digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

See the original image at marketwatch.com

The Golden Age of Gold

marketwatch.com — SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve gave gold the fuel it needed to restart its engine and the precious metal has already driven through the trading range barrier it's been stuck in for the past month. 'Buy gold! Buy silver! Buy them because they're the only defense against what's happening in all the other markets!!'

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • StingingNettle, on 06/29/2008, -3/+25I am a gold digger. Dugg!
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1... I ain't sayin she's a broke... no wait...
  • kd1s, on 06/29/2008, -3/+32Last fall I bought 3 grams of gold for $60 from a friend who needed cash in a hurry. It's now worth $89.40 I'd say that's some good appreciation.
    • synarchy, on 06/29/2008, -2/+30I would not get too excited. Keep in mind that your gold is worth "more" only because you are valuing it in dollars. The basic buying power of the gold itself is relatively stable (the amount of bread an once of gold bought 100 years ago is about what it would buy today [which is a lot!]). Your gold is appreciating (relative to the dollar) because of the falling value of the dollar, which the Fed has inflated beyond belief to keep its banking and Wall St. friends "liquid" in the face of total collapse. Last time I looked the "value" of the dollar was just a few cents of what it was worth when the Fed was created back in 1913.

      Gold is certainly a great hedge against a rapidly inflating fiat currency such as the dollar, and you are smart to be investing in it with so much inflation going on. Other types of investments, in corporate stocks for example, may be more profitable if things ever stabilize and inflation can be reigned in. Unfortunately, all we really can expect from the government/Fed/Wall Street triangle is more of the same.
      • bizkit00, on 06/29/2008, -9/+3Sorry to tell you but the dollar is going to keep plummeting, the Fed is going to keep printing money, and inflation is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. All kd1s has to do is sell it before the distant future where we start to recover, he doesn't have to care that part of his profit was due to dealing in US currency.
  • logicet, on 06/29/2008, -9/+15Investing in commodities is the only way to protect yourself from the Federal Reserve printing presses at this point.

    Apmex.com is good for buying gold or silver.
    • ScottNyRealtor, on 06/29/2008, -0/+7Don't know who would dig this down lol, perhaps angry dollar holders. I've been in gold since $600 for the same exact reason and it's been a nice ride on up.
    • XanderDee, on 06/30/2008, -0/+3People don't believe the Federal Reserve has printing presses or controls the money supply that's just a conspiracy theory.

      That's why you don't have many diggs.

      The banking cartel have done their job well.
  • CHANNELOCK, on 06/29/2008, -8/+61Last fall I bought 3 grams of Coke for $60 from a friend who needed cash cash in a hurry.Its now worth $400 when I cut it.I'd say thats some good appreciation
    • PabloIV, on 06/29/2008, -1/+16and liquefying those assets shouldn't be a problem either.
    • SqlByte, on 06/29/2008, -6/+4Last fall i bought 3 grams of weed for $30 from a friend who needed a cash in hurry. It's now worth $35.4 i'd say thats some good *****.
    • slezzzter, on 06/29/2008, -1/+7That would be the most interesting part of legalized drugs: the opportunity to trade drug futures on the open market.
  • wassim2k, on 06/29/2008, -6/+8Sounds like more speculative enthusiasm to me. Aren't we suffering from the last bout of that? (i.e., real esate, .com, etc.)
    • XanderDee, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1You are now speculating that your dollar value will go up when Peter Schiff, Jim Rogers, Marc Faber, Buffet, and many more are telling you to get out of your dollars.

      Hey look I am not going to convince you to save yourself so when you are broke and have no food to eat and march on Washington, demand real money like gold and silver and not money that can be printed out of thin air.

      Hey all you have to do is demand your government follow it's own laws.

      BTW Greenspan never saw the .com bubble he said pile in. He also never saw the housing bubble he said take equity out and by a second home. Now he says gold is a bubble get out. Are you seeing a pattern there?
  • MrFlibble1, on 06/29/2008, -3/+23Meh, you can subscribe to the buy high, sell higher if you can theory. Me? I am buying all those things that are depreciating in other markets. I prefer buy low sell high. If stocks are unpopular, then in my mind it is time to buy them. Gold popular? Time to sell it.
    • StingingNettle, on 06/29/2008, -0/+11Sure, but there is one more leg up in this bull market for gold, and the trend has just started for a bear in stocks.

      You will be right, but I think you are to early.
      • MrFlibble1, on 06/29/2008, -1/+7Well, I know that no one can accurately predict the ways of "Mr. Market"*. I just know that when he shows up at my door, and is depressed because everything is going badly, and he has stocks at a reasonable price, I buy them. If Mr. Market shows up at my door, and everything is great, and the world is wonderful, I have no problem selling my stock to him, he does not mind.

        I can't predict what Mr. Market will do on any given day. I can only know he is a little insane. Still, that does not prevent me from making a profit off of him.

        * See "The Intelligent Investor" by Ben Graham chapter 20 for the treatise on "Mr. Market".
    • angryfirelord, on 06/29/2008, -2/+6Not quite. It may appear that way, but the US Dollar still has a ways to fall, so when it goes down, commodities go up. Trust me, you haven't seen hell yet, $200 oil and $2000 gold is in the near future if the dollar continues to get devalued.
    • jaymzdean, on 06/29/2008, -2/+7Anyone who thinks we're just experiencing a cyclical/historical bear cycle is either in denial, or hasn't looked at the economy's historical/cyclical cycles.
      This situation we're in is unprecedented.
      Gold will go very much higher because of it's intrinsic value, an iceberg you're only seeing the tip of right now.
  • xero040486, on 06/29/2008, -12/+1Amazing how kd1s and CHANNELOCK have the exact same story.
  • DiscoLando, on 06/29/2008, -3/+14I have to ask, what practical good does it do to buy gold? Sure, I understand you're holding tangible value that is basically inflation proof, but can you always convert it back to cash when you need it? Even if the gold you're holding goes up in value by, say, 10%, if you try to sell it at that point you're only going to be able to sell it at a certain fraction of its current value so you're probably not going to net much, if any, net return.

    Am I missing something?
    • logicet, on 06/29/2008, -1/+16Gold has gone from $250 to nearly $1,000 an ounce in the past 5 years.

      I can walk down to my local coin shop and get $1,000 FRN's for it at any moment.

      Am I missing something?
      • DiscoLando, on 06/29/2008, -3/+5If you can convert it back to notes at any moment for near its current value, then it sounds fine and dandy.

        However, I've read and heart many stories if buyers only giving the seller 50% of it's current value, and other sellers stuck with gold they can't do anything with. You certainly can't head to the corner market and give a cashier some flecks of gold for tank of gas.

        Which situation is more typical?

      • phuzle, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3I don't believe this story of someone who could "only" sell their gold for 50% of it's value. Perhaps they got ripped off, or offered 50% from a certain store, but there are many methods of sale and MOST OFTEN they will offer you between 95% and 98% of it's current value, depending on the type of coin. Scrap gold is worth at least 90% of it's spot value at an honest coin shop.

        It is not advised to buy specks of gold. If you don't want to hold $1000 increments of money, there are 1/2, 1/4, and 1/10 oz gold coins that will provide smaller pieces of wealth. And there is always silver, which may honestly be better than gold.
      • WindReaver, on 06/30/2008, -1/+250%? Quit trying to sell your gold at the corner pawn shop. :p
    • StingingNettle, on 06/29/2008, -1/+13Gold has proven to keep value for thousands of years. People buy gold not as an investment but to only try to preserve their wealth, because there is no other good place to stick their money. Feral Reserve notes have been around for about 90 years have have lost about 90% of its value since. Am I missing something?
      • popfrogs, on 06/29/2008, -3/+8Feral Reserve notes, you just can't tame them.
      • StingingNettle, on 06/29/2008, -1/+4That's what I get for typing fast and not using spell check :)
    • bizkit00, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3"Sure, I understand you're holding tangible value that is basically inflation proof"
      answered yourself.
    • RationalXubrnce, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3 Normally you have to pay a few percentage points over spot to buy gold and you get a few percentage points under spot when you sell it. so yeah maybe you lose 10% on the whole thing. The issue though is that the currency value can easily deflate 50 0r 100 percent. That's what you're really protecting against. anyone with any real knowledge of economics knows the American dollar is poised for big trouble in the near future. We've seen the start of this the last 2 years. Wall street is still kidding themselves but at some point they wont be able to fool themselves any longer and that's when the real trouble will start.

    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1I think you are assuming (incorrectly) that gold bullion sells like jewelry. Buy and sell prices for bullion are generally very close; jewelry on the other hand sells for much less than its purchase price (essentially its material value which is a fraction of what you paid for it).

      Visit a gold shop sometime. You can get a Krugerrand or other 1 oz. pure gold coins at a couple percent over spot price, and sell at spot. Example: the other day a co-worker bought a 1 oz. coin when gold was at $900/oz. He paid $918 for it. The coin shop would buy the same coin for $903.

      Another alternative is to buy gold related stocks.
  • gobbleplex, on 06/29/2008, -4/+11You can't eat gold or silver. Precisely what good would it do you to own a ton of it if the world goes to hell and you (along with everyone who isn't a farmer) is starving? Why would the farmer take your gold? It can't just have value because "it's valuable." There has to be a reason.

    • desuexmachina, on 06/29/2008, -0/+22With a big enough piece of gold you can use it to bonk somebody on the head and take their food from them.
      • gobbleplex, on 06/29/2008, -1/+6:)

        That leads to the other point of what good would it do you to have all this gold and silver if you don't have guns or a private army to guard it for you? The farmers have this quandary too, but unlike the gold hoarder he has a renewable and life-sustaining resource to offer in exchange for fealty.
      • chrissku, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1Dugg up for use of the word 'bonk'
      • bphicke, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3Obviously we should trade farms as our new currency.
    • lajaw, on 06/29/2008, -2/+7The reason it is valuable is because it is "rare".
      • zomglolcats, on 06/29/2008, -0/+4That's why it has value, but his point was, what happens when the world goes to hell in a hand basket? If people are starving, nobody is going to care how valuable your gold is.
      • bjornski, on 06/29/2008, -1/+6http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/production.htm

        Yeah. Real rare.

        Let's use jewelry mined in another country as currency!

        Please. Compare the gold produced in the 2007 graph with the gold in the 1970 graph.

        1970 = South Africa produced over 32Moz of gold, 2/3's of the world's production of 47.5Moz.

        2007 =1. China: 276mt [article]
        2. South Africa: 272mt
        3. United States: 255mt (estimated)
        4. Australia: 251mt (est)
        5. Indonesia: 171mt (est)
        6. Peru: 167mt
        7. Russia: 4.9mt (est)
        8. Canada: 93mt
        9. Papau New Guinea
        10. Ghana
        Other:
        TOTAL: 2444mt

        The amount of gold coming out the ground right now is STAGGERING!

        Real rare. You're just being played for suckers on a different commodities market.
      • Tweekster, on 06/30/2008, -3/+3You probably think diamonds are rare too.

        Here is a hint, neither gold nor diamonds are rare.

        Gold is "intrinsically" valuable because it is pretty and shiny. thats it
      • lajaw, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1It's rare, it is hard to get, and the supply is not growing because there are many industrial uses for it. But maybe, it is valuable because people like it.
      • Bidger, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1bjornski: Thats amazing ! so in 1970 production was 1346 mt and by 2007, 37 years late its risen to a staggering 2444 mt.

        Kind of like how the world population was 3.7 billion in 1970 and its now 6.6

        Wow look both those numbers almost doubled - staggering rises, if only we could double world production of cars, computers or electrical good every 49 years we'd all be rich
    • logicet, on 06/29/2008, -2/+17What makes a paper dollar worth a paper dollar? I'm thinking the farmer would much sooner accept a hunk of metal than a worthless piece of paper.
      • gobbleplex, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3But the question remains 'why?'

        In a world where production is brought to its knees because nobody has faith in any form of currency, what makes gold so special? If nobody can produce anything, then why would you care about collecting gold when there's nobody around to give you anything valuable in exchange for it?
      • jnordb, on 06/29/2008, -2/+5um maybe thousands of years of recorded historical context?
      • ralphthemagi, on 06/29/2008, -3/+3Really? Try to buy a hot dog in NYC with a gold coin. People will think you're either crazy, or a liar. Gold lacks legitimacy these days. It's only purchased by reserve banks. The only thing you can do with gold is buy other currencies. You might as well just transfer your dollars into euros to begin with.
      • LenBaird, on 06/29/2008, -3/+2Legal tender laws force us to accept worthless paper dollars, which a private bank (Federal Reserve) and all banks are allowed to create from nothing. Look up "fractional reserve banking" and ask yourself where the 9/10 of the money they loan comes from. It is created every time someone takes out a loan. If you default, they confiscate your property, or car, or whatever you have, and magically "uncreate" the money you don't pay back. No biggie for them, since it never existed in the first place.
    • TaeBoX, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3While there would be some trouble during mastication, ingestion shouldn't be difficult.
    • StingingNettle, on 06/29/2008, -3/+4And you can eat Federal Reserve Notes? What's your point?
      • gobbleplex, on 06/29/2008, -2/+5The only reason federal reserve notes have value is the faith that they can be redeemed for something. Where does gold get its value? The same place. The faith that it can be redeemed for something.

        We have faith now that you can exchange federal reserve notes for something. But if the world lost this faith, why would it retain faith in gold? In absence of faith in their purchasing power, gold and fed notes are just about as useful to most people who don't have a business involving the processing of the materials.
      • StingingNettle, on 06/29/2008, -1/+8My answer would be, "history". Gold has stood the test of time. Every fiat currency eventually gets inflated away.
      • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1@StingingNettle

        You apparently aren't taking the increasing amount of gold into the market into account.

        http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/production2.htm

        50% of all gold ever produced was produced since 1960
        80% of all gold ever produced was produced since 1900

        Yeah, no inflation possible there!

        http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/production.htm

        The amount of gold being produced is INCREDIBLE! The reason it stayed stable for so many years was because there wasn't a huge amount of it entering the market, and it was hard to get (and still just a pretty metal that you can't eat).

        But with the advances in mining and technology, the amount of gold in the market is SKYROCKETED. You see how in the 1970's they were dealing with millions of ounces produced, and in 2007 they're dealing with OVER TWO THOUSAND METRIC TONNES being produced.

        Yearly.

        Yeah, inflation-proof!
      • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1And again, look at the AMOUNTS being produced.

        http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/production.htm

        In the 1970's, it was measured in millions of ounces.

        In the 200+ years, it's measured in METRIC TONNES. Over 2400+ TONS of gold coming onto the market.

        Yearly.

        And as the graphs show, production isn't slowing.

        Inflation-proof, I tell ya!

        *shakes head*
      • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Grr, didn't mean to double-post that, but when I refreshed after first edit, it didn't show, as if it didn't save. Sorry.
    • PabloIV, on 06/29/2008, -1/+7The farmer would still need tools and equipment, and the smith would need more than just food (including possibly gold). The reason that we no longer deal in a barter based economy is that you don't really always need what the other side is offering and vice versa, and it may be many many steps in the chain of acquisition before you come across something you do need.
      Gold is a good standard that most people understand and based on its rarity it holds value. I've got a nice lil stash I got when Bush invaded, just in case everything went to *****.
      • gobbleplex, on 06/29/2008, -0/+5Thanks, that's a pretty reasonable response. I still think many of the people hoarding it haven't really thought through what they're going to do with it if fiat currency collapses, or how they'll secure it, or how to keep themselves from being used as pawns or robbed blind of it. Or how they'll carry it all if they have to move themselves for any of the myriad reasons that such a world might present to them.
      • PabloIV, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2If all discussions could be this civilized on Digg we just might be able to rule the world some day.
        hehehe
      • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1Rarity. Yeah.

        http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/production.htm
    • pstroll, on 06/29/2008, -1/+8Obviously gold doesn't work in an apocalyptic scenario especially against zombies and werewolves.
      • Aliwalla, on 06/29/2008, -2/+4Unless of course the zombiewolf was a capitalist.
      • ChromaVita, on 06/29/2008, -1/+6If you believe in the apocalyptic scenario of werewolves, then it would be much wiser to invest in silver...
    • desuexmachina, on 06/29/2008, -2/+4I don't think these people who are buying up gold are thinking about what's going to happen if the world goes to hell. They're buying it to make their comfortable life more comfortable in the future, the nature of investment is that you assume that there's not going to be a disaster which negates your investment.

      People who buy gold for survival purposes are pretty good for me, because by the time they find out that they can't buy food with rocks I'll have already found a nice hippie commune to live in and grow potatoes and leeks for soup.
      • LenBaird, on 06/29/2008, -2/+2And when your paper dollars are worth the same as toilet paper, people with gold will have the second oldest form of money in human history, after silver to buy goods with. You can be a millionaire, but if a dollar is worth a penny... you can brag about how you are a millionaire, but not much else.
      • jaymzdean, on 06/29/2008, -3/+2What will be of most value will be lead and the ability to use it to raid hippie communes and take potatoes and leeks at will.
      • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -0/+2@jaymzdean

        There's a conservative answer for ya.

        STEAL it!
    • rpi22, on 06/29/2008, -1/+4you are right to some extent, you certainly can't eat gold and silver. But with the collapse of one system, a new system develops. This is a key component of thermodynamics which studies the rise and fall of systems. In the power vacuum, a new system will develop. Order out of chaos.

      So, if you believe its TEOTWAWKI, you should certainly stock up on food, water, medicine, clothing, ammunition, etc. But, gold and silver are truly valuable metals. Gold is used mostly as money and jewelry, silver has important industrial applications. In the new system that develops, metals will be valuable.

      And in the barter system that develops during the chaos, wise investors will make great gains if they accumulate undervalued assets.
      • jnordb, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Happy happy joy joy
      • Crucible1001, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2Undervalued assets eh? Table salt is 3.50 for 25 pounds at Sam's club. In some end of the world type scenario, I think that would be the best to invest in now. 25 pounds is 5.2 years worth of an average person's daily requirements. It costs almost nothing, can be stored almost anywhere, and is essential for life.
    • rromanchuk, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2diggs utter lack of economic fundamentals scares the ***** out of me.

      "You can't eat gold or silver. Precisely what good would it do you to own a ton of it if the world goes to hell and you (along with everyone who isn't a farmer) is starving? Why would the farmer take your gold? It can't just have value because "it's valuable." There has to be a reason."

      I almost threw up in my mouth after hearing that.
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -1/+2What would you rather keep as a store of value - one gold coin or a truckload of white rice? What if you wanted to purchase something valuable? Are you going to haul a truckload of rice over to the market to buy something? If you perform a service for someone how would you accept payment if they don't have any goods that you want for barter? Money (and gold as money specifically) exists solely for the purpose of NOT having to deal with such situations. Gold has held value since the stone age and will continue to have value, even (or especially) in the darkest of times.
  • krnldmp, on 06/29/2008, -4/+13Quick! We need another bubble to ride. Forget about doing something with your time that the world needs, just hoard different things while the price goes up until the bottom falls out leaving the rich with the haul once again. Precious metals are different than all those other things we lost on before! No, Seriously!
    • rpi22, on 06/29/2008, -2/+4gold is not a bubble, if anything its been undervalued and is just now correcting upwards to its true value due to the fact that the stock and equities bubbles are collapsing.
      • Elliuotatar, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3*****. Look at the 10 year graph for gold. It rises at a stateady rate, then when the terorist attacks occured people paniced and bought it and the price skyrocketed. Then when we had the Iraq war, it happened again. That's not a correction due to the price being wrong. That is a change brought on by people's fear over whether their money was safe in banks and whether the economy is going to get worse.

        As soon as people get over that fear, say, when Obama is elected and people start to gain hope again that things will get better, and the economy gets better, the price will plummet. Mark my words.
      • rromanchuk, on 06/29/2008, -1/+6
        "Obama is elected and people start to gain hope again that things will get better, and the economy gets better, the price will plummet. Mark my words."

        now THAT is funniest thing I have seen all day.
      • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -1/+2Please, tell me how it's under-valued and just "correcting upward"?

        Do you understand what happens when MORE of a currency is put on the market? Of course you do, you bitch about it every time the dollar is mentioned. But look at this.....

        http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/production2.htm

        That's just mother earth churning out the currency. Devaluing it more with every ton extracted.
  • darkciti2, on 06/29/2008, -2/+6Come on now, EVERYBODY knows that you "buy on rumor, sell on news". That's trading 101.

    I bought Gold back in 2005 when it's spot price was around $300 or so. Now it's $927. That's a 300% increase in just the past 3 years. It may go up a little bit more, but I don't expect it to pop too much. Particularly when there are new gold mines opening up in Iran and Mongolia.
    • Aliwalla, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1Yes because as we've learnt with oil, increased supply has SOOOO much to do with price. /sarcasm
      • StaticThunder, on 06/29/2008, -0/+4Gold demand is not inflexible.
      • Elliuotatar, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3People use up the oil they buy. They don't use up their gold.
  • jond, on 06/29/2008, -3/+4This would have been good advise a year or two ago.


    • logicet, on 06/29/2008, -2/+4Or a year or two from now.
    • mal1964, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3You buy when the dollar is good. All of the 80,s and 90's were very good for buying gold.
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1You'll be saying the same a couple years from now I think.
  • nbx909, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3anyone know of a good place to buy gold/silver bullion?
    • PabloIV, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2I'm looking for a new dealer in San Juan PR if anybody knows one.
    • LenBaird, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2www.midasresources.com I have dealt with Jim at x104 and he was very helpful. If you have a local coin shop, try there. They have less overhead, and can often give better prices.
    • rromanchuk, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2apmex.com,
      or my claim in the sierra nevadas
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Local coin shop is your most convenient (and maybe safest) bet.
  • junghokim, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2This does not have anything to really do with this article but still an interesting video.

    "The dot-com boom and bust is often compared to the Gold Rush. But Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos says it’s more like the early days of the electric industry."

    http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jeff_bezos_on_t ...
  • jandor, on 06/29/2008, -0/+6In times of recession, moving your assets into commodities, precious metals, and real estate is historically what most people have done. Since real estate is no longer a viable option, and commodity futures are too volatile, precious metals are a sure hedge against our faltering economy. Hard goods, i.e. cash in hand, gold, and liquid tangible assets, etc. If you invest in gold, make sure part of your portfolio is not just stock, but real gold, especially older coins. Jim Sinclair gives valuable insight of the economic woes that are rapidly approaching and what you can go to protect yourself and your assets:
    http://jsmineset.com/
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Today's situation is very similar to what happened in the late 70s/early 80s. During that time the value of Gold went through the roof. Jim Sinclair was one of the most successful commodity traders of that era. Learn from him, do some research on your own, and get informed.
  • DutchGuilder, on 06/29/2008, -0/+25200 years ago 1 ounce of gold bought a man a nice suit and a good meal. 100 years ago 1 ounce of gold bought a man a nice suit and a good meal. Today, 1 ounce of gold at $925/ounce you can still buy a nice suit and a good meal. So $925/ounce sounds about right.
    • StaticThunder, on 06/29/2008, -3/+5I can get about 90 decent meals or 3 nice suits for that much. Don't know where YOU shop.
      • bphicke, on 06/29/2008, -2/+10Department store clearance rack != good suits.
      • Tweekster, on 06/30/2008, -2/+1you can easily get a very nice tailored suit for under 200 bucks if you know where to shop.

        That 600-1000 dollar suit, you are a fool to pay full price.
      • Cryptocracy, on 08/17/2008, -0/+3you're going to look strange standing on the street corner with a cardboard sign and that $900 suit.... use the gold to buy food and lead- bullets!
    • Hoogie7Dowser, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2Nice suit is at least 600 minimum
      • Tweekster, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1My last suit had a retail tag of that, got it for about 150 with the tailoring.

        The price tag should say atleast 600 but only morons pay that much.
      • StaticThunder, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1I'm with Tweekster. My experience with tailored suits says otherwise. Who are you, diamond Jim?
      • Hoogie7Dowser, on 07/02/2008, -0/+1Where do you get such nice deals?
    • Wakkyweed, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2That is exactly the reason why my multimillionaire boss warned me not to invest in gold. He said that historically gold has a much worse return rate on investment than stocks, bonds, and real estate.

      But heck, what do I know? I'm just a chef.
      • XanderDee, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Gold is NOT an investment it's a storage of wealth. FRNs are not a storage of wealth as they loose value. A storage of wealth allows you to buy the same things you could by 30 years ago for almost the same price or less.
    • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1And there is more gold on the market than ever before.

      The value of it isn't going up, and with increased production, what an ounce of gold would buy 200 year ago would be MUCH more than an ounce of gold will buy now or in the future.

      Gold production 200 years ago wasn't *****, which is why it was valuable.

      Today it's a HUUUUGE industry.
      • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1There's also a crapload more people in the world compared to 200 years ago.
      • StaticThunder, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1And not ONE of them eats gold to survive.
  • dalittle, on 06/29/2008, -5/+10everyone that owns gold should be dumping right now.
    • angryfirelord, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1Go look at the US Dollar chart and try to say that again.
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Wrong - the people holding on to cash with inflation rates approaching double digits should be the ones "dumping" right now.
  • pstroll, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2I bought 75 oz in '04 ... wish I would've bought more :-(
    • synarchy, on 06/29/2008, -0/+7I am struck at how people think they are making money by buying gold just because it now takes more FRNs to buy it (because of inflation of FNRs). That gold you bought in '04 won't buy you anything more today, except more FRNs. But it takes more FRNs today to by anything at all. Buy gold to protect assets, but you will need to invest your money in business if you want to increase your capital (or loose it).

      Unlike the guy above you, dalittle, buying gold now is very smart, since the Fed's inflationary policies will hit the economy soon like a ton of bricks. At the rate they've been making loans to bailout investments banks and commercial banks, the damage to the dollar may be so severe that we'd see hyperinflation, in which FRNs would become close to worthless. You will be glad you have gold then! (Of course, back in the 1930s the government declared anyone who tried to hedge FRN inflation by owning gold criminals, and forced everyone to turn in their gold for more useless FRNs or face jail.)
      • KMye, on 06/29/2008, -2/+4Neo-libertarians - love gold, don't know ***** about it...

        Are you really claiming the US dollar has lost half of its value over the last 4 years? You think we've been dealing with about 20% annual inflation, perhaps, and no one's noticed?

        Gold has tended to have a bit of this stable quality over the very long term, if you happen to pick the right points, but there's no mystical guarantees it will continue indefinitely into the future.

        As far the short and medium term, your claim of stable value, is of course, completely wrong.

        But, I'm still always happy to see people buying gold whenever; keep that price up! As far as your little paranoid bit at the end, now that we're not on a gold standard, the government wouldn't have the same motivation to confiscate gold as it did back then...
      • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1So you are saying that FRNs have lost half their value in the last four years? Seriously? Some things have doubled in price (gas, some food items) but other things cost the same or a little more. Fifteen years ago 1K bought you a decent computer. Today its about the same.

        Things are bad but they're not THAT bad.
      • synarchy, on 07/01/2008, -0/+1You really want to use computers as a gauge for inflation? Next you and KMye will be telling me there is no inflation of FRNs because you can now get an iPhone for $200.

        There is certainly a little bubble for gold caused by the rush to move to it. Does that make you and KMye feel better? There is a reason why the government has removed food and energy from the CPI calculations.
      • KMye, on 07/01/2008, -0/+1I'm sorry, but Fail. The fact the CPI has somewhat skewed since the 90's doesn't make up nearly enough ground to give us your claims of 20% annual inflation. Why can't you just concede a few points (a mark of an intelligent, rational person), or at least address them, rather than ignoring them and spouting some other *****?

        By the way, given that the CPI changed under Clinton, wherever the ***** you read the CPI doesn't include food or energy anymore, you need to stop reading there, because they're ***** lying to you. Try checking sources for yourself before you believe something as ridiculous as that.

        Gold, at the right times, is a great hedge or investment. Right now, the way to invest in gold is in small, good gold exploration companies, not the commodity itself. Give me $500-600 dollar gold, and a continuing influence from China and India, as we're experiencing now, and I'd be all with you: Buy buy buy! Anyway, working for one of the aforementioned companies, I'm thrilled if you do buy up as much raw gold as possible now, and encourage everyone you know to do so, but you're a fool if you do.

        btw - if you really want to represent the way the fed addresses interest rates/inflation as being decided by computers, you're, I hope, just purposely misrepresenting; otherwise, you're twice the fool you are otherwise.

        Check your sources, man!
  • HubbertWins, on 06/29/2008, -6/+4What the hell is that farmer going to do with a hunk of gold? It is useless to him because it isn't currency and can't be used as such. Might as well be diamonds or heroin for all the good it does. Paper money is worth something because we all agree that it is. It doesn't take anything more than that.
    • angryfirelord, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1Gold is a universally accepted standard and is immune to the inflation and borrowing tactics of the Federal Reserve. The time is to buy gold so that you can sell it at a later point for more dollars or if you buy the physical thing, it'll serve as backup in case the dollar completely collapses. The Fed has made paper money worth almost nothing at this point.
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1So what is the definition of currency? Something that people are willing to accept in exchange for goods and services, right? Gold has been accepted as a form of currency since the stone age. All the major central banks keep a reserve of gold for the same reason today. Gold has value because it is rare and desireable, qualities that it will always have regardless of economics.

      Paper money, on the other hand, only has value so long as everyone agrees it does. The problem is that the Federal Reserve keeps dumping more and more money into the system, reducing the value of every dollar in circulation (a process referred to as inflation). Unlike gold, there is no limit to how much paper money you can print. There have been other periods in history where commodity prices went through the roof due to runaway inflation - read up on what happened in the late 70s / early 80s. Then look at what happened to the gold price during that period, and make your own conclusion as to why gold has traditionally been seen as a shelter against inflation.
  • gryphon50, on 06/29/2008, -0/+10I love the commercials where they want to buy your gold- you just have to put it in a special envelope and mail it in! Yeah right. The U.S. postal service would never lose it, right?
    • zomglolcats, on 06/29/2008, -0/+5I saw a couple of those just last night. Plus, how would you know if you were getting even a fraction of what it is worth? If you REALLY want to get rid of your old jewelry, have it appraised, and sell it for what it is worth.
    • LenBaird, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3Some of them say "sell it to me now before the price plummets." If they really thought the price was going to plummet, would they be running ads and buying as much of it as they can get their hands on?
    • sloppychris, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3http://cockeyed.com/citizen/goldkit/gold_kit.shtml
    • expo1001, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1I got the gold kit yesterday. I'm going to spray paint a brick gold, wrap the prepaid envelope around it, and send it in. They'll owe postage, and I'll have a good laugh.
  • diggthis123, on 06/29/2008, -3/+9We should be back on the gold standard
    • Triskozko, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3Sorry, no.
      http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/Politics/whynotth ...
      • diggthis123, on 06/30/2008, -0/+0You are right actually - the case for the gold standard would crumble our current economy.

        If we continue to use our current fiat currency our economy can continue to boom, grow and we can continually expand like we have since leaving the gold standard. It creates "bubbles", which are talked about daily, but eventually these bubbles will burst. It's because the dollar is fiat currency and has no real backing, so we can continue to buy for nothing basically. What happens when other countries no longer accept our dollar - how do we pay for goods and services? Well if we can't back our dollar with anything tangible, what is our other option? Would force be a viable option?

        (I'm simply asking questions - not trying to be a dick and attack you or anything like that)

        Where I agree with you -> if we are to protect our current economy and country, we have to continue to use these dollars and not switch back to the gold standard because we've become too dependent.
    • angryfirelord, on 06/29/2008, -2/+2We should have never created the Federal Reserve.
      • diggthis123, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2Yeah true - the Founders warned us against a central bank system. They have a monopoly on our money system. The dollar is just paper, it has no intrinsic value - they tell us what it's worth.
      • QuantumBios, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1"WE" didn't. Read "The Creature from Jekyll Island"
  • drudometkin, on 06/29/2008, -3/+1I'm getting ready to by some more when it drops back to the 800's again. We should see a profit taking sell off soon.
    • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1With the increased production of gold, you're better off investing in the Euro.
  • StaticThunder, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2Yes, yes, you great unwashed masses, provide fuel for the next bubble!
  • pstroll, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2"That gold you bought in '04 won't buy you anything more today, except more FRNs"

    That's silly! The cost of labor has not doubled since '04 while price of gold has.
    • bjornski, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1That's not because the value of the gold increased.

      It's because the value of the labor decreased.
    • XanderDee, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Ah yes but the price of everything else that you need as an essential has doubled. :)
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1I know the value of my labor has not doubled since 04, though I AM paying double for gas, medical care and food. Unfortunately in times of inflation wages are one of the LAST areas to see an increase in value.
  • dmbchris, on 06/29/2008, -3/+8Though gold sounds like a sound investment, it is still controlled, to a degree, by large mining companies. They typically sit on large volumes of gold (off the market) waiting to sell at the right time. Gold is not scarce, it has large reserves (unlike copper), and its value will drop just like any other commodity if a mine decides to flood the market with new gold.

    A better commodity to invest in, as I alluded to, would definitely be copper. It is well understood that we have mined 2/3 of the world's copper and no one is finding any more. Just wait 20 years until the mines are exhausted and then people will do crazy things like mining landfills. It is already VERY common for thieves, even in the USA, to steal copper roofs (yes, the roof) from historical buildings and rip out plumbing from construction sites or vacant buildings.
    • molecool, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3Dude, you do not have a clue.... I hope you are not trading.
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1"Gold has large reserves (unlike copper)"...

      Buried for horribly inaccurate and misinformed assertions about the mining industry. Do you seriously believe that copper is more scarce than gold? Also, mining companies do NOT sit on large quantities of mined gold. In fact most have done the exact opposite where they sell futures contracts on unmined reserves to raise capital (for additional equipment, etc.) through a process referred to as "hedging". Many mining companies have taken a hit to their earnings because they "hedged" larged quantities of gold when it got up to the $500-600/oz. level. Now, instead of getting paid today's price of $900/oz they are forced to accept $300 less for every ounce because of these contracts.

      Please do a little research or at least attempt to restrain yourself before spreading nonsense about subjects you know nothing about.
  • mal1964, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3Dollar Low = Gold High
    Dollar High = Gold Low
    In 1979 gold was $850 and silver reached about $50.
    http://www.technicalindicators.com/goldcomments.ht ...
  • RationalXubrnce, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2 Remember, gold was confiscated one time in the past. http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/columns/whirly.htm

    It could happen again. The market is a sure loser though. Even if it goes slightly up it's measured in ever weakening dollars. Things are about to accelerate. Foreign interests just bought the Chrysler building and the Flatiron building in NYC. As other countries start to use their dollar holdings to buy tangible assets in the US that money will enter our domestic economy and cause even more inflation.
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Probably not. This time the problem is global; the U.S. government can only prevent its own citizens from hoarding gold but has no direct power over other countries. And even if they do people will just buy up something else, silver, copper, corn, cocoa puffs, anything that retains its value and dump their rapidly devaluing cash.
  • LenBaird, on 06/29/2008, -3/+6Dugg down to help the price stay where it is at long enough for me to buy more.
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Dugg down for shameless manipulation for personal gain :p
  • Elliuotatar, on 06/29/2008, -3/+3What a load of crap. I just checked Kitco.com and the price of gold is just below $930. It hit $1000 back in march, dropped as low as $850 in May, and is on a very slow climb back up right now. Assuming it continues to climb at this rate, it won't be back at $1000 for a month or two. Let me do the math for you. Buy now, and hope gold hits $1000 in a month, and you stand to potentially make a whopping 7%. That's IF it hits $1000 again. Look at the 10 year graph and tell me you think that the price of gold can continue growing at a much faster than historical rate for much longer.

    It stalled at $1000 for a reason, and that reason clearly is that the price is being driven by speculators. And a lot of speculators bought in when it hit $1000 thinking it was going to go up to $2000 because people who'd alreayd invested were spreading those lies to get more people to invest. Then when it hit $1000, they sold it to the suckers, and the price plumetted. Now there an assload of suckers out there holding onto gold they paid $1000 for, regretting their decision and just waiting for the price to get back up there so they can get out without taking a huge loss.

    Buy gold now at your own peril. You'd have better odds of making a bundle by spending that wad of cash playing blackjack.
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1I remember once upon a time when people were saying that the DOW would never break 1,000 (showing my age here).
  • zomglolcats, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2It's always wise to invest in different things if the market falls, but for people rushing to buy some gold thinking it will save them from disaster, they need a reality check. If things get that bad, no amount of gold is going to help you.
  • Super6, on 06/29/2008, -4/+1I own 4/10 of an oz through the SPDR gold trust. Gold is way easier to buy when done on the NYSE.
    • rromanchuk, on 06/29/2008, -0/+6You don't own any gold unless it's sitting on your lap.
    • logicet, on 06/30/2008, -0/+2I don't find it too hard to type apmex.com and click "Buy".

      Or walk to the coin shop and say "I'll buy that one"

      Unless it's in your hand you don't own any gold or silver.
  • molecool, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2This reporter mentions all the facts, but doesn't see the forest before the trees. It is in fact the Feds that have been suppressing gold futures (a lot of details omitted - go to jsmineset.com) as the precious metal represents competition to the Dollar fiat currency (which Bernanke & Co are busy deflating). FYI: I'm an active trader and have been long/short gold futures and GLD various times in the last few months.
  • jeexbit, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Who runs Barter Town?
  • mrzack, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3Gold could hit 5000 dollars an ounce!!! It sure as hell will hit 1200 by next year. I LUUUUUUVE GOLLLLLLLLD!!!!
  • GruntboyX, on 06/30/2008, -0/+4ok...if you want to hedge against a recession, then ownership is the only real bet. Gold is not the answer, as the market is to easily flooded by a small set of producers. Land is where to go. Not because you can turn it around into currency, but because you can farm it. If you are self sufficient, then you are more resilient to economic woes then the guy who's net worth is nothing because he has financed everything.

    My grandparents rode out the Great depression as farmers. They owned lots of land and farmed it for money and necessities. They ended up surviving the depression and continued on as farmers enjoying the simple life.

    If you own all your possessions then you have nothing to worry about.

    The whole reason we are in this mess is because of poor personal finance management.
  • Tweekster, on 06/30/2008, -0/+0People's attraction to gold is always humorous.

    It is only worth something because it is shiny and pretty to look at.
    Talk about a bunch of idiots iwth ADD

    "ooh shiny things!"
    • tedpark, on 06/30/2008, -0/+2How does the history of gold or silver stack up against the history of fiat currency?
    • richmomz, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1Unfortunately you have just described the human race, which perfectly explains why gold has value.
  • XanderDee, on 06/30/2008, -0/+2Gold is money.
    It has been for 6000 years and will remain as such for another 6000 years. You have lived what 70 years at most and you think you know that money is a piece of paper?

    Let me help you figure this out in 1913 I bury $4000 in FRNs and $4000 in gold coins. At that time I could buy a house with $4000. Now I take that $4000 of FRNs to the bank today can I still buy a house? No? Why not?

    OK one once gold coin in 1913 had a face value of $20 so I would have 200oz of gold. Forget the numismatic value could I buy a home with that gold?

  • Nymphe, on 07/01/2008, -0/+0I prefer silver myself. Far more useful than gold and I predict will rise more percentagewise than gold:

    http://www.silverinstitute.org/

    http://www.kitcosilver.com/

    Don't buy numismatic coins! Those are the ones that can lose value when you go to sell them.
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.