To sum up, it is doubtful that the discs were made for ARAMCO – if they had, the Treasury would have been breaking the law. The idea that the U.S. might have chosen to illegally issue the discs is even more unlikely given that government officials were sensitive to any sort of criticism in light of public agitation for a return to a pre-1934 gold standard. A nation reliant on discontinued foreign gold coins There is a much easier answer to Boosel’s frustrated plea for “the Why” behind the discs. Like most nations in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia didn’t have its own banknotes. Its monetary system was entirely reliant ... (full story)