This statement does not make any sense whatsoever...unless everyone in the world is INSANE except for the person who wrote the quote. Insanity can prevail in the markets at certain times for certain lengths of time, but rarely if ever does insanity prevail in the world for 6 thousand years, which is what the author of this quote is attempting to say. Gold has had value for at LEAST 6 thousand years, for most of which it has been used as MONEY. You are saying that the people of the world which have partaken in this "fraud" are really insane and what was "supposed" to happen, according to YOU, is that the metal really have no value at all. So, as it happens, the author of this quote is actually INSANE, because he/she believes that they are god and have the right to tell people, over the course of human history, what to value and what not to value. And more to the point, to retroactively say what humans have valued for their history is WRONG, lol. I love insane people, they always are able to give me a good laugh.
I know that a lot of this opinion stems from the fact that you're so broke that you would struggle to acquire even a gram bar, but let's be serious. If gold is useless, then so is any item, product or service above the humans' basic hierarchy of needs. Precious metals are not vital but they are highly valued & recognized among society, mostly through jewelry & ornaments. This is no different than acquiring fine wines, fine cigars, fine clothing, fine cars, etc. In terms of exchange, precious metals always prevailed.
It certainly would be nice to see gold take a swing at the USD on the day Bernanke get's chosen man of the year.
No one owns gold? You mean we can just show up and claim gold at the vaults or in people's homes, since there are no owners? No one holds ETFs or shares of gold mining companies? No one owns gold jewelry or collectible gold coins or similar? No one has gold fillings or gold in their electronic devices? After all, the only thing that shows someone owns stock is usually a piece of paper or line item in a brokerage account.
Gold's value is derived from the overwhelming perception that it is valuable. Rather silly if you think about it but it works. Of course that could change in an instant...In a post-nuclear war world I wouldn't give up food, ammo, medicine, etc for someone offering me gold.
The same holds true for fiat currencies. Its worth is defined by the confidence of the holders in the asset. Gold = useless = many currencies = toilet paper. (but yet gold does not equal toilet paper, however you can't wipe your ass with gold and expect to feel nearly as clean. btw, baby wipes > toilet paper > currencies for ass-wiping.) All I know is this. Gasoline is $3/gal and used to be around $1/gal a decade ago. Gold was averaging around $300/oz back then, so it being $900 is not too far off a tripling in the price level of commodities. For it to be 25% from those levels for a supply-inelastic commodity is not what I'd call a bubble. when you have 150%-200%+ price deviation from a basket of other commodities, then that starts to become bubble. Its not cheap, but its no bubble either. We now have a society of contrarians who thrives on calling everything a bubble. I call a bubble in bubble-calling. That's the only bubble (besides AMZN stock, of course).
Why would central banks around the world acquire gold if it is useless? Why does the US Government have the largest stash of any country? Are they hoarding this gold so they can use it for a "few rare industrial applications"? Hmm. I am amazed that people don't get that gold is hoarded for its real use. Money.
Yes, although to be fair to gold, one big difference is that a gov't can print as much currency as they want, the supply of gold is limited to what is mined and the total amount in the earth (e.g. it is scarce) So the holders of gold at least don't have to worry about someone flooding the market with newly created gold, unless someone figures out an easy way to make gold out of something less valuable. Yes but you seem to be missing the key concept that gold is only valuable because everyone values it. That kind of circular reasoning should at least make you think.