About the Author

The first time I ever saw a gold coin was in 1968. I had seen lots of silver dollars but gold was illegal to own and I had never actually seen a gold coin. I was standing in the elevator of the Empire State Building, descending to the ground floor, and I noticed a gold coin hanging around the neck of the gentleman next to me. It was hanging as a medallion over his cream-colored turtleneck sweater. I was so focused on its beauty, I barely noticed the woman by his side. It was Ayn Rand and the man wearing the gold coin was her husband, Frank O’Connor.

I had come to the Empire State Building to attend a lecture that evening by Ayn Rand on the state of the nation. Ayn had an institute in the building that provided lectures on all sorts of subjects—from economics to politics, philosophy, psychology, and much more. It was there that I first became interested in economics and gold.

I signed up for a 10-lecture course on “The Economics of a Free Society,” given by an unknown named Alan Greenspan. (To this day, I am one of the few who can speak Greenspanese fluently.) In the lecture series he often referenced the gold standard. That sparked my interest in gold and the gold standard, then gold stocks, and finally gold trading. However, it was that first glimpse of the gold coin hanging around Frank O’Connor’s neck that led me to where I am today.

I met and spoke with Ayn, and she gave me a list of that year’s classes and lectures. As she looked at me I couldn’t help notice ...

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