One argument against gold is that you can't eat it, but the people making those arguments sounds like they're just saying it to make any point they find against gold. But since it comes from people just entering the fray it is interesting to note they don't understand the value of gold as a currency. Yes there can be an economical meltdown to the severity that only those who know how to live off the land and grow their own food can survive. But then once things settle down and people don't have to think about their next meal then all that free time will lead to forming a community through bartering of goods and services to acquire more wealth. And if that community thrives then bartering will become cumbersome and will lead to the same set of conditions that lead to the invention of currency. What would people use as currency? If they don't understand the value of gold as one then someone would come up with the idea of specially printed paper by a central bank because it's easy to do and depending on how much of the past they forget they might even call it the Federal Reserve.
Gold is very pretty and will always have value as bling, especially among Indian farmers and their wives. Gold is in an uptrend, it has only reached these levels and is still being brought at these price levels because of the greater fool theory. There could still be plenty more upside until the fools run out. The chances of the world adopting gold as a currency, for whatever reason, in our lifetime is very small.
For the umpeenth time, Gold isn't a currency. Gold COINS have been currency in the past. but Gold as a commodity is not money as paper pulp isn't and so isn't copper and zinc which they strike into pennies and quarters! Gold is a commodity and a store of wealth to carry over across death and war. If food didn't spoil, it'd be a store of wealth as well. Any commodity is as long as it doesn't spoil
You cant eat paper money either. You also cant eat stock certificates or treasury bonds. Here is what I do know. If I bury paper money in the ground, after 50 years its going to be pretty degraded and might be so much so that it cant be exchanged for a new bill(not to mention that inflation would make that paper money worth alot less than today) If I bury gold in the ground, 50 years from now, it will still buy what it buys today.
Do you think if you would have buried an ounce of gold 50 years ago, it would buy you more or less real estate in Manhattan today? Again (and I am sure someone wrote this before me) gold is a commodity. As commodities go, it might be perceived as a way to store wealth but overall it has very little intrinsic value. Also, don't forget that gold is not being consumed, but rather overall gold in "circulation" increases 2% a year due to mining. I am not saying gold is a bad investment, I am just saying that one should have other investments in their portfolio.
well now, 50 yrs ago an oz of gold was worth $35. So how much real estate in Manhatten could you buy for $35 back 50 yrs ago?
i agree. golds only value is really as a commonly accepted indication of wealth. the actual 'use' or utility we get from gold is very small. if you look at golds use in industry against known stockpiles of gold for example, we know there is one hell of a glut in gold. one thing i did find interesting though was a story on a gold etf. the etf dictates that the 'producers' of the etf have to keep an amount of gold in storage relative to the number of etf's they sell. the higher cash gold is, the more people buy the etf as a substitute (ease of storage, ease of transaction etc), so the more cash gold the etf has to buy......
It is an interesting question indeed. I could not find any hard data except for the sales history on my current place and the previous place I owned and the results would not be conclusive. Previous place was a converted industrial space, so it's appreciation is laregly due to renovations and neighborhood gentrification. It from 8.5k in 1971 to about a buck and a half to when I sold it in 2007 (no, i did not buy it in 1971, i bought it in 2002. Though I certainly wish I did.). The current place is on the UES and actually had a print in 1955 at 29.5 thousand dollars. Current estimate would be just about 2.5 million, though hell knows if I can liquidate it anywhere near that price. Again, one would have to somehow adjust for the improvement of the city itself. For disclosure purposes - I was very long gold until very recently and still am cautiosly bullish. My reason for selling was, as the Big Al has put it, "slight froth" and, more importantly, my decision to buy a place outside the city.