Those shiny “American” gold coins from the US Mint may have a far murkier backstory than buyers are led to believe. A New York Times investigation by Justin Scheck, Simón Posada, and Federico Rios finds that bullion legally required to be newly mined in the United States is instead being sourced from a global tangle of mines, pawn shops, and refineries—including operations tied to a powerful Colombian drug cartel. Reporters traced gold from a Clan del Golfo-controlled mine in northwestern Colombia, where illegal mining, mercury pollution, and cartel “taxes” are the norm, into export channels, through a Texas refinery, and on to suppliers for the Mint’s flagship American Gold Eagle coins.
Per the Mint itself, “To hold a coin or medal produced by the Mint is to connect to the founding principles of our nation.” Congress banned foreign gold in Mint bullion in 1985 to keep human-rights abuses out of US coins, but the Times reports the Mint has sidestepped that rule for decades, under both parties, while gold trades near $5,000 an ounce. Internal Treasury audits flagged problems; only after the Times confronted officials did the Mint acknowledge foreign sources and promise better tracking. For the full investigation and supply-chain deep dive, read the piece at the New York Times.
