pstarr wrote:Gold is actually quite reasonably priced, has mostly followed inflation. Sounds like a nice conservative investment. Unlike the crap holding up our rentier capitalistic economy
So what would you rather have when the SHTF. A little stockpile of gold or a $105.4 million Andy Warhol soup can? You could probably grab a third rate Leonardo for $500 million tomorrow. Or have built another $200 million 30,000 sq. ft. McMansion.
KJ, you of anyone here understand the valuelessness of what we have created. Why not gold? When all the stupid money try to flood out of the various bubble markets, gold will looks pretty sweet in comparison. Read Martenson, compare asset prices to GDP. Forget about your preconceptions.
KJ, above, said;
"Just saying .... the idea with metals is to buy low and sell high, just as with stocks and commodities."Precious metals are more than that, especially if you have physical possession. Whatever their value, they can't go POOF overnight. Gold and silver are seen as a hedge by most doom oriented investors, as was the case for me in the early 2000s. Made a killing about 8-10 years later. Helped pay off what remained of a small mortgage at a time folks we knew were losing their homes, or struggling greatly with up-side-down mortgages. Silver went from the $5 range to near $40 at the same time most stocks were tanking.
Nothing wrong with gambling on a little insurance. Most investments carry some risk. If everything tanks, even precious metals, at least you have some pretty coins to play with. Stocks? All you'll have is a statement showing your net worth has gone POOF.
My first/best investment was our property with arable acreage, good water, good climate, good neighbors, in an area that isn't over-populated. I'm betting that our county tax people would accept precious metals for taxes when other fiat assets go poof!
Gold and silver are about the only non-consumable asset that has gone UP in Venezuela over the last 5 years, unless one owned foreign stocks, which I doubt many regular folks there do.
I saw Warren Buffet this morning on "Sunday Morning". He said that people who are focused primarily on accumulating paper wealth are basically fools. "Your wealth can be determined by how many people love you". Little else.