"Arizona Coin Collector" wrote in message
m...

"j-rod" wrote in message
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September 24, 1869

Gold prices plummet

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-h...rticle&id=6117

JAM

Hello

The good news is crude oil also dropped.

You can check the spot trade price on Bloomberg at the links
below. It is now showing at $998.70.

http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/com.../cfutures.html


..

Arizona CC, this link is about history on this day. I'll paste here as you
so kindly do on your posts:

September 24, 1869

Gold prices plummet
On this day, more colorfully known as "Black Friday," gold prices plummeted,
sending the markets into chaos. At the root of the wreckage was an
old-fashioned swindle, engineered by flamboyant financier Jay Gould and his
robber baron partner, James Fisk. Gould and Fisk conspired to inflate and
then corner the gold market, primarily by spreading a rumor that President
Grant was about to stop the sale of government gold. Grant, who was better
suited to the battlefield than office, initially bought into their logic,
due, in part, to his belief that the sale of government gold would hurt
farmers and small-time entrepreneurs. The president eventually saw through
the scheme and, in response, put $4 million worth of gold on the market. The
price of gold in specie, which had previously swelled to $163.50, promptly
shrank to $133. Investors were ruined and the economy went into a tailspin.
The swindle ultimately took a toll on two of its main players. It blemished
Grant's record, raising suspicions about the war hero's competency. And
Gould surreptitiously dumped his share of the gold before the drop in specie
prices, leaving Fisk with a hefty loss on the deal.

mk