Inflation, Currency Debasement, and the Illusion of Stability -

In this week’s episode of the Money Metals Midweek Memo, host Mike Maharrey explored the parallels between Iran’s recent currency redenomination and the United States’ long history of monetary debasement. 
The discussion connected historic and current events to show how inflation is not only persistent but a deliberate policy tool of governments and central banks.
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<h2>Iran’s Currency Redenomination</h2>
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Iran’s parliamentary economics committee recently approved a bill to redenominate the rial, making the <a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2025/08/19/irans-proposed-inflation-fix-is-as-old-as-time-004278">new unit equal to 10,000 old rials</a>. 
Officials claim the move will “simplify financial calculations” and reduce printing costs, but economists argue it is “neither an effective monetary policy nor a mechanism to control inflation.” 
The country’s annual inflation rate is running between 30% and 40%, fueled by government budget deficits financed through loans from the central bank—money created out of thin air. 
Maharrey drew a direct comparison to the Federal Reserve, which employs a more sophisticated version of the same scheme through quantitative easing, buying U.S. Treasuries with newly created dollars to prop up government borrowing.
<h2>Historical U.S. Examples of Currency Debasement</h2>
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The United States has <a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/guides/shell-game-how-americas-money-devolved-from-gold-to-fiat">repeatedly manipulated its currency</a>. 
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, requiring Americans to turn in their gold, followed by raising gold’s official price from $20.67 per ounce to $35—a 40% devaluation of the dollar.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Coinage Act, stripping silver from dimes, quarters, and half dollars and replacing them with copper-based coins. 
Then in 1971, President Richard Nixon closed the gold window, severing the final tie between the dollar and gold, while promising that the dollar would “be worth just as much as it is today.” History proved otherwise. 
Maharrey reminded listeners that such practices stretch back to ancient Rome, where rulers clipped coins and diluted precious metals to stretch government coffers.
<h2>Junk Silver and Real Money</h2>
<a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/buy/silver/junk-silver">Pre-1965 U.S. coins are still 90% silver</a>, and today a 1964 silver quarter has a melt value of roughly $6.77. 
These coins, often called “junk silver,” hold tangible value and are highly sought after by collectors and investors. 
Maharrey noted that they can serve as excellent barter instruments in the event of an economic crisis. 
Unlike modern coins, which are essentially copper slugs, junk silver retains real value tied to metal content rather than government decree.
<h2>Inflation in the U.S.: Beyond Tariffs</h2>
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Maharrey pushed back against <a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2025/08/17/you-cant-blame-the-big-surge-in-producer-prices-entirely-on-tariffs-004274">mainstream claims that tariffs are driving today’s inflation</a>, arguing that monetary expansion is the true culprit. 
In July, <a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2025/08/12/july-cpi-and-the-real-inflation-story-004261">core CPI registered a little over 3%</a>, which sent markets into a frenzy over possible Federal Reserve rate cuts. 
The CME FedWatch tool placed the odds of a September cut at 93.9%, with October odds rising from 55% to 67%. But producer price data told a different story. 
The PPI surged 0.9% month-on-month in July, the biggest jump since June 2022 and far above the forecast of 0.2%. On an annual basis, producer prices were up 3.3%.
Services were the biggest driver, with service prices climbing 1.1% in July and portfolio management fees spiking 5.8%. 
Core service prices jumped 4% annualized, while core service consumer prices rose 4.4%, the worst reading in six months. Because two-thirds of U.S. consumer spending is on services, this trend is especially damaging. 
Maharrey pointed out that services are not tariffed, so the mainstream narrative blaming trade policy misses the real cause: monetary inflation.
<h2>The Federal Reserve’s Incomplete Fight Against Inflation</h2>
Between the Great Recession and the pandemic, the Federal Reserve expanded its balance sheet by nearly $9 trillion. It attempted to tighten policy by raising rates to 5.5% and trimming the balance sheet, but Maharrey argued this was far from sufficient. 
For perspective, Paul Volcker raised rates to 20% in the early 1980s to finally slay inflation from the 1970s. Meanwhile, since mid-2023, the M2 money supply has expanded by more than $600 billion, reaching $22 trillion by June 2025—above the pandemic peak. 
Even the Chicago Fed’s National Financial Conditions Index shows <a href="https://www.chicagofed.org/research/data/nfci/current-data">conditions remain historically loose</a>. In short, the Fed never truly tightened, and inflationary pressures remain baked in.
<h2>Redefining Inflation: A Political Convenience</h2>
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Maharrey explained that inflation was historically defined as an increase in the supply of money and credit, but today it is misdefined as simply “rising prices.” 
This shift allows politicians and central bankers to blame inflation on external factors like tariffs, greedy corporations, or foreign leaders. 
He cited <a href="https://fee.org/articles/inflation-in-one-page/">Henry Hazlitt’s classic definition</a>: “Inflation is an increase in the quantity of money and credit. Its chief consequence is soaring prices. For this, the government’s monetary policies are entirely responsible.” 
By confusing the definition, governments obscure their responsibility for currency debasement.
<h2>Protecting Against Currency Debasement</h2>
The only defense, Maharrey concluded, is holding sound money. 
Inflation is a stealth tax that erodes wealth and purchasing power, and governments will always debase their currencies. 
Gold, silver, and other precious metals cannot be inflated away. 
Junk silver, bullion coins, bars, and IRAs backed by physical metals provide a hedge against the decline of fiat money. 
Maharrey encouraged listeners to <a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/programs/monthly-program">take action now through Money Metals Exchange</a>, noting that monetary debasement is not going to stop.
<h2>Closing Thoughts</h2>
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Maharrey closed with a stark reminder that the Federal Reserve is the engine of big government, enabling the largest spending spree in world history. 
From Rome to Roosevelt to today’s Federal Reserve, governments have always debased money to fund their ambitions. History makes clear that individuals must take matters into their own hands. 
Real money—gold and silver—remains the best defense against the ongoing erosion of fiat currency.
Money Metals Exchange and the <a href="http://soundmoneydefense.org">Sound Money Defense League</a> are working together to advance policies that restore gold and silver to their historic role as constitutional money in the United States. 
Through education, grassroots activism, and legislative initiatives at both the state and federal level, they are helping to eliminate discriminatory taxes on precious metals, promote legal tender laws, and build public awareness about the importance of sound money in safeguarding wealth and limiting government overreach. 
To support these efforts—and to begin building sound money into their own lives—individuals should exchange their fiat currency Federal Reserve Notes for <a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/programs/monthly-program">physical gold and silver from Money Metals</a>, securing real money that cannot be universally devalued by government decree.

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