dog, i think some of this might be coming from the numerous recent stories about the possibility of international banks being able to hold gold as a tier one asset. if this happened, banks would be able to double the book value of thier gold in the vaults. it will take a couple years but i think this rumor has some real teeth to it. here's an excerpt from one of the stories.

The Basel Committee for Bank Supervision (BCBS), the maker of global capital requirements and whose Basel III rules form the basis for global bank regulation, is studying making gold a bank capital Tier 1 asset.

"Gold has historically been classified as a Tier 3 asset. When determining how much money a bank can loan, the bank's gold holdings have traditionally been discounted 50 percent of the current market value. With value cut in half, banks have little incentive to hold gold as an asset." Frank Holmes, usfunds.com