail pool operators) were tomorrow forced to pay off all their clients credits against them with real gold and real silver, I guarantee you there would be defaults all over the place.

If all this money had gone into the real thing, the prices of the metals would be far higher. Now it seems they are trying to do the same thing with the stocks. GDX and let's call it "JDX" for junior miners (who knows what ticker symbol it would trade under) are drawing money away from the real investments and into paper.

When and if paper defaults TPTB will halt the market where it is, go into the back room run the printing press, and give you the money based on the price at the time the default was first discovered. They are supposed to have to go into the real market and buy from real holders who have been waiting for this and won't sell cheaply to meet their commitments (whether its shares or bullion). In my opinion all paper right now other than certificated shares may well be a sham.

P.