what makes gold so valuable ?

[tr21]

So my dad calls me a few minutes ago and starts asking me about the price of gold. saying he wants to buy some to offset the economy going to heck ! I tell him he better be buying lead instead because I've never understood why gold is the go to thing, can't make love to it, can't eat it and its really just a shinny metal IMHO. now I used to trade $100k's at a time on gold miners stock at a time but it was because of the volatility of the price . i would ask some of the guy's I traded with just what makes it so great all I ever got was it has always been the go to in hard times ! other than jewelry and some use in electronics I can't figure it out . I finally told him if you have it anybody with lead will shoot you and take it ! so can someone explain what is so great about gold ?

 

[BeerThirty]

I know I will get flamed for saying this, but other than investment purposes, I think gold is pretty worthless.

I know a few prepper types who have small fortunes of various size gold bars and coins locked up in their safes. But to your point, what good is gold if you are starving, thirsty or in need of other goods/service? In an economic collapse, there will be no markets to establish worth, so how does one even justify value? A bottle of bourbon, a box of ammo, a sack of rice or a doctor's skills will have value, not gold.

 

[notnksnemor]

It's worth it's weight in gold.

What other mineral can you say that about?

 

[Qazaq15]

You can say that about almost anything that can't be eaten, drank, or burned. Gold is very rare, difficult to mine and extract, it doesn't corrode, and conducts electricity better than any other metal. Beyond that, the value of something is what someone else is willing to pay for it. People think its valuable, ergo, it is.

 

[1eyefishing]

If women will kill for it, so will men.

 

[jrickman]

Scarcity...period. Gold is one well placed asteroid away from being as worthless as sand.

That said, assuming there is some semblance of civil order left about humanity, gold simply is the standard of exchange. It may wax and wane to some degree, but eventually everyone comes home to the yellow metal to facilitate commerce. Take away civil order, and you've got yourself some chunks of metal.

 

[BeerThirty]

Scarcity...period. Gold is one well placed asteroid away from being as worthless as sand.

That said, assuming there is some semblance of civil order left about humanity, gold simply is the standard of exchange. It may wax and wane to some degree, but eventually everyone comes home to the yellow metal to facilitate commerce. Take away civil order, and you've got yourself some chunks of metal.

I see what you’re saying but I would argue that gold is actually facilitating much commerce at all today. The “gold” that most people own isn’t even in physical form anymore, it’s investment or notes, no different than cash imo. Perceived value, if you will

 

[Qazaq15]

I see what you’re saying but I would argue that gold is actually facilitating much commerce at all today. The “gold” that most people own isn’t even in physical form anymore, it’s investment or notes, no different than cash imo. Perceived value, if you will

The gold has to exist somewhere to be able to issue a note for it. Cash is all perceived value since the gold standard was abolished.

 

[sinclair1]

Gold was 1848’s Bitcoin.

 

[The Original Rooster]

The better question is when is gold a good investment? My personal opinion would be only when it has a better return than bonds or equities, which is rarely. Nothing wrong with holding a little for a hedge as part of a diversified mix.

 

[Railroader]

Unless you've got it physically in your hands, perceived value is all you got.

A few Krugerrand and Maple Leafs in the gun safe gives a warm fuzzy feeling, if nothing else.

 

[RustyH]

I have some gold and silver in my safe, I just like the way it looks and feels, you should get it only if it brings you some happiness to look at or collect. I enjoy my Buffalo gold coin, silver eagles and Canadian maples for Numismatic purposes, to me that’s the only reason to get it.

If you want to invest in precious metals --- Brass and Lead, always in demand, useful, easy to sell or trade and price is always going up.

 

[Throwback]

buy all the ammo you want. buy a mountain of it.
you can put $50,000 worth of gold in your pack and bug out. You'll need a truck and trailer to haul $50,000 worth of ammo.

 

[Throwback]

What makes a current hundred dollar bill worth anything?

 

[fishfryer]

I know I will get flamed for saying this, but other than investment purposes, I think gold is pretty worthless.

I know a few prepper types who have small fortunes of various size gold bars and coins locked up in their safes. But to your point, what good is gold if you are starving, thirsty or in need of other goods/service? In an economic collapse, there will be no markets to establish worth, so how does one even justify value? A bottle of bourbon, a box of ammo, a sack of rice or a doctor's skills will have value, not gold.

Just assuming that a catastrophe of accident or intent strikes our nation or of the world, if you have paperwork that says you own so much gold, who is going to honor that? If you have real physical gold how will you make change? If you need medicine or food or any other commodity and you have a bar of gold, how much will you need to cut off that bar? Who decides? Mutual agreement until you bring out the bar and them by superior force the whole piece is taken from you. Just how much will a month’s supply of insulin cost or a 55 gallon drum of gasoline? It will be dog eat dog and you will probably have to be ready to kill or be killed. Rooster is right about a balanced portfolio is securities with gold being included but don’t trust your future to it!

 

[Triple C]

What makes a current hundred dollar bill worth anything?

A Benji is the new $20. Nothing special bout toting around a wallet of Benji's in this day and age. Goes bout as far as a $20 did not too many decades back.

 

[Buck70]

The reason gold is valuable is supposedly 1 oz of gold will buy the same amount of goods/services today that it bought in 1850. Inflation hedge.

 

[specialk]

It's worth it's weight in gold.

What other mineral can you say that about?

that's brilliant!

 

[Throwback]

Just assuming that a catastrophe of accident or intent strikes our nation or of the world, if you have paperwork that says you own so much gold, who is going to honor that? If you have real physical gold how will you make change? If you need medicine or food or any other commodity and you have a bar of gold, how much will you need to cut off that bar? Who decides? Mutual agreement until you bring out the bar and them by superior force the whole piece is taken from you. Just how much will a month’s supply of insulin cost or a 55 gallon drum of gasoline? It will be dog eat dog and you will probably have to be ready to kill or be killed. Rooster is right about a balanced portfolio is securities with gold being included but don’t trust your future to it!

that could be applied to anything if it gets that bad.

 

[fishfryer]

that could be applied to anything if it gets that bad.

Not predicting it ever will and praying not, but it could.