You’ve almost certainly seen the chart below over the years – it shows the purchasing power of the US Dollar over time - and it looks terrifying. I call it the "stupid" chart, though, because it is a total misrepresentation of the facts because it isn't telling the full story. Here's why.

For those who can exercise even a minimal amount of foresight, taking self- direction has never been more important. That means buying physical gold and silver at any price.

Have you ever wondered how dollar bills are made, why currency is too hard to replicate? Check out the infographic below to learn about the process that goes into printing U.S. paper currency.

Silver is selling at less than half its 2011 high. It is being ignored more than gold. It has explosive fundamentals. This article assesses silver’s potential by looking at the big-picture forces that could impact silver over the next several years - and point to a possible runaway price scenario.

Once the grip of the fiat “dollar” gives way, and it is slowly losing ground, then the price for gold and silver will find their more natural value - and not until then. When might that happen? It could be weeks, it could be months, maybe even another year or two, but whenever it happens, it is more likely to be an overnight “adjustment.” Plan accordingly.

In my opinion the "final financial shot' which leads to live financial fire (collapse) will be in either the gold or silver pits of the COMEX or, ultimately, both. Why? Because, at $20 per silver ounce, it would take only $1.2 billion to crack that market open like a watermelon; because, for a pittance of money in today's world, "trust" in the entire financial system of the West can be shattered. Some will say "big deal" or "who cares?" but it is a big deal and YOU should care!

For any retail investor looking at technology opportunities, identifying just where various technologies are in their respective development (how much work is still to be done to bring the ideas to fruition) and, as such, when each of them will become realities, is imperative. Our Hype Cycle graph does just that. Take a look.

The U.S. $1 dollar bill has been redesigned many time since first being issued back in 1862. What we almost exclusively use today is the version designed in 1963. The following extremely informative infographic explains what all the different symbols on the dollar mean, who is on the front & back of all the U.S. currencies currently in use and the $500, $1,000, $10,000 and $100,000 (yes, $100,000!) bills that are no longer in production.

Buckle up! Gold is coming out of hibernation within the next 6 to 12 months and will then begin a major breakout to the upside to at least $3,600 over the next 2 to 4 years.

The financial markets are drastically over-capitalizing earnings and over-valuing all asset classes so, as the Fed and its central bank confederates around the world increasingly run out of excuses for extending the radical monetary experiments of the present era, even the gamblers will come to recognize who is really the Wile E Coyote in the piece. Then they will panic.