The 'desirability' of gold - a key factor?

S

SteveS

Member
As you all know, gold is no longer a common currency. However, even more so than silver, it possesses an almost inexplicable quality that humans desire, and nothing to do with its intrinsic value or its utility. Obviously, its rarity, the cost of obtaining it and some of its properties are important, but well beyond that is its ability to mesmerise humans.

This I think will continue to drive its 'street value' more than any other factor, including commodity valuation and paper trading.

What I can't get my head around is, how will this affect value in an economic downturn? Clearly, as a modest investor myself, I see it as a useful hedging tactic, but my uncertainty regarding its likely liquidity in a recession gives me pause.

I wanna, but.........
 
I was discussing this today; would I be so mesmerised by gold if I didn't know its rarity and worth? But the fact that it was ever formed into money suggests to me that it has always held our attention. And it is used in most desirable jewellery, so I would suggest we inherently desire gold. No idea why though...

I guess it depends on where/how you plan to sell your gold, whether that is effected by rarity [of physical] or panic buying etc.
 
Gold has outlasted currencies and governments for thousands of years and is still held in the world's banks as money.

It may not do well during an economic downturn, but in times of chaos such as inflation or war, it could be a lifeline.
 
GoldenEye said:
Gold has outlasted currencies and governments for thousands of years and is still held in the world's banks as money.
It may not do well during an economic downturn, but in times of chaos such as inflation or war, it could be a lifeline.
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Heh.
They buy it expensive from their bullion banks after generating economic downturns.
They sell it cheap to their bullion banks before generating economic booms.
With gold speculators, just like them getting less gold then less fiat from their bullionbanks.
Only that they privileged themselves to create more fiat while gold speculators have to produce and earn first.

But yeah it's a lifeline - it's better to lose 50% (halving of gold price) than 100% (ex when they decide to allow bank go bankrupt then stick another name on bank)
halve selected ppls bank accounts
 
Pirocco said:
The poor buy it after.
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correction, the poor never buy it. :P They already spent all their money on 60" TV's and beer.

I gather what you meant to say is;
The smart buy it before currencies destabilize.
The dumb buy it after.
 
It doest rust its very workable its very heavy and it looks totally different to other common metals in colour.

Most common metals are basically silver or silverish and gold is Yellow(golden) its unique! rolled plated leaf 9ct 18ct 22ct 24ct all look the same Gold, I think thats all.
 
leo25 said:
Pirocco said:
The poor buy it after.
Click to expand...

correction, the poor never buy it. :P They already spent all their money on 60" TV's and beer.

I gather what you meant to say is;
The smart buy it before currencies destabilize.
The dumb buy it after.
Click to expand...
"Poor" is as meaningless as "rich": two margin values that sit at the ends of the gauss curve.
I define "poor" as the mass that is targeted by the legal thieves club known as "State".
Tax always goes from a majority to a minority. The frontrunning on markets, is based on the very same principle.
The explanation is quite simple and obvious: it's easier to undetected steal $1 from 100 people than $100 from 1.
hell.
About currency destabilization: it might even be not relevant, because if the legal thieves succeed in making the "poor", "majority" savers waste their savings along temporary bloated prices of various speculated-upon products, then their new fiatmoney ends up replacing existing instead of adding to it.
 
About governments side trying to make savers waste their bank fiat along temp increased prices, one could collect all family savings data (central banks gather this info) around the world, put it on a trend line, and get an idea about the rate of that wasting.
That rate, should allow an accurate measurement of crisis magnitudes and durations.
It's the primary input to determine the intrest rate on deposits, and other rates, and much more important: the differences between the different rates, the relatives against eachother.
 
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