Blanchard and Company

Last updated
Blanchard and Company, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryPrecious metals
Founded1975
Founders James "Jim" U. Blanchard III
Headquarters New Orleans, Louisiana,
Key people
Donald W. Doyle, Jr., Chairman, David Beahm, President & CEO
Products Gold coins and bars
Silver coins and bars
Website www.blanchardgold.com

Blanchard and Company, Inc. is an investment firm specializing in rare coins and precious metals, including gold bars, silver coins and bars, platinum, and palladium. [1]

Contents

History

Blanchard was founded in 1975 by James "Jim" U. Blanchard III, one year after President Gerald Ford legalized ownership of gold by private citizens. Americans had not been able to privately own gold since 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102.

President Ford, who did not realize private ownership of gold was a felony, was motivated to legalize gold after seeing a television commercial of Blanchard in his wheelchair, holding a bar of gold and asking, “Why can I not own this?”. [2] Blanchard had also hired an airplane to fly over President Nixon's second inauguration with a banner reading “Legalize Gold.” [3]

After legalization, Jim Blanchard was a prominent figure in America's gold industry, [4] [5] founding an influential [6] newsletter called Gold News, publishing a memoir called Confessions of a Gold Bug, and founding one of the investment industry's longest-running conferences, [7] which has included speakers such as Margaret Thatcher, Milton Friedman, F.A. Hayek, Ayn Rand, and Ed Crane. [8] Blanchard also served on the Cato Institute’s Board of Directors. [8]

In 1987, Allegiance Capital Partners and GE Capital Corp. purchased Blanchard and Company, Inc. [9] At the time, Blanchard and Company, Inc.’s annual sales totaled $115 million. [9] Donald W. Doyle, Jr. purchased Blanchard and Company, Inc. on October 5, 1991.

In 1999, Blanchard partnered with John Albanese, founder of Certified Acceptance Corporation and the Numismatic Consumer Alliance, Inc., which exposes fraud and aids victims of numismatic fraud. [10] Albanese selects Blanchard and Company, Inc.’s inventory.

Notable transactions

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References

  1. "Blanchard and Company, Inc" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  2. "Huffington Post: When Owning Gold Was Illegal in America: And Why It Could Be Again". HuffPost . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  3. "Panama Post: The Heroic Gold Bug You Never Heard Of". Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  4. "Mary-Ellen Tribby: How Money Is – And Isn't – Made in Business" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  5. Pugsley, John (December 2007). The Sovereign Individual. ISBN   9780978921040 . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  6. "Seeking Alpha: Energy Fuels 'buy' Recommendation" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  7. "Palisade Radio: A Recap of The New Orleans Investment Conference" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Cato Institute" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Coin Connoisseur: Tribute to a Gold Pioneer". Archived from the original on May 31, 2006. Retrieved February 8, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. "Coin Week: Numismatic Consumer Alliance Helps Coin Scam Victims Recover More than $8 Million" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  11. "Coin Facts: 1907 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle - Ultra-high Relief" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  12. 1 2 "CBS News: "Holy grail" of gold coins sells for $7.4M". CBS News . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  13. "The Times Picayune: Rare 1787 gold coin fetches $7.4 million in deal brokered by New Orleans firm" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  14. "Coin Facts: 1787 Brasher "Doubloon"" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  15. "Coin Week: $1 Million in Recently Recovered 1715 Fleet Shipwreck Coins Coming to Market" . Retrieved February 8, 2017.