Spain Had All the Silver in the World. It Still Went to Hell.

Silver poured into Spain like a tidal wave.

Galleons stacked with treasure. Mountains of metal hauled across oceans. More wealth than any empire had ever held in its hands.

And they still lost everything.

Spain was the richest nation in Europe during the 1500s — not from trade or innovation, but from plunder. The Potosí mines in South America fed the empire a constant stream of silver. It felt like unlimited prosperity.

But that flood of precious metal didn’t build strength.

It exposed weakness:

• Inflation surged. Prices skyrocketed across Europe in what became known as the “Price Revolution.”

• Debt piled up. Spain borrowed heavily against future treasure, financing endless wars and royal excess.

• Industry stagnated. Why build when you can buy? Why innovate when the next ship brings easy wealth?

Spain didn’t just fail to invest in its future.

It forgot it even needed one.

By the 1700s, the empire was a husk of its former power — rich in silver, bankrupt in every way that mattered.

It was a golden statue, rotting from the inside out.

What Does That Have to Do With Today?

A lot.

Gold today plays a similar psychological role to silver back then: a store of value, a safety play, a hard asset in soft times.

And, we do believe in it. It’s an essential hedge — especially when trust in fiat is fading.

But the reality is:

Even precious metals can lull you to sleep.

Spain’s mistake wasn’t having silver. It was relying on it. Betting on the metal instead of building the machine.

So What Actually Works in a Collapse?

Gold is part of the answer.

But it’s not the whole story — and it never was.

Next time, we’ll dive into what actually preserved wealth through the worst crashes in history — from empires to inflation spirals to modern monetary meltdowns.

Some of the answers may surprise you.

Most people never think of them until it’s too late.

Until then,
Death of the Dollar

P.S. Got a theory of your own? What asset do you think will survive the next major reset?
Hit reply and let me know.