Gold, should you have it in hand, or on paper?

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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Been loosely discussing gold with several people. Granted, it would be easier to have some money in gold, with a broker, everything on paper/in the brokers system. However, if something catastrophic to the world markets were to happen, would it be best to have a little bit of gold standing by? I am not talking about SHTF EOTW scenarios. I think food, tools and shelter would be top priority then. However, if the dollar went belly up, gold would still have value. Silver for that matter.

Silver is easier to acquire, but would it be worth it to have a little bit of gold on hand? Just for acquiring goods if the world hiccupped for a moment.
 
Many financial advisers say a bit of PM (Precious Metal) is good to have in your portfolio, say, 5% or so. It's not going to replace other currency (or if it does, a hefty supply of grub and ammo would be more valuable). There are lots of sources for financial advice, some trustworthy, many not.
 
One of the great things about gold is that you can store it yourself and it is always on hand should you need it.
If things go belly up do you really want to be standing in a long queue waiting and hoping that your paper is good.

As a South African I naturally like KrugerRands. They are available in several weights, very portable, easy to safely store and internationally accepted.
 
What are you going to do with it?

It's not good eating. It doesn't burn well. It's not a good insulation. It has no practical medicinal application.

Do you think you'll be able to buy other things with it? Who will you buy from? How will you establish the purity of your gold? How will you establish the value? How wil you make change?
 
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The thing that has always bothered me about gold is that its value is measured in something we keep hearing is going to be worthless: the dollar. If this is the only yardstick we
have, how can we measure its true value? When you go to the grocery store will you take a small file with you to rasp off a few shavings from your Maple Leaf for the food
you want to buy?

If the worth of gold is only measured against failing fiat currencies, then gold itself is basically worthless.
 
No, gold and silver tend to hold their value in inflating currency. When gold went for $600 an ounce, the dollar was worth more. The dollar is worth half as much when gold goes for $1,200 an ounce. Gold and silver have fluctuating parity because both have industrial uses. U.S. gold is available in government preassayed coins in weight denominations of 1/10th ounce, 1/4th ounce, 1/2 ounce and 1 ounce. Most other government issued gold coins are in similar increments. Silver coins have historicly been used for smaller purchases and to make change from gold coins. In fact, U.S. currency exchange once worked this way with copper being the cheapest precious metal. Coper is nearly $4.00 a pound. 100 large U.S. cents weigh almost three pounds. Lincoln cents weigh out 145 to the pound.
 
Just for the heck of it, I have been collecting U.S. copper pennies for awhile. The copper in them is worth more then a penny. That's one of the reasons pennies made since 1982 are mostly zinc. (Some 1982 pennies were copper.) It seems that a lot of other people are doing the same thing. Copper pennies are seen less frequently in change.

Believe it or not, people are actually buying copper ingots. Maybe that's the poor mans gold and silver. :D
 
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