Pop Quiz: Gold & Silver Bullion vs Fiat FRN's.......from Rico

I keep an eye on the FRN$ [Federal Reserve Note] which is a non-redeemable 'claim check' on the full faith and credit of the US Government ... not to be confused with the now-former-Dollar issued by the US Treasury which WAS redeemable in physical Silver and/or Gold bullion.

 

I also keep an eye on the speculative COMEX (aka CRIMEX) that purports to reflect the daily 'spot prices' of paper Gold and Silver futures contracts.

 

Then there is the US Mint which sells US coinage in physical Gold and Silver bullion for FRN$.

 

This is how they compared on 7-11-2023 and 7-11-2024 (in $FRN/one ounce measures):

 

                        2023            2024

Gold-Mint          $2820          $3220

       -COMEX      $1937          $2421

 

Silver-Mint        $    76          $    91

        -COMEX     $   23           $   32

 

[?] The question is this: If one ounce of physical bullion remains a constant value (one ounce remains one ounce no matter what) -

1. Has the cost/price of bullion increased?

                        OR

2. Has the value/purchasing power of the FRN$ decreased?