Thoughts on Gold?

[brewer12345]

When you put those gold coins in your hand - it just feels like you have real money. I cant quite describe it. Much different than paper bills or figures in an account statement.

I feel similar about being in the woods with a rifle or shotgun in hand and a hunting license in my back pocket. Different strokes.

 

[Animorph]

Kind of like Beanie Babies or condos to me. Can't eat it either. Great as long as someone else wants it.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

Kind of like Beanie Babies or condos to me. Can't eat it either. Great as long as someone else wants it.

And gold has been wanted by people for how long?

 

[aja8888]

Kind of like Beanie Babies or condos to me. Can't eat it either. Great as long as someone else wants it.

I guess diamonds and other precious stones are like that too? Oh, stock certificates are in that arena also.

 

[Refresher]

And gold has been wanted by people for how long?

only a few thousand years, just a fad I guess

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

As the sentiment of the posts on this thread suggests, the shoeshine boy apparently isn't getting into precious metals these days. (Remember when he was buying to-be-built Miami condos sight-unseen back in 2006, with the "20% down" being a 2nd mortgage?)

 

[prototype]

I bought 20 1oz Eagles in 2003 and some silver (have about 200oz total including my 90% and 40% silver percent coins collected as a kid ( silver % factored in to go with straight meltdown value) when prices were low. All bought in in less that $5K purchase to keep it off the books so to speak. Glad I did, wish I had bought a little more at that time.

Staying away from it now. Haven't bought or sold any since. I have no PM paper/funds. Just letting what I have ride with no near term plan to buy/sell. It is a only couple of percent my portfolio (obviously less of a % now that at the beginning of the 2013). If gold/silver somehow drops back to $500's/~$12 may reconsider a purchasing. If it somehow goes up to the $2000+/$45 range in the near term, may consider selling.

Since it is not a significant % of my portfolio, I tend not to pay as much attention to it as I probably should.

 

[Hamlet]

Stocks are different. I don't need someone else to want my stocks for them to have value to me. The dividends come regardless of whether anyone wants to buy my stocks.

I guess diamonds and other precious stones are like that too? Oh, stock certificates are in that arena also.

 

[aja8888]

Stocks are different. I don't need someone else to want my stocks for them to have value to me. The dividends come regardless of whether anyone wants to buy my stocks.

IF they pay dividends.....but you can eat a stock certificate...so I guess I was partly wrong.

 

[Fermion]

Dividends can always be cut. Also, some big stocks like BRK don't even pay dividends.

 

[Hamlet]

I wasn't saying that stocks were risk free, just that they have some value independent of having someone else willing to buy them.

If you buy an ounce of gold, 40 years from now you will still have an ounce of gold and nothing more.

If you buy an income producing asset, you are likely to have quite a bit more than you started with in 40 years, if things go reasonably well.

That is a fundamental difference between gold and stocks as an investment.

Dividends can always be cut. Also, some big stocks like BRK don't even pay dividends.

 

[Refresher]

I wasn't saying that stocks were risk free, just that they have some value independent of having someone else willing to buy them. If you buy an ounce of gold, 40 years from now you will still have an ounce of gold and nothing more. If you buy an income producing asset, you are likely to have quite a bit more than you started with in 40 years, if things go reasonably well. That is a fundamental difference between gold and stocks as an investment.

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

 

[M Paquette]

If I went long on gold, with my luck, next year someone would announce cheap nucleosynthesis, or Planetary Resources would announce the scheduled delivery of 10 million tons of gold FOB low Earth orbit.

It's a commodity useful as a fluctuating store of value. Doesn't pay dividends or interest, or expand its market and grow.

 

[aja8888]

If I went long on gold, with my luck, next year someone would announce cheap nucleosynthesis, or Planetary Resources would announce the scheduled delivery of 10 million tons of gold FOB low Earth orbit.

It's a commodity useful as a fluctuating store of value. Doesn't pay dividends or interest, or expand its market and grow.

My wife likes gold, diamonds too.

 

[MRG]

My wife likes gold, diamonds too.

Probably the best personal investment ever.
MRG

 

[Fermion]

It's a commodity useful as a fluctuating store of value. Doesn't pay dividends or interest, or expand its market and grow.

I bought a bond fund a year ago and it paid me a negative 0.8% return for 2013.

 

[seraphim]

I tend to avoid gold - a bit too speculative for my taste. I, too, had someone trying to talk me into gold a few years back, spouting how much prices had risen. I tried to explain that meant he had already missed the boat, and should doing the opposite of what the lemmings were doing, but...

 

[CorporateSoldier]

Wow. Feedback all over the place with this one.

Maybe I will dabble a bit and see how it goes.

 

[Chuckanut]

If one is worried about economic Armageddon, then I suggest storing non perishable food. You will be able to trade it for all the gold you want.

 

[sengsational]

If one is worried about economic Armageddon, then I suggest storing non perishable food. You will be able to trade it for all the gold you want.

I think maybe booze would be better. It actually appreciates with age, and I don't care what's going on in the world...there will always be a large demand for booze.

 

[Free bird]

I've been dreaming of doubloons & treasure hunting since I've started reading debate er discussion. I've got the urge to watch Goldfinger.

 

[MRG]

Or silver (physical), for other uses.
MRG

 

[Gumby]

I think maybe booze would be better. It actually appreciates with age, and I don't care what's going on in the world...there will always be a large demand for booze.

I have always thought that the best commodities to have as trade goods in the event of the apocalypse would be canned food, ammunition, antibiotics, alcohol and cigarettes. Wouldn't have much use for physical gold.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

I have always thought that the best commodities to have as trade goods in the event of the apocalypse would be canned food, ammunition, antibiotics, alcohol and cigarettes. Wouldn't have much use for physical gold.

Oh, but you could carry relatively easily to wherever, or bury for future use (without fear of deterioration), many thousands of dollars worth of gold--which has been a means of financial transactions/trading since forever.

Try that with many thousands of dollars worth of canned food, ammunition, antibiotics, alcohol and cigarettes.

 

[Fermion]

Wife's grandparents would have died at the Russian border right after WWII while trying to flee to allied occupied Germany if they had not carried a significant amount of gold and silver for bribes. Ammunition would have been near useless, but perhaps booze would have worked. Quite a bit heavier to carry a persuadable amount though.