Surf, Really great to see you posting again. I just closed out my GG short for a net of about + 1500. I thought I would say that first to show that I don't really care what way gold goes but rather I just call em' as I see em'. While I do not feel that gold in itself is a good method in physical form I think that the public will reach to gold as the dollar falls in value. I think we are not at the point that the dollar totally goes down the toilet but we are getting closer and the time is measured in months and no longer in years. As I write this post congress is debating the 700 Billion bailout. If they say 700 billion you can bet that it will turn into 2-4 times that amount. The real debate is not if they are going to pass it or not but how much they will add to it so that the welfare state becomes much bigger. The US (or anyone else) can not afford to spend more than we bring in without end. We already spend 12% of our budget on interest and that goes each and every day. when the medicare and medicaid kicks in (its starts this year with the baby boomers) full force in 2011 we will have set up for the biggest budget crisis in american history. One thing that is a safe bet is that congress will do the wrong thing and that will be what causes the dollar to fall and will keep gold from falling. This is no secret and can be easily seen in pricing of products (including gold) that panics cause to rise. I feel that in the months to come the public will get to understand the problems that await and not only will they not like it but they will understandably make matters worse as they try to protect their wealth. Again, great to see you back surf
Gold is the no confidence vote. It has nothing to do with jewelry demand. It has been a store of value and will continue to be a store of value. I certainly have no confidence in any market around the world currently.
The world we live in is greatly influenced by perception, yet it is also influenced by technology. I wonder if people would still desire gold as a means of value storage if the technology made it possible for gold to be as widely available as a quartz crystal. If that was reality, I doubt people would see anymore value in gold in that case, even if for most of history they have. We live in a world of production; of capitalism (credit), and consumerism (credit). Interest cannot generate interest infinitely, and when the time comes that productivity grinds to a halt (inevitability), sometimes there is no choice but to destroy all means of values and start all over again. It's a cycle.
It's not just greatly influenced by perception, it is PERCEPTION. There is no intrinsic value to gold, what I never understood is why the myth continues, given the points in your post. nice to see a deep thinking person on this board, nicely stated. best, surf
Thanks for the reply Marketsurfer. Those ideas aren't my own, I'm just rehashing some of the thoughts from some stuff in books. However I do think that it is necessary for there to be a common storage of value, mainly due to the time period we are living in. If everybody was independent and self-sufficient, there might not be as much of a need for trade or barter; But we live in an age of consumerism (and global dependency). If all of this were to suddenly collapse tomorrow, it should be safe to say more people would starve and be affected than during the Great Depression. Perception being reality has been philosophized about for thousands of years. There doesn't seem to be a common logic, or rationalization; thus the markets are a useful tool for determining the current consensus. In ways, the US dollar (as well as currency in general) is not much different from physical gold or silver. History and future expectation are some factors that contribute to perceived value. That being said it wouldn't be too surprising if gold went to $2000 or $200. There seems to be plenty of people on both sides who think they're right!
Uses for gold in the modern world include; Jewellery: The production of ornamental objects was probably the first use of gold over 6000 years ago. Gold is found in the pure state, is very easy to work and was probably the first metal used by humans. Today, most of the gold that is newly mined or recycled is used in the manufacture of jewellery. About 78% of the gold consumed each year is used in the manufacture of jewellery. Coinage, Bullion, Currency Backing. Electronics: The most important industrial use of gold is in the manufacture of electronics. Solid state electronic devices use very low voltages and currents which are easily interrupted by corrosion or tarnish at the contact points. Gold is the highly efficient conductor that can carry these tiny currents and remain free of corrosion. Electronic components made with gold are highly reliable. Gold is used in connectors, switch and relay contacts, soldered joints, connecting wires and connection strips. A small amount of gold is used in almost every sophisticated electronic device. This includes: cell phones, calculators, personal digital assistants, global positioning system units and other small electronic devices. Most large electronic appliances such as television sets also contain gold. Dentistry: Dental fillings. Medical: Gold is used in surgical instruments and gold is used as a drug to treat a small number of medical conditions. Injections of weak solutions of sodium aurothiomalate or aurothioglucose are sometimes used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Particles of a radioactive gold isotope are implanted in tissues to serve as a radiation source in the treatment of certain cancers. Aerospace: Gold is used in satellite components. If you are going to spend billions of dollars on a vehicle that when launched will travel on a voyage where the possibility of lubrication, maintenance and repair is absolutely zero, then building it with extremely dependable materials is essential. This is exactly why gold is used in hundreds of ways in every space vehicle that NASA launches. Gold is used in circuitry because it is a dependable conductor and connector. In addition, many parts of every space vehicle are fitted with gold-coated polyester film. This film reflects infrared radiation and helps stabilize the temperature of the spacecraft. Without this coating, dark colored parts of the spacecraft would absorb significant amounts of heat Gold is also used as a lubricant between mechanical parts. In the vacuum of space, organic lubricants would volatilize and they would be broken down by the intense radiation beyond Earth's atmosphere. Gold has a very low shear strength and thin films of gold between critical moving parts serves as a lubricant - the gold molecules slip past one another under the forces of friction and that provides a lubricant action. Olympic gold medals Glassmaking: Gold is used in specialty building glass and has many uses in the production of glass. The most basic use in glassmaking is that of a pigment. A small amount of gold suspended in the glass when it is annealed produces a rich ruby color. Gold is also used when making specialty glass for climate controlled buildings and cases. A small amount of gold dispersed within the glass or coated onto the glass surface will reflect solar radiation outward, helping the buildings stay cool in the summer, and reflect internal heat inward, helping them stay warm in winter. The visor on the helmet of an astronaut's space suit is coated with a very thin film of gold. This thin film reflects much of the very intense solar radiation of space, protecting the astronaut's eyes and skin. Gold Gilding and Gold Leaf: Gold has the highest malleability of any metal. This enables gold to be beaten into sheets that are only a few millionths of an inch thick. These thin sheets, known as "gold leaf" can be applied over the irregular surfaces of picture frames, molding or furniture. Most of the ways that gold is used today have been developed only during the last two or three decades. This trend will likely continue. As our society requires more sophisticated and reliable materials our uses for gold will increase. This combination of growing demand, few substitutes and limited supply will cause the value and importance of gold to increase steadily over time. It is truly a metal of the future.
uses for gold you forgot the most important! Goldschläger is a Swiss cinnamon schnapps, a clear liqueur with very thin, yet visible flakes of gold floating in it. Despite having Swiss origins, Goldschläger is a product of Italy. The actual amount of gold is very small and is more of a visual attraction. The German word Goldschläger actually means âgold leaf maker.â There is currently less than a tenth of a gram (0.1 g) of gold flakes in a 750 ml bottle of Goldschläger, which, as of 28 September 2007, amounts to about 2.39 USD on the international gold market.