(scribbled on the back of a crumpled $1 bill that's worth less than the ink I'm using)

  Och, look at her go. Silver just kissed $100 an ounce like it owed her money.

  Gold's sittin' pretty north of $2,700, smirkin' at the paper in yer wallet.

  And the dollar? Still pretendin' it's fine while quietly losin' its spine.

  Let's run the numbers one more time for the slow learners:

  Back when coins had actual silver (90% pure, none o' this cupronickel scam), $1.25 minimum wage bought ye five silver quarters.

  That's 0.904 oz o' real metal for an hour's sweat.

  Today? That same 0.904 oz melts to $90–$91.

  Minimum wage? Still $7.25.

  So either the bosses are payin' ye less than 8% o' what they used to,

  or the dollar's lost 92% o' its guts since they gutted the coins in '65.

  Now silver's at $100+?

  That's not "market volatility."

  That's the dollar on its knees beggin' for mercy while the shiny stuff just sits there bein' shiny.

  But here's the wee secret most folk dinnae ken — some states are quietly fightin' back.

  They call it the Goldback.

  Tiny notes made o' real 24-karat gold foil, laser-etched, spendable like cash.

  One Goldback = 1/1000th oz o' gold.

  Ye can buy coffee, pay a barber, tip the lass at the tavern...all with actual metal in yer hand.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  No promises. No printing press. No Fed middleman takin' a cut.

  Just gold, thin as paper, but worth what it says it's worth.

  A lot o' people dinnae know about it yet.

  That's the beauty.

  It's nae loud. It's nae flashy.

  It's just folk sayin', "Enough wi' the paper lies. We'll use what holds value."

  Me personal stash?

  0.9 oz "liberated" fair and square.

  Value today: $90-ish.

  Cheese equivalent: still more important, but the gap's closin' fast.

  The Fed prints more zeros, the suits call it "progress,"

  and the rest o' ye watch yer savings turn into pocket lint.

  But a few states are whisperin', "We remember what money used to be."

  And they're puttin' gold in yer hand again.

  So tonight, while silver laughs at $100 and the dollar cries in the corner,

  check yer wallet.

  If it's all paper, ye might want to look up the Goldback.

  Because when the wheel turns next...and it always does...

  ye'll want somethin' heavier than promises in yer kilt.

  Stay shiny, ye lot.

  And dinnae trust anyone who tells ye $100 silver is "just market fun."

  It's the dollar cryin' uncle... and a few clever states handin' out the mercy.

  — Murray

  Captain o' Incisor, Hoarder o' Truths & Cheese, Still Waitin' for Back Pay in Real Metal (or Goldbacks, I'm nae picky)