Jim Blanchard
Born
James U. Blanchard III

(1943-11-10)November 10, 1943
Greenwood, Mississippi, United States
DiedMarch 19, 1999(1999-03-19) (aged 55)
Metairie, Louisiana, United States
Education
Occupations
  • Teacher
  • lobbyist
  • author
  • businessman
Known forLegalization of gold
Title
Board member of

James U. Blanchard III (November 10, 1943 – March 19, 1999) was a prominent American dealer in rare coins and precious metals, active in the movement to legalize private gold holdings in the United States.[1] He was the founder of Blanchard and Company, a precious metals investment firm.

Early life

Blanchard was born on November 10, 1943, in Greenwood, Mississippi, and grew up in Houston, Texas. As a boy, he attended New Orleans Academy but was sent to Chamberlain-Hunt Academy, a historic Christian preparatory school, after misbehavior.[2]

After a car accident that broke his back when he was a teenager, Blanchard was a paraplegic and used a wheelchair.[3] He recuperated at Warm Springs, GA, the spa town President Franklin Roosevelt had often visited to treat his paraplegia.[2]

Blanchard acquired his G.E.D. and in 1964 enrolled at what is now the University of New Orleans (UNO). It was during this period that he first read Ayn Rand, whom he admired, later naming his son after Rand's novella Anthem.[2] He graduated with a major in history and taught for several years before founding the National Committee to Legalize Gold (NCLG).[4] American citizens had not been able to privately own gold since 1933, when President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102.

Career

Blanchard hired an airplane to fly over President Richard Nixon’s second inauguration with a banner that read "Legalize Gold."[5] He also dared the Treasury Department to arrest him for owning a two-ounce bar of gold,[1] and he displayed a gold coin smuggled into the U.S. from Canada at protests, daring the police to arrest him.[5]

President Gerald Ford was persuaded to legalize gold after seeing a television commercial of Blanchard, who held a bar of gold and asked, "Why can I not own this?"[6] Blanchard also successfully lobbied Congress for his cause.[1]

After legalization of gold, Blanchard was a key figure in the U.S. gold industry.[7][3] He founded an influential[8] newsletter called Gold Newsletter, published a memoir titled Confessions of a Gold Bug, and founded the gold investment industry's longest-running conference,[9] which has hosted speakers such as Margaret Thatcher, Milton Friedman, F.A. Hayek, Ayn Rand, and Ed Crane.[10] Blanchard also served on the Cato Institute’s Board of Directors.[10]

He died on March 19, 1999, age 55, in Metairie, Louisiana.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Obituary". Professional Coin Grading Services.
  2. 1 2 3 "Our Legacy - James U. Blanchard III - AnthemVault".
  3. 1 2 Pugsley, John (December 2007). The Chairman's Corner: Essays on Liberty from the Sovereign Individual. ISBN 9780978921040.
  4. ↑ "REASON Profile: James U. Blanchard, III". June 1975.
  5. 1 2 "The Heroic Gold Bug You Never Heard Of". Panam Post. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020.
  6. ↑ "When Owning Gold Was Illegal in America: And Why It Could be Again". HuffPost. June 28, 2016.
  7. ↑ "How Money Is – And Isn't – Made in Business". maryellentribby.com.
  8. ↑ "Energy Fuels 'buy' Recommendation Reiterated by Gold Newsletter | Seeking Alpha".
  9. ↑ "Brien Lundin: A Recap of The New Orleans Investment Conference - Palisades Gold Radio".
  10. 1 2 "News Notes: "New Staff at Cato" | Cato Institute". Archived from the original on July 19, 2016.
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