You Don't Own what you think You Own ----

And it's getting worse.

The largest Dutch bank, ABN Amro, has said that they will no longer be providing physical delivery of precious metals including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion coins and bars. 

ABN AMRO, one of the largest banks in Europe announced in a letter to clients that, as of April 1, 2013, it would no longer allow clients to take delivery of their metal and instead will pay account holders in a paper currency equivalent to the current [manipulated] spot value of the precious metal.

Thus, instead of legally owning a risk free, physical asset (a bullion bar or a bullion coin), the bank’s clients are now unsecured creditors and are now exposed to the bank and the financial system – somewhat defeating the purpose of owning precious metals.

The move highlights the importance of owning physical bullion either in your possession (be that be in a safe or vault in a house, in the attic, under the floorboards or elsewhere in your possession) or in a secure vault in a country that is stable and respects property rights.

Gold is again testing long term support at the $1,540/oz level and at the €1,200/oz and £1,000/oz levels (see charts).

While further weakness is possible and the short term trend remains down, current price levels will be seen as cheap in the coming years as fiat currencies continue to be devalued versus store of value gold.

More stuff you don't really own:

Stocks -- Nope, in 1994 your "ownership" of securities at your broker became just an "entitlement".  See page 5 here.

Commodities you contracted to take delivery future delivery of, off the COMEX. --  Nope, if they're running short of the commodity, they can give you paper instead.  It's all in the fine print of that futures contract you bought. 

Gold in GLD or Silver in SLV.  -- Nope. Like ETFs, these two simply track the (manipulated) spot price of gold (GLD) or silver (SLV), which does not include the trades of very large trades in gold bullion.