Upon reading the title many would assume I am referring to the great Californian gold rush that began in 1848. The one that helped develop the west and made some otherwise ordinary men incredibly wealthy. In fact, wealthier beyond even their wildest dreams. The good ole “Forty-niners as they later came to be known, really paved the way. Just think about that part of the country in the context of “before and after”. I mean it’s hard for us to even imagine the growth, commerce and expansion that ensued during this time in history. New cities, new industries, the railroads, one could go on and on.
No my friends, I am referring to something much less grandiose. Something that pales in comparison yet I find myself interested in it nevertheless. I am referring to those of us that are out there today buying gold. Not those that are making it part of their portfolio, buying gold stocks simply to diversify because it is (and has always been) a good investment. No, I am referring to the folks that are buying physical gold thinking this will be a good thing to own if all goes to heck and money becomes worthless. This is where I get confused and require guidance from others who see something that I am obviously missing.
My father, Harold Lang (God bless him) used to say. “this whole world is going to hell and soon the only things that will have any value are canned goods and bullets”. Now mind you he was saying this back in the early sixties when I was a small child and had no earthly idea of what the heck he was saying or what he meant. However I do remember it well and now as an adult living in these times it rings true and makes more sense to me than ever before. But if this were true, wouldn’t physical gold be worthless also? I mean are you really going to give up your last can of beans for a lousy hunk of metal that at the time of this writing was valued at $1521.00 per ounce? Well I can tell you what Harry would have told you. He would very simply say “ take that hunk of metal and shove it up your poop”.
Now my sister Dianne and I both hearing dad spout his words of wisdom have different points of view on this subject. Dianne chooses to dabble with these purchases along with canned goods and bullets, while I only buy and stock up on the latter two. Just a little tidbit to help put this in perspective. The Dutch used to place such a high value on Tulip’s that one might trade a cow or a hog for one single bulb. Tulip’s were a great sign of wealth back then to them. Today this seems silly and frankly is laughable to us. But how different are gold and diamonds? Are they not just today’s Tulip’s?
Thank you and God bless.
One quick reflection from the sister: Tulips were valued by the Dutch for a brief period of time. Gold is valued by the world and has passed the test of time. While it is correct to observe that it is merely a metal and only human opinion gives it its value, the opinion is there. And as a referral to past historical events, the Jews who escaped from Europe did so by handing over gold, not by handing over beans. :)
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with your point on gold standing the test of time, I wonder what happens when time runs out? Your example of the Jews using gold to help them escape is very interesting and quite poignant but not necessarily a fair analogy. The world around them as a whole was not collapsing, just their world. Early in the war, Europeans and particularly Germans were still living so called “normal” lives. The Jews could just have easily (maybe more easily) used cash to escape if all their assets had not been seized. Paper money still had value.
ReplyDeleteActually, at that point in time, due to reparations due from WWI , agreed to at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, hyper inflation had caused the German currency to be virtually worthless (like we could be headed for here). All of their other valuables were, quite possibly, being confiscated. It as their gold and jewelry that was most easily hidden for future barter. Now the countries SURROUNDING them still had currency of value. I guess the next question would be that if the American dollar became worthless, what effect this would have on world currency.
ReplyDeleteClearly bartering increases as any society and it’s economy declines. A bottle of shampoo may be worth even more than an ounce of gold under the right (meaning horribly wrong) circumstances. But what are all these scared little people bartering for? I say, it is that now infamous “can of beans”.
ReplyDelete#1 I am now trying this from my home computer.
ReplyDelete#2 I won't write long, in case I can't get this to work either.
#3 Believe me, you and I are mostly on the same page. I would have 90% food and the rest in bullets and gold because as you say, you can't eat bullets OR gold.
Yippee! NOW we're blogging!
ReplyDeleteI have a friend right now who wants to get a trio of investors to start buying foreclosed homes and flipping. Personally, I just can't see it yet.
Houses are still dropping here. I cannot beLIEVE that Obama is still teflon to the main stream media. What a loser!