June 28, 1914. An archduke is assassinated in Sarajevo. Within six weeks, every major power in Europe is at war. Within six weeks of that, the greatest monetary system humanity had ever created — one that delivered 44 years of 0.1% average inflation — is dead.

In this episode, I break down the classical gold standard: what it actually was, how it mechanically worked on a Tuesday afternoon in 1895, and why it enabled four decades of unprecedented stability, global trade, and technological innovation.

Then I walk through how World War I murdered it — and make the case that if the gold standard had survived, the war itself might have lasted months instead of years.

We've been living in the wreckage ever since. Your dollar has lost 87% of its purchasing power since 1971. And the principles that protected wealth during the golden era still apply today.

In this episode:

- The monetary chaos the gold standard replaced

- What 0.1% annual inflation actually meant for savers and builders

- How the price-specie-flow mechanism worked (explained simply)

- How trade exploded when currency risk disappeared

- The honest downsides: deflation, rigidity, and the Cross of Gold

- How governments killed convertibility to finance total war

- From Bretton Woods to Nixon's "temporary" gold window closure

- 5 investment principles for a post-gold standard world

Read the full written deep dive on The Timeless Investor Substack:

https://thetimelessinvestor.substack.com

Watch on YouTube with historical visuals:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTimelessInvestor

Learn about Lombard Equities Group:

https://www.lombardequities.com

The same asset class returned +13% annually during 1970s stagflation—and lost 25% in 2022.Same country. Same interest rate risk. Same inflation dynamics. Completely opposite outcomes.Why? Because most investors optimize for one environment and get destroyed when the regime shifts.In this episode, I break down:→ The 4 macro regimes that actually drive investment returns→ How to identify which regime you're operating in→ What works (and what gets destroyed) in each environment→ Where I think we are right now—and what's coming nextTimestamps:0:00 - The 1970s vs 2022 Paradox2:18 - Why Investors Get Destroyed4:40 - The Four Regimes Framework5:25 - Regime 1: Goldilocks (2010-2019)8:00 - Regime 2: Stagflation (1973-1982, 2022-2024)14:00 - Regime 3: Deflationary Bust (2008-2011)20:00 - Regime 4: Financial Repression (1946-1951, 2020-2021?)27:30 - Where Are We Now?30:00 - How to Position Across Regimes📄 Full article with additional data: https://thetimelessinvestor.substack.com/p/the-2026-real-estate-macro-playbook?r=d424hThe second owners always win. The question is whether you're positioned to be one of them.—📩 Newsletter: https://thetimelessinvestor.substack.com💼 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/arievangemeren🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/TimelessArie

On January 2nd, 1672, two bankers woke up to the same news: the King of England had just frozen £1.3 million in debt payments. Sovereign default.

Both men had lent to the Crown. Both had survived civil war, plague, and the Great Fire. One would build a dynasty lasting 250 years. The other would die bankrupt, in exile, in Holland.

What was the difference?

In this episode, I tell the story of Edward Backwell and Francis Child — two goldsmith-bankers operating on the same London streets, facing the same crisis, with completely opposite outcomes.

Backwell was the giant. He was called "the principal founder of the banking system in England." The kingdom itself was said to depend on him. He had lent a quarter of England's annual income to one borrower: the King.

Child was smaller. Quieter. His diversified approach looked like timidity — until the day it looked like survival.

This episode covers:

- How King Charles I's 1640 theft accidentally invented modern banking

- Why goldsmith vaults weren't actually safer than the Royal Mint

- The birth of fractional reserve banking as a security innovation

- Edward Backwell's rise from yeoman's son to England's most powerful financier

- The fatal bet: 22% of all sovereign lending concentrated in one man

- The Stop of the Exchequer and the first major bank run in history

- Francis Child's paranoid strategy — and why it built a 250-year dynasty

- The surprising family connection that united the ruined and the survivors

- Why I named my firm Lombard Equities after this story

The pattern Backwell fell into — concentrating in what seemed like the safest possible borrower — has destroyed the greatest financiers in history, from the Bardi and Peruzzi in 1345 to operators in our own era.

The lessons haven't changed. Neither has human nature.

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📚 Read the full article on Substack: thetimelessinvestor.substack.com

💼 Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/arievangemeren

🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/g_YTV3JbcxQ