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Monetary Metals is an interesting player in the precious metals marketplace. Rather than just selling gold, they sell the opportunity to earn a yield on your gold. They do this by partnering with other companies who lease your gold to turn a profit.

But how exactly does this work? How reliable is this company, and what should you know before getting started? We've broken down everything you should know.

About Monetary Metals

When you invest with Monetary Metals, you earn a yield on your gold, which is paid in further gold.

The management behind the company believe that paper currency is failing. But precious metals have had value in all economies for thousands of years. Throughout the history of the US, gold has been seized and then demonetized. It can't be used to buy anything, and it has very little use in today's modern world.

The dollar took the place of gold in the economy. Gold used to be traded the same way that dollars were. It was a measure of credit.

Monetary Metals aims to make gold useful again. Instead of having money just sit in your vault collecting dust, they use it like currency. They have multiple partnerships with businesses that use gold. These businesses will lease your gold holdings and pay a fee in gold. This allows them to turn a profit.

You earn gold just for leasing your gold out, the same way you would if you gave a monetary loan. Of course, there will always be some risks associated with this as well.

About the Founder

Keith Weiner is the CEO and the founder of Monetary Metals. He believes that gold serves a twofold purpose in the economy. It is a way to extinguish your debts, the way that the dollar is. And it is a way to finance businesses and trade, the way that cryptocurrency is. It has all the benefits of both cash and cryptocurrency.

Weiner is a thinker and a writer. He writes frequently about precious metals, currency, interest rates, and the impact of gold on the economy. He frequently speaks to crowds about his economic theories.

In addition, Weiner is the president of Gold Standard Institute in the USA. In 2017, his work helped laws regarding gold as legal tender to be passed in Arizona. He has worked with legislators, bankers, and governments all over the globe.

About the Team

Keith Weiner isn't the only person on the Monetary Metals team. There are two other members on the Board of Directors: Jim Brown and Simon Guenzl.

Jim Brown was a portfolio manager and partner for an investment firm for over two decades. He also spent a decade working as a stock broker. Before entering finance, he was a pilot. Currently, he is a licensed financial analyst with a Harvard MBA.

Simon Guenzl has been in the finance industry for more than 30 years. More than two decades of that has involved investing in private markets. He has given advice on mergers and acquisitions to several investment banks on Wall Street, and he has a long history of investing in venture capital. He has an MBA and a law degree.

Keith Weiner is also the main person on the accounting team. But there's also the Chief Accounting Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Vice President of Software, Vice President of Relationship Management, and Vice President of Marketing. All of these people oversee different aspects of the company to make sure that all the parts work in harmony.

There is also the Board of Advisors, which is currently made up of Greyson Geiler. Greyson has been investing in stocks and commodities for over 20 years, and has spent a decade working in the insurance industry. His unique spectrum of experience allows him to come up with ideal solutions for the business and its clients.

Types of Gold Investment

With this company, you aren't buying gold to hoard. Instead, you're investing your gold into the economy, the same way you might invest your money. It's the same principle. If you want to grow your precious metals by treating them like investment currency, Monetary Metals offers a way to do that.

There are several types of gold investment available. The three main categories are:

Gold Leases

With gold and silver leases, you lease out your precious metals to other companies. The company then pays you back with interest, also in gold or silver. When you go to the company website, you can peruse the different lease offers available right now.

There is also a place where you can look at past success stories. Monetary Metals has set up a timeline showing how they have leased precious metals, and furthermore how those precious metals have shown returns.

This is the biggest driving factor of the company. But for those who don't want to do a true lease, the gold bonds and bills are an option.

Gold Bonds

Gold bonds are set up to function the same way that dollar bonds do. Instead of being a monetary value, though, the value is noted with ounces of gold. You also pay the principal and interest in gold.

Monetary Metals is the first company that has offered gold bonds since they were outlawed back in the 1930's. They want to make this a common use for precious metals again. You can sign up for the company's email list to get an alert when there are future gold bond opportunities.

Gold Bills

The Real Bill is a type of credit that is used to move products from the manufacturer to the individual consumer. Real Bills are invoices that have payment terms of up to 90 days. Once the sale goes through, the bill is fully paid.

These types of bills don't earn interest. They also aren't paid in monthly installments. But you can sell the bill for lower than the face value, depending on the discount rate and how long the bill has to be paid.

If you're a savvy investor, you can use the gold bills to earn a significant amount in a short period of time. But understanding how they work requires a bit of economic know-how.

Business Financing

Businesses are also welcome to contact Monetary Metals if they'd like to partner up. Monetary Metals lends them precious metals as a financing tool, and then the company pays the loan back with interest in gold. They typically partner with other precious metals companies, from dealers to mints to refineries.

Financing can be complicated for people in the precious metals industry. They need to make estimates based on the monetary value and projected performance of gold. When you simply trade gold itself, all of that guesswork is taken out of the equation. They're able to have a much lower risk, straightforward trade.

Monetary Metals can create a wide variety of different leases depending on a company's needs. For example, there are scalable unallocated deposits. Or there are non-scalable owner's capital leases. Or there are their traditional leases, which are flexible, scalable, reliable, and free of hedging.

Is Monetary Metals a Scam?

Monetary Metals is not a scam. The company is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and holds an A+ rating. In addition to having nearly a decade of precious metals experience, they are very transparent about their ownership and goals.

But it's hard to find verified customer reviews online. There are no reviews or complaints filed with the BBB. On Trustlink, there are 9 reviews, all of which are glowingly positive. That's a good sign. But they don't seem to have any presence on Trustpilot or other review sites.

Other companies have at least a handful of reviews to look at. Most have a dozen, with some of the larger companies boasting several hundred or even thousand. Third party reviews give you a better sense of the company's rapport with customers. You'll learn more about their service, their policies, and how well they satisfy the consumer.

There are quite a few reviews and testimonials on the Monetary Metals website. However, there's no way to verify the authenticity of these testimonials. It's possible that they are just marketing copy, rather than actual feedback from customers.

Final Thoughts

Monetary Metals is an interesting company. It is setting out to do something that the rest of the precious metals business doesn't. By working with other companies to lease gold, customers receive a yield that grows their assets.

The business appears to be legitimate and successful. It has been around for almost a decade and has been highly rated by the BBB. There are a handful of Trustlink reviews that are all positive. But it's difficult to find reliable consumer feedback online.

The yield system of the company also might not appeal to people who just want to own precious metals. The point of precious metals is that they hedge against inflation and stock market crashes. Traditionally, they don't earn gains. That's part of why they're so stable. Some people might want the traditional stability without any of the additional risk.