Strapped Californians Pan Like It's 1849

(NEWSER) - Up and down the East coast, cash-strapped shoppers are trading in gold and silver, not at pawn shops, but at the mall, the Boston Globe reports. Merchants at kiosks buy the precious metals for less than half of market value, but customers are still pouring in. “It's certainly something that was done in the days of the Depression,” said one expert on commodities investing. More»

As price climbs, all that glitters is gone in series of Calif. heists

(NEWSER) - California police are hunting a gang of gold thieves raiding JCPenney stores across the state, the Los Angeles Times reports. The gang has struck 11 times in 18 months to grab $2.5 million in jewelry, and they've been getting busier as the price of gold continues to climb. Cops aren't sure why the brazen thieves keep hitting JCPenney stores but suspect one of the culprits is an insider. More»

Tens of thousands scour the West as prices boom

(NEWSER) - A new generation of prospectors is partying like it’s 1849: Record prices and a simple desire for outdoor fun are drawing thousands westward in a new gold rush, the New York Times reports. “Anywhere gold has been found in the past, that’s where they’re going again,” says a gold guru whose organization’s membership has ballooned 40% in the past few years. More»

Sierra Nevada digger hit with environmental charges

(NEWSER) - California authorities aren't buying landowner Joseph Hardesty's excuse that he is merely running a gravel business from a Gold Rush-era mine in a gold-rich part of the state. Authorities in El Dorado County say he is running one of the most blatantly illegal gold-mining operations ever seen in the state, and have slapped him with 14 criminal charges, including operating without permits and polluting a creek, AP reports. Inspectors say they found a "full-blown surface-mining operation" on his land, complete with shaker tables to separate gold from gravel. More»

Our sagging economy proves that it's time to stop conjuring dollars

(NEWSER) - There was a time when money meant something, but now—as evidenced by the Federal Reserve’s “ plan to conjure $600 billion to support the sagging economy”—“dollars can be conjured.” In fact, writes James Grant in the New York Times , “in the digital age, you don’t even need a printing press.” And that’s not right. It’s time for the return of the gold standard, last in place from 1880 to 1914. “In its utility, economy and elegance, there has never been a monetary system like it.” More»