In the last three and a half decades we have encountered both periods of relative stability in the gold price, but also periods of extreme volatility. When President Nixon took the United States off the gold standard in 1971, the result was a 9 year bull market in the price of the golden metal. There were two inflationary waves in the 1970's, the first peaking in 1974-5, and the second more severe wave peaking in the late 1970's and early 1980's. This period was also marked by escalating oil prices, driven by the actions of an Arabian cartel.