Washington State Bill May Require Gold Sellers To Be Fingerprinted

The bill, which would take a further bite out of financial privacy as well as crime, has been put to the legislature by Republican representative Katrina Asay. Its stated purpose is a crackdown on gold thieves.

"They've had a rash of home burglaries where all that's taken is jewelry," Asay said.

Individual buyers are currently not required to document who is selling them jewelry. Under Asay's bill, for all purchases over $100, a buyer would need to photocopy the seller's identification and take their fingerprints. The buyer would also have to hold onto the merchandise for 45 days.

Typically, gold is immediately melted down, making it untraceable and unrecoverable by police, said Asay.

One consequence of this bill will be to lower prices paid by gold buyers, perhaps not right after passage but definitely in the future. The time requirement doesn't bite that much in a bull market, but would hurt badly if a bear market (or major correction) ensues. All it'll take is one burn and there'll be an added time-insurance discount slapped on. Prudent gold buyers will price in that insurance discount right after the bill becomes law, if it does.

The time requirement and lack of thought behind it makes this bill interpretable as a "bull market bill."