A possum is a marsupial. Marsupials are rather unusual because they just tend to do things differently. So differently, in fact, marsupials are their own special infraclass of mammals, but more on that in a little bit. Possums are unique unto themselves, even within the exclusive order of marsupials.These very unique and special qualities that set possums apart from other marsupials allow us to draw an analogy between gold and a financial possum. Now, back to marsupials in general and possums in particular.

Kangaroos Are Marsupials, And Marsupials Can Be Friendly.

Most marsupials live in Australia. The most commonly known and recognizable marsupial is the kangaroo. Kangaroos have a pouch. Hint: the pouch becomes important later on in the article. Other well-known marsupials include wallabies, koalas, sugar gliders, wombats, and even the Tasmanian devil. Lesser known marsupials include the numbat, bilby, bandicoot, quokka, and quolls.

Possum VS Opossum.

Before we can go into why gold is a financial possum, we have to define possum, and this is not as easy as you would think. There are actually two kinds of possums. There is the arguably not so cute Australian possum:

And the much more attractive North American possum:

The differences between the two might be quite easy to spot, but because possums are very bright and always thinking there is a neat twist to this story. The North American possum is actually technically an opossum, but the “o” is silent. The word opossum is derived from an Algonquin Indian word used to describe the animal.

Algonquin languages were verbal only, and not written, so only English translations of the word exist today. “Opassom” and “aposoum” were early translations. Today, possum is a very common nickname or term of endearment used to describe the North American opossum. If you would like to know more about the North American opossum, please  follow this link.

The Australian possum is said to have acquired it’s name because of similarities shared with the North American opossum. Because there were no Algonquin Indians native to Australia, we know which possum was named first, and it wasn’t the Australian possum. Personally, I think the Australian possum looks more like a wombat.

An Australian Wombat.

Gold Is A Financial Possum : Possums Play Dead.

While kangaroos are best known for carrying baby kangaroos, or “joeys” in their pouch (don’t forget the pouch) North American possums are best known for playing dead. This is a possum conspiracy thing. All North American possums do it. I don’t know about Australian possums. If Australian possums do play dead they probably ripped it off from the North American possums just like they did the name. While ITM Trading does sell Australian gold, available here, ITM Trading does not recommend investing in Australian possums.

One Possum Playing Possum, Two Fooled Dogs.

Anyone with any experience with North American possums knows that they like to sleep and eat. North American possums also prefer not to have unnecessary conflict. To avoid unnecessary conflict, a possum will lie motionless and still, either to avoid detection altogether or at least appear uninteresting.

Sometimes this works for the possum, and sometimes it doesn’t. But, as I have alluded to before, possums are brilliant and crafty and they never give up, so a possum always has another trick to play, very much like gold.

Many financial planners and wealth advisors hate gold. They say that gold does not yield a return, or that it is a “dead” investment. They complain that it is too expensive and dangerous to store. They say it is barbaric. Dave Ramsey has called gold a “useless mineral” and a “financial wedgie”.

The truth is, most financial planners and wealth advisors cannot legally sell you physical gold bullion coins. There are SEC (Securities Exchange Commision) rules against it. Even if they could, the sales commission on gold bullion is so low that they would never even try.

Dave Ramsey And The Market Guys Prefer Paper Investments.

Conversely, Kevin O’Leary, millionaire, mogul and Shark Tank celebrity says that he will always own gold even though it does not produce a yield. Here is an excellent interview with Kevin O’Leary.

Kevin O’Leary: “Physical Gold, I Hug At Night.”

Financial Possum Myths Busted.

In addition to not returning annual yields, gold gets a bad name for staying at relatively stable prices. Gold also gets a bad name for being very volatile. Gold gets a bad name for being hard to buy and sell. Gold gets a lot of bad names, kind of like the possum, sometimes.

In any event, gold is a stable asset, and that is not bad. Gold’s value rises very quickly against a failing currency, and can drop quickly against a rising currency. That is not bad either, that is just what currencies do, and gold is a currency. In fact, gold is the oldest currency. Gold is not hard to buy or sell, gold is traded every day in every country around the world. Very few stocks and financial instruments can say that.

Investing Gold Because, Gold Is A Financial Possum : Unafraid And Aggressive.

When playing possum doesn’t work, the possum has to adjust. If you have ever witnessed a true life possum adjustment, you know better than to unnecessarily rustle a quiet possum. The possum will spring to life. Claws and teeth and shriek and scowl erupt from what you thought was a cute and furry creature and it will scare you to the bone. Possums have that power. I know where possums get that power.

The thing is that in order to be a truly brilliant marsupial, i.e. possum, you have to be able to realize everything for what it truly is, and be willing to take possum chances. Possums also have to be extremely self-reliant and willing. When playing dead doesn’t work, and a possum has to spring up and claw and snarl against a full-size bear, or even a curious deer for that matter, guts count. Possums have guts. Extra guts, as a matter of fact.

Deer Vs Possum Caught On Night-Cam.

One reason that makes gold a financial possum is the fact that gold springs to life during a currency crisis or a currency collapse. Gold is not afraid, and gold has way more guts and courage than the guarantees and credit default swaps that back the dollar-denominated paper investments and products that bankers and planners sell. Gold has a much longer and stronger track record, too.

Here is a chart that shows gold as a financial possum in Venezuela. Gold prices were dead – until they weren’t.

Here is a chart that shows gold as a financial possum at work in Germany:

Here, stacks of cash don’t play dead, they are dead:

Here is more dead cash, it’s not playing possum. Zimbabwe Experienced Hyperinflation. Investing in gold would have offered protection against hyperinflation.

Gold Is A Financial Possum : Friendly And Beautiful.

Possums can be mean and they can be pesty, but they are pretty, even beautiful. Possums can be very friendly, too. Possums make great friends, and once you make a possum friend, you have one for life. My best suggestion for getting to know a high-quality possum is to plant organic strawberries in your backyard. Possums love strawberries.

Possum Eating A Strawberry.

Just as you might find a possum eating a strawberry adorable, gold coins have their own type of beauty and charm. Australian Philharmonics are gorgeous. The American Gold Eagle is majestic, proud, and striking in it’s own right. Australian gold coins offer a variety of friendly critters you can collect. Chinese gold coins often celebrate and capture the beauty of nature. Gold coins and possum friends are both very easy and very rewarding to keep.

Gold Is A Financial Possum : Gold Is Stable.

Remember the kangaroo and her pouch with the joey? Marsupials have pouches in order to help protect and nourish their children. Possums have pouches, and female possums are great mothers. Some possums have more than a dozen children, wiser possums have smaller possum families. Possums are known for their reproductive activity.

Momma Possum Carries Fifteen Babies.

Just as you can count on a couple of possums to keep your woods and neighborhood supplied with possums, you can count on gold to protect your wealth. Gold is not only a currency but gold is also a commodity. Gold is bought and sold for commercial use every day, and demand can increase prices. Gold is also held as an asset by corporations and central banks around the world.

Gold does not rely on a government or a bank or an insurance company or a credit default swap to ensure that it has value. Gold is value. Gold is stable. Gold is tangible, portable wealth. If you have possums in your woods and no gold in your safe, you are doing something wrong. Remember, a financial planner can’t help you with either situation. Think about calling ITM Trading. 1.888.OWN.GOLD.

Investing in Gold? Good, Gold Is A Financial Possum : Available In North America.

By the name you can probably guess that the North American possum would probably live somewhere in North America. You would be right. What you may not know is that the North American possum is the only marsupial native to North America. All other marsupials either live in Australia or South America. The North American possum has unmistakable class. Gold coins and gold bars are also available in North America in general and the United States in particular, but this was not always the case. North America did not always have possums either.

Two Baby Possums Share A Lunch Of Spinach And Sweet Potato.

According to the people who get paid to suppose about such things, North American possums were supposed to have traveled from South America to North America across the land bridge when it formed. Possums then spent time evolving into North American possums.

Just as North American possums have a history, although be it full of possum speculation and scientific supossed-ness, gold coins and gold bars have a very certain history in the United States. Our Founding Fathers designed our laws and economic protections around the demanded legal use of gold and silver. They knew that paper money and banking gave power to the government and that gold and silver in the hands of citizens kept the power in the hands of the citizens. The founders were wise men, perhaps wiser than possums.

In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an Executive Order calling for normal citizens to turn in their gold in exchange for paper dollars called Federal Reserve Notes. In essence, Americans stopped carrying personal wealth and began carrying government debt. Ever since that day in 1933, some would argue that personal wealth has been on the decline while government debt has grown exponentially. ITM Trading would tend to agree.

I Think George Washington Would Prefer His Likeness On A gold Coin Rather Than A Federal Reserve Note.

In fact, ITM Trading offers a series of webinars, available here, that explain in detail why the increase in government debt worldwide is a sign that you need to own gold.

Executive Order 6102, which outlawed the owning of gold bullion for speculative financial and other reasons, did not effect North American possums in the slightest, however. Nor did the legislation that President Richard Nixon signed in 1971. Nixon effectively ended the gold standard in the United States and nullified parts of the Bretton Woods Agreement with a signature. Once Nixon did so, gold prices in the US were allowed to freely move, and gold coins and bars for personal ownership once again became common in Northern America, almost as common as possums.

Gold Is A Financial Possum.

Perhaps you enjoyed the article about possums. Perhaps you learned a thing or two about possums, as well. At ITM Trading we have to know a bit about everything in order to best service the needs of our clients. We even have staff on hand with extensive possum experience.

If your financial planner or investment adviser does not understand economic cycles, fiat currencies, currency collapse, hyperinflation, or financial possums, please call ITM Trading. We do.

National Possum Day Is April 11th. Really!