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Gold nearing $3,000/oz!

Fast Eddie B

Philosopher
Fast Eddie B
Joined
Sep 27, 2010
Messages
8,411
Location
Lenoir City, TN/Mineral Bluff, GA
Has anyone else been following the price of gold recently?

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Gold has traditionally been seen as a hedge against inflation, and not so much an investment per sé. Over the years I've squirreled away a handful of 1 oz. gold coins, mainly Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, Pandas and U.S. Double Eagles. The lowest I've paid was $278 in 2001, the most $1,470 in 2011, my last purchase.

At no time did the price seem "cheap", considering that in 1900 the price was fixed at $20.67/oz, and as recently as 1934 it was pegged at $35/oz.

Still, it seems hard to justify today's price, though with economic uncertainty its always been a relatively safe haven.

Anyway, anyone considering buying - or selling - a today's prices?
 
Ah ha! I just checked and the gold sovereign I got when I was baptized is worth a thousand bucks Canadian. I'll be able to buy <something.>
 
My financial advisors always warn me against investing in gold or silver, but they're a Cyberman and a werewolf so they may be biased. The vampire keeps telling me to save it all in the blood bank.
 
TragicMonkey said:
My financial advisors always warn me against investing in gold or silver, but they're a Cyberman and a werewolf so they may be biased. The vampire keeps telling me to save it all in the blood bank.
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There seems to be a general rule of thumb that it’s wise to have about 10% of one’s portfolio invested in precious metals. I have no idea where it came from, but doesn’t seem like a bad idea as a hedge against hyperinflation.

The classic cautionary tale is Germany in the 1920’s. From Wikipedia: “A loaf of bread in Berlin that cost around 160 marks at the end of 1922 cost 200,000,000,000 or 200 billion (2×1011) marks by late 1923.” But that same loaf of bread could still be purchased with silver coins worth about 160 marks. I am NOT predicting hyperinflation in the U.S., but at the same time I think it’s foolish to think it’s impossible.

Oh, and gold did close above $3,000/oz yesterday.
 
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michaelsuede once argued that soon silver would be valuable enough so that the silver content of a pre-1964 dime would be enough to feed you for several days.

That didn't come to pass.

If course that doesn't mean that there won't be hyperinflation in the US this time around - after all pessimists have predicted fifty of the last four recessions.
 
The Don said:
michaelsuede once argued that soon silver would be valuable enough so that the silver content of a pre-1964 dime would be enough to feed you for several days.

That didn't come to pass.
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Of course not.

The idea is that if a silver dime bought you a candy bar in 1964 (it did), it could still buy you a candy bar today when it would otherwise cost close to $1. Or, God forbid, if one was $1,000,000 post hyperinflation. Precious metals don't increase your buying power over time, but help you to maintain it.
 
At this point in time a lot of not quite kosher gold bars are out in the market, weight is off not pure or any other scam. Investing in precious metals where you physically hold them is risky too if you aren't dealing with reputable sellers.

Online sales and some won in casinos have been found to be less than face value.

Be careful if this is your plan.
And remember, the ones selling the gold gladly accept the dollar they warn 'could ' lose all value. Hmmmm.
 
Gold coins from a reputable dealer are probably the safest way to invest in gold. “Junk” silver coins are similarly relatively safe.

I suppose counterfeiting is possible, but that’s where a reliable dealer comes in.
 
I miss the old days in Vegas when slot machines actually took coins because, well, they had slots. I still have a handful of silver dollars left over from one trip.
 
Well, the mining claims office at where I work in California will be busy this mining season.
 
8enotto said:
And remember, the ones selling the gold gladly accept the dollar they warn 'could ' lose all value. Hmmmm.
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This is what cracks me up esp about the never-ending commercials trying to get you to buy gold. If it's such an amazing deal, why are they trying to sell it?

Basically gold is too volatile for me to trust it, esp as I near retirement. Sure it's easy to look back and go oh if only I'd bought in back when....but that's (pardon the expression) fool's gold. I'll stick to boring regular investments, thanks.
 
bigred said:
This is what cracks me up esp about the never-ending commercials trying to get you to buy gold. If it's such an amazing deal, why are they trying to sell it?
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I don’t think that’s fair. They make their money on the “spread” between what they can obtain the gold for and what they can sell it for. Their commission is often 2% or less, but can earn a dealer a fair living.
 
bigred said:
This is what cracks me up esp about the never-ending commercials trying to get you to buy gold. If it's such an amazing deal, why are they trying to sell it?

Basically gold is too volatile for me to trust it, esp as I near retirement. Sure it's easy to look back and go oh if only I'd bought in back when....but that's (pardon the expression) fool's gold. I'll stick to boring regular investments, thanks.
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You've reminded me of an age-old scam, that used to appear in newspapers and magazines (and may still do so for all I know) but now appears on social media:

"Send me $20 and I'll give you the secret for making easy money."

And the secret?

"Put an advert on social media that says: 'Send me $20 and I'll give you the secret for making easy money.' "

Surprisingly it is no where near as common as "Vote for us and you'll magically get rich".
 
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