With the world seemingly in such a financial pickle, makes you wonder just who would be buying it anyway. And with what!

It is quite impossible on these pages to debate the qualities of gold as a medium of exchange or value. It has been used as money for the last 5000 years and it is basically a store of wealth, An ounce of gold still buys approximately what it has bought for the last several hundred years, which is more than can be said for any of the fiat currencies which eventually lose all of their value. The US dollar has lost about 92% of it value in the last 100 years. (inflation)

Gold has a number of qualities that make it ideal money and is purchased as an insurance policy

Durability
Fungibility
consistency
possesses value
limited in quantity
has a long history of acceptance

Ask yourself the question why so many countries and central banks buy it. Why China and Russia to name just two countries are trying to accumulate as much of it as they can and have banned all exports.

Gold is accepted as money everywhere in the world because most appreciate it's qualities and use it as an insurance policy. Nixon took the world off the partial gold standard in 1971 because too many countries were exchanging dollars for gold and the US was losing its gold because the dollar was backed by it

I suggest that if you want to study the subject of bullion as money, a good start would be Gold & Silver by Michael Maloney. It's one of the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" series

The one problem now is the manipulation of gold and silver by the likes of JP Morgan and HSBC in the derivatives market where futures contracts amounting to the total annual production of silver, for instance, is bought and sold on a daily basis with absolutely no chance of actually delivery. The US is terrified of losing its Reserve Currency status to any alternative and aids and abets this…… As I said , it's a whole subject on its own and affects the whole global financial system and cannot be discussed in a few paragraphs.

We have been told that gold is only sold on paper. So are you going to find your own.

Dear rehctub,

A currency only has value because we,
as a society decide that it does.

There is a question over gold being held by central banks.
Example Germany asked to audit its gold holdings at the US Treasury.
They were refused access.

Venezuela took delivery of their gold because they were doubtful of its
existance. I saw it paraded down their main street, but was it actually
exhibited ?

Austria has just asked the Bank of England to audit their gold holdings.
It will be interesting to see if they get access.

Some say there is next to no gold physically in the vaults.

http://usawatchdog.com/u-s-gold-holdings-close-to-zero-rob-kirby/

Obviously, I don't have a clue but seems that some are starting to raise the question.

Hi 579

I'm not sure what point you are making. You could swap silver for gold… There would be a premium of course, but yes we use fiat money to buy gold. Little else I fear although Iran has been selling oil to Turkey for gold to avoid sanctions and then using the gold to import goods. Forbes reports that China is doing the same with gold. There is no problem with buying gold here from the Perth Mint if you feel inclined…… With paper money of course at the moment. Gold may be confiscated as it was in the US by FDR in 1933….. Many things may be undertaken by governments. I do know that a number of countries around the world are worried that their gold might have been leased out or hypothecated, as has been suggested on this blog, because they are unable to get it returned. The Federal reserve refuse to have their gold audited. I wonder why. It was last done in the 50s even though Ron Paul asked for it to be done again in the Senate. The banks have enormous power in the United States and of course are "too big to fail"

Utah has made gold legal tender in the USA as has Arizona and Oklahoma is putting a bill before parliament to do so. The University of Texas invested one billion dollars of its endowment fund in gold recently. The US constitution states ..“No State shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of any debt".

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