Re:Time to Reboot America
by patrickg-zill on Thursday December 25, 2008 @12:07PM
(#409634)
Gold can be argued to have intrinsic value, when it has shown to retain some amount of value across over 5000 years of human history; and it would be almost impossible to have a working electronics industry without some amount of gold, or some other metal with nearly-equivalent properties (right now the industry is working on ways to minimize gold but it is still needed). It is not superstition.
I don't know where you got the idea that I was recommending a non-physical holding of gold or silver, but it is a good point to address: all COMEX contracts state that in the event of default (non-delivery) they can just give you USD, which of course is exactly what you don't want.
The value of gold is not intrinsic - it is assigned by people, just like fiat currency (which is also why gold-backed currency, or the lack thereof, is not our problem). In fact, gold's value also fluctuates with the economy, just like everything else - when the economy tanks, gold prices rise, etc etc. It's almost expected for people to run screaming back to gold every time the economy hiccups, and this has made it an unsafe commodity to hold.
Not to mention when you buy gold - you are not buying any actual, physical gold, you are buying gold production, which will never ever reach your hands. If you really want to hoard precious metals, at least go out and physically have it. Your gold is just as imaginary as fiat money until you have it in your hands.