4 ms·
I think the idea is that gold is a universally desired good that can be exchange for money or anything of value in any situation or place. So if you decide to
by rsj_hn 5y ago
I think the idea is that gold is a universally desired good that can be exchange for money or anything of value in any situation or place.
So if you decide to flee the country, five pounds of gold is $150K and can easily be carried in a small backpack. Let's say you keep it in 1 troy oz pieces, so you have 80 of them worth about $1800 each. You can go to any nation on earth, and whatever currency they have, they will be happy to sell it to you for gold. Yes, only in $1800 pieces. That's fine, you can exchange it for whatever local currency is being used as you need it.
You can do this anonymously and privately. You don't need to worry about whether the US dollar has collapsed. Gold does go up and down, but it never goes to zero, and tends to do well in crisis situations and maintain value over the long term. It is not - or shouldn't be viewed as -- an "investment", it's insurance. It costs money.
Moreover even if you do not flee the country, having assets that you possess - true bearer assets -- is superior than assets others hold for you in a custodial account. How secure is your 401K? Secure until congress passes a law to take some of it. How secure is your bank account? It is as secure as someone who can convince the bank to freeze your account or close your account. So having a bit of gold or cash as a type of hedge for unlikely events makes sense to a lot of people.
You have to keep in mind that for a household living in Silesia, between 1880 and 2000, they would have lived through one hyperinflation, two world wars, two revolutions and three uprisings, and four foreign invasions. They would have been ruled by Prussia, Poland, Nazi Germany, Soviet-controlled Poland, finally free Poland. Each of these had their own currency regimes and currency reforms. That household would have been well off having a bit of gold tucked away. They would have been able to trade some of it for food during the Weimar collapse, and to transport some wealth through the dark days of communism -- maybe even bribing someone to let them escape the country with something more useful that worthless zlotys in whichever nation they landed.
- dylan604 5y agoI understand the rational thinking of gold exchanges. You missed the detail about this being confusion on preppers. If the world has gone to shit (nuclear war, zombies, etc), then gold just isn't that useful. If it was silver, you could at least melt it down and kill the vampires with it. You're attempting to use logic in a place where there is none.
- esrauch 5y agoI don't really understand your point; the fact that preppers have gold and gold didn't help against zombies seems easily explainable by preppers not actually preparing for zombies, but instead far more realistic events including short term social unrest.
- NotSammyHagar 5y agoI don't see the value of gold if there is widespread chaos. Like a walking dead scenario, gold and diamonds are almost worthless. Guns, food, medical care is what's worth something in that chaotic environment. Of course we aren't defining the environment here.
- lazide 5y ago1) it’s fun to TALK or THINK about some crazy synthetic situation like a walking dead scenario, but not many folks are really thinking about it literally. 2) it’s a lot less fun to talk or think (and may be dangerous to even try) about more realistic issues - like if you’re on the wrong side of the situation in Bosnia or Rawanda. 3) it’s the same kind of general process though, and some of the same tools can be useful to defend, escape, or repel. And gold and diamonds got a LOT of people out of harms way that otherwise would be dead - at least from the 2 folks I knew that got out of Vietnam with their families when the south fell (and are probably alive today) only because they were able to bribe their way onto the boats using gold.
- elzbardico 5y agoForget about Walking Dead. Nobody prepares for that. It is a strawman. Think Argentine 90's hyper-inflation crisis. Think Venezuela economic colapse. Heck! think Argentina RIGHT NOW.
- mandelbrotwurst 5y agoHyperinflation and concerning political instability worth relocating over can happen without quite reaching the level of a zombie apocalypse.
- lioeters 5y agoGreat example with Silesia. Funny thing about "worthless zlotys" is that "zloty" is the name of a currency, as well as literally meaning "gold". In this historical case, the latter would have certainly been a more stable store of value.