Thoughts on Gold?

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Nice article, but I am one of those people that is allergic to gold. Can't wear anything plated, high carat value, etc or I break out with a rash. On the other hand, DW has made it clear to me she is NOT allergic to gold, silver, precious stones, etc.

I wouldn't put too much trust in this article. She says that silver is inert. If so, why does it oxidize? And it tarnishes and that is oxidation. So in what sense is it inert?

I don't know anything about colloidal silver, but I do now that silver in various forms has turned more than one person blue for good. Gold is often alloyed with either copper or silver, it is very soft when pure.

Ha

[gcgang]

Gold holdings were a great source of tax losses last year. Continue to swap around various gold stock, GLD-SGOL-IAU efts, trying to maintain position for diversification purposes, holding 5-10% in gold related.

I believe more in gold than I do the schemes of the central bankers. I don't think this QE experiment will end well.

[clifp]

My smart but irresponsible nephew wrote a long email to my sister urging her and my BIL to buy bitcoins to protect their retirement assets.

While reading it and discussing with my sister it occured to me that Gold and Bitcoin arguments are virtually interchangable. Although Bitcoin is much better for doing things anonymously like purchasing drugs, or trying to purchase hits on world leaders like Putin or Obama.

[Ticker]

"I don't know anything about colloidal silver, but I do now that silver in various forms has turned more than one person blue for good."

I had a silver crown for years, never got sick. DW convinced me an enamel one would look nicer, but after replacing the silver one, I seem to catch everything going around.

Next time I need a crown, I'm going to get another silver one.

[Hamlet]

There is certainly a lot of overlap in the people that are interested in the two.

I think the big difference is that gold has been valued by people for thousands of years, so it is extremely unlikely that we will see a time when gold has no value (although I expect further declines from today's prices).

Bitcoin has a decent chance of being completely worthless a decade from now, IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp My smart but irresponsible nephew wrote a long email to my sister urging her and my BIL to buy bitcoins to protect their retirement assets. While reading it and discussing with my sister it occured to me that Gold and Bitcoin arguments are virtually interchangable. Although Bitcoin is much better for doing things anonymously like purchasing drugs, or trying to purchase hits on world leaders like Putin or Obama.

[audreyh1]

My thoughts on gold: you were severely punished for owning it last year!!!

I don't invest in precious metals or commodities. Too wild for me!

[Bestwifeever]

Gold and bit coins are so yesterday:

Quote:

If you couldn’t get behind Bitcoin, the peer-to-peer digital cryptocurrency that’s as volatile as your weird uncle when he’s 3 glasses of gin deep, perhaps Coinye West is more your style. Like Dogecoin, the digital currency stamped with the glorious face of the Internet’s favorite Shibu Inu, the soon to debut Coinye West is piggybacking off of the success of Bitcoin and creating its very own unregulated currency that they hope Kanye himself will get behind.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/01/02/...d-coinye-west/

[Gumby]

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[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby - ... . / -.. .... ---- -. . / -- .- -.-- / -... . / -.. ..- -- -... / -... ..- - / -. --- - / - .... . / ... . -. -.. . .-.

Here's a Morse Code Translator

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Here's a Morse Code Translator

Fixed. I blame any typos on the fact that it is only 58 degrees in my house (furnace is on the fritz)

[MasterBlaster]

A discussion of the merits of gold might also include a discussion of the "'Permanent Portfolio'' and fail safe investing concepts.

This type portfolio attempts to retain and grow value in a troubled world...''No matter what''.

The portfolio consists of equal amounts of equities, bonds, cash, and gold.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fail-Safe_Investing

[CCdaCE]

I ran across this article, what I thought was an interesting intellectual exercise on Bitcoins.

Beware the mania for Bitcoin, the tulip of the 21st century - FT.com

Quote:

Milton Friedman had a simple suggestion, arguing that the money supply should expand at a constant rate. That is a proposal on which someone of Nakamoto’s intellectual agility could no doubt have improved – for example, by increasing the rate of issuance as Bitcoin gained wider currency, or somehow making it sensitive to changing economic conditions. That could have given Bitcoin a chance of success. But Nakamoto chose a different rule. The stock of Bitcoins – which currently stands at roughly 12m – will grow at a predetermined and gradually decreasing rate. Once there are 21m of the electronic tokens, new production will cease altogether.

-CC

[halv45]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Refresher That ounce of gold looks the same but has increased from about $32 to over $1200 in those 40 years.

It was regulated much of that time.

Gold was $1000 in 1980. Now it's $1240, after inflation, it's lost.

[Birdie Num Nums]

Quote:

Originally Posted by halv45 It was regulated much of that time. Gold was $1000 in 1980. Now it's $1240, after inflation, it's lost.

Wasn't that 1980 $1,000/oz level an anomaly (speculation by a handful of manipulators)? I remember it was about $325 in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

[halv45]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birdie Num Nums Wasn't that 1980 $1,000/oz level an anomaly (speculation by a handful of manipulators)? I remember it was about $325 in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

I think you're thinking silver.

What was the run up to $1900 then a few years ago? All I heard was it was because of fundamentals? Then it gets crushed, and it's manipulation?

Here's a pretty good chart of gold vs inflation:
InflationData: Is gold really a hedge?

But, if you're a gold bug, it's like talking religion and politics.

[chicago_meatball]

I had the same buddy who was all over this about 4 or 5 years ago. Started putting everything he had in gold and created a nice stock pile for himself. The old problem he became so consume at the thought of having gold, now he can't part with it. At the peak, he may have tripled up in around 18 months to 2 years time. Now he is looking at a nice 12-15% gain over the course of time. And come more years he will likely be looking at break even or a loss while the market may have appreciated in that time.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birdie Num Nums Wasn't that 1980 $1,000/oz level an anomaly (speculation by a handful of manipulators)? I remember it was about $325 in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

Gold always has people who are strongly negative, as well as gold bugs as do many other investments or investment styles that work well at some but not all times.

Nothing works well at all times, so from my POV something that works well sometimes is worth keeping in mind.

In another thread an investor remarked that the equity allocation that varies with PE10 would have kept him out of the late 90s blow-off, so he rejected its worth. So will any value based, conservative strategy. The late 90s were made for trend followers, tip followers and very inexperienced investors. Nothing always works, or is always a good investment. This could not happen in competitive markets. Staying on in frothy markets is like the children's game of musical chairs. But you do have to quit playing before it all comes tumbling down, which it seems always to do. High tension and very difficult to do.

Ha

[daylatedollarshort]

We don't buy gold. We have panned for it. This year we'll probably upgrade to a sluice box.

We've never found an amount of gold worth more than we've spent in gas to get to the river, but there's always a first time.

[SteveL]

When gold was above $1600, I was counting on my six gold fillings to pay for my ultimate cremation....hoping to make a deal with the undertaker. Now that gold is down to the $1200 range, I'm not sure that will work.

[obgyn65]

I would not buy any gold. Too speculative in my view.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CorporateSoldier Thinking of putting maybe 50k into gold to diversify a bit. Wondering if I should wait to see if the price gets closer to $1000 an ounce. A lot of folks predicting gold prices will continue to drop for the next few months. Thoughts o wise ones?