Opening the Mint to Gold and Silver - Then and Now

In a recent essay, Hugo Salinas Price, president of the Mexican Civic Association for Silver, has outlined his proposal for the restoration of a silver currency in Mexico, the world's largest silver producer. In "Opening the Mint to Gold and Silver - Then and Now", September 7, 2009, Salinas Price writes:

"Why did free coinage work at one time, and why would it not work again today? The reason is not hard to find: in the past, in earlier centuries, silver was money in itself. There was no 'price of silver'! The price of silver was expressed in the amount of things that a given amount of silver could purchase."

"While this gigantic counter-revolution in monetary affairs takes its time in presenting itself, I can see no other possible healthy move than the monetization of the silver ounce, to allow it to circulate permanently in parallel with numeric money."

Hugo Salinas Price has seen, first hand, how profligate inflation can leave a country’s entire economy in shambles as occurred in Mexico during 1994. Mr. Salinas is one of Mexico’s leading businessmen and, over the past 55 years, has guided Grupo Elektra to become one of Mexico’s most successful business enterprises. He holds degrees from Wharton and ITESM as well as a law degree from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Moreover, Mr. Salinas is a renowned monetary expert in North America, and he has spearheaded the movement to remonetize silver in Mexico.

For further reading:
"Opening the Mint to Gold and Silver", Antal E. Fekete, February 5, 2008
"The silver bridge", Hugo Salinas Price, May 15, 2007
"The Origin of Mexico's 1994 Financial Crisis", Francisco Gil-Diaz, Cato Journal, Winter 1998