A rumor about EU-mandated restrictions on buying gold has been making the rounds on financial websites. I first heard about it recently from a newsletter. According to the rumor, “Austrian banks have now been ordered to restrict the sale of gold and silver bullion purchases and are limiting personal acquisitions of precious metals to 15,000€ (approximately $20,700 USD) at a time, or 11 ounces of gold at today’s prices.“ The rumor has spread like wildfire due to the current economic woes of the EU. Living in Europe myself, and having heard absolutely nothing about such a rule, I decided to call up a couple of Austrian banks, and, posing as an interested buyer, inquire whether there are currently any restrictions on buying physical gold bullion or coins.
Sometimes to debunk a rumor, ya gotta go the source.I called the Vienna branches of two mainstream Austrian banks, Erste Bank and Bank Austria. According to representatives of the local branches of both banks, you can buy gold in any quantity you like. When I explained there was a rumor circulating about EU-mandated restrictions of gold purchases, they were incredulous. One even quoted the current price of one of the biggest bars you can buy, 1 kg (this costs significantly more than EUR 15,000). No problem, they said, I just have to call my order in advance, before coming to pick it up.
Should I have increased my representative sample of Austrian banks to maybe six, instead of two? I don’t think so. It’s pretty clear this is just a baseless rumor, being spread because of God knows what. It does generate a lot of controversy and attention for its author. Moreover, the original article and its statements are being unquestioningly copy/pasted on dozens of websites and forums, enabling those sites to generate more traffic.
This rumor has been successful, so let’s see how it stacks up to the timeless rumor manual (or, “How to Start Rumors to Get Renown and Spectacular Traffic Stats”): It’s now been several weeks since the purported Austrian bank manager informed the rumor monger about the gold restrictions. Surely such an important restriction would be reported by the mainstream press? (Chapter 1; How to Claim Insider Access to a Secret Source, Which Then Can’t be Refuted). Secondly, why didn’t the rumor monger at least mention the name of the bank (see Chapter 1). Why now? With so many economic troubles afoot, and governments clamping down on financial privacy, doesn’t such a rumor dovetail nicely with our “interesting times?” (Chapter 2; Rumor Target Selection: Observing the Rumor Macro-Environment and Deciding on a Dastardly Falsehood to Assure Maximum Success). Austria is known for being a gold-friendly environment, so wouldn’t such a restriction be the last thing the authorities do? (Chapter 3; Rumor Target Selection Part II: Shock and Awe). Well that’s how it compares with the first three chapters anyway.
I’ve got to hand it to him, the rumor monger has followed the manual well and continues making a name for himself. For those who feel disturbed by the rumor, I would encourage you to just pick up the phone and call any Austrian bank. They speak English.
Maybe someday governments will restrict gold purchases, when they decide gold competes with their monopoly on paper money. We’re not there yet. Folks, as hard as it is in times like this, don’t believe everything you read.
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