Jon Schaffer’s James U. Blanchard III Moment in ‘Silver Circle’
September 12th, 2013
Silver Circle is packed with fun Easter eggs. Keep an eye out for these hidden allusions and references as you are watching the movie on --> -->DVD or Blu-Ray --> -->. Today, we’ll be discussing a moment from the film when Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer’s character boldly displays an illegal Silver Circle coin in public during his speech at a bookstore. This event was included as a tip of the hat to real-world sound money champion James U. Blanchard III, who helped fight for the legalization of private ownership of gold bullion in America (which was illegal until 1974) by publicly challenging law enforcement to arrest him while displaying a 2-ounce gold bar in front of the media at several press conferences across the US.
Sound money supporters rightly call the late James Blanchard a hero. His activism was instrumental in bringing about the legalization of gold bullion in the United States, thus helping families protect their wealth from inflation. His son, Anthem Hayek Blanchard, continues the fight for honest money to this very day. Join us after the break for a detailed look at James Blanchard’s historic campaign on behalf of American economic freedom.
Private Ownership of Gold Bullion Was Once Illegal in the US
In Silver Circle, Zoe Taylor and her rebel crew illegally mint silver coins to provide sound money for the community, as the Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies have decimated the economy. Younger supporters of liberty may be surprised to discover that private ownership of gold bullion was once similarly illegal in the real-life United States. James Blanchard’s activism was a crucial part of the restoration of the right of citizens to own gold bullion.
In 1971, Blanchard formed a grassroots network called the National Committee to Legalize Gold. He also spiced-up Richard Nixon’s inauguration party by flying a plane over it, which displayed a banner calling for legislators to “legalize gold.” By 1974, Blanchard’s efforts had proven successful, as President Gerald Ford signed a bill ending tyrannical restrictions on the private ownership of the precious metal.
Heroic Defiance
American history is packed with impressive figures of extraordinary character who refused to stand down when facing oppression. James Blanchard considered sound money to be a right and a crucial tool to protect families from monetary mismanagement by the political class. He gave new meaning to the idiom “put your money where your mouth is.”
Imagine how much worse off modern Americans would be if it were still illegal to own gold bullion. Though James U. Blanchard III passed away in 1999, his legacy carries on to this very day, as families continue to protect themselves from inflation through the private ownership of sound money. Keep an eye out for this historically-significant Easter egg as you are watching Silver Circle.
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