Gold has nothing to back it up?

Discussion in 'Financial Cents' started by ISplatU, Oct 1, 2011.


  1. ISplatU

    ISplatU Monkey+

  2. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    She is quoting someone. Her problem is having no understanding of basic economics. Her editor seems short of the basics, too. Gad.
     
  3. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    gold does have nothing to back it up but peoples silly idea that it has value
    if it all turned to lead what would it be worth?
     
    tulianr likes this.
  4. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    If someone has something you want; gold's value is in their willingness to accept it.
     
    Falcon15, tulianr and VisuTrac like this.
  5. swalt

    swalt Monkey+

    Gold has been, over the centuries, the one TRUE currency. It has value because there is a finite amount of it available, and getting more of it is hard, time consuming, and nearly impossible. The dollar bill on the other hand is as easy to get as the government cranking up the printing presses. So the assertion that gold has nothing to back it up is absurd.
     
    Falcon15 likes this.
  6. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    Anything that some one wants and that they other is willing to accept for it as payment is valuable.

    So if i have a 10 acres of bottomland that i want to sell. I might be willing to take :
    20 bred cows and a bull
    4 draft horses and a wagon
    1500 chickens
    500 ounces of silver
    30 ounces of gold

    Which one are you gonna want to bring over to finalize the transaction?

    Yes you can't eat gold or silver, but it's silly to ignore the fact that for thousands of years, it has been a way to carry value in a compact form.

    gold is money, maybe not for everyone but if I'm conducting business on the other side of the county, Its going to be easier to take PM coin in my pocket than try to convince the farm animals to follow me across the country side.

    Just Sayin'
     
  7. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    and what if the other guy thinks like i do? :p
     
  8. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    then yous gonna be herding a lot of livestock around the county (or big azz sacks of taters)

    food could be gold
    medicine could be gold
    fuel could be gold
    salt could be gold
    gold could be gold
    food could be fuel
    salt could be food.

    They all have value but among agreeable parties. it's all about trade. What are you willing to accept for that venison jerky?

    what happens if you need fuel for your vehicle and the only fella that has any fuel will not accept anything except gold or silver? you are going to have to either take it from him, convince him of the value of your smoked lake trout, or find someone that has silver/gold that needs something that you have to trade.

    I'd not advise taking it as then no one is going to trade with you ever and you are going to be a marked man. But you already knew that.

    I myself would like to have my bases covered by at least having some PMs. Especially for paying property taxes to the county/village as you know they will hardly accept a cow anymore as they already have a few behind the desk.

    [aiw]
     
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  9. shgrunewald

    shgrunewald Monkey+

    Gold is neither directly related to dollar nor to any other currency. It has been used before as one of the trading 'tokens' when there was no money yet. However, gold resources are slowly getting depleted and that affects the global economy quite well.


    Sarah Grunewald
    New Mexico Gold Buyers
     
  10. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    Quote by shgrunewald,"Gold is neither directly related to dollar nor to any other currency. It has been used before as one of the trading 'tokens' when there was no money yet."

    so was salt, wanna trade me an ounce of gold for an ounce of salt?
     
  11. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    not a 1 to 1 ratio.
    typically bulk salt (road salt) has been running between 20 and 40 dollars per ton.

    of course if you can find someone foolish enough to do that deal, go for it!
     
  12. Nadja

    Nadja RIP 3-11-2013 Forum Leader

    Actually, living out here in the high desert, salt MAY be the better trade item. Now don't get all upset with me, but the heat out here is something else and not to be taken lightly. Salt can be the order of the day should one want to stay alive.

    But in reality, I would not have much use for gold or silver, as I would rather barter for tangible items, food, fuel, clothing, weapons, except guns scare me...........
     
  13. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    im with you nadja
    gold has almost no value to me except as filigree on something i forge for decoration
    or as the best conducter for microcircuitry
     
  14. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Sorry, you missed the point entirely. We are saying salt may be worth it's weight in gold dependent upon your need and dependent on the scarcity of an item. Economics 101. Supply versus demand. If I have 100 pounds of salt and I am the only guy with salt within 100 miles, and I have 200 people wanting a pound of salt each, the people who will get that salt will be the ones who can meet my price, be that trade, barter, precious metals, ammo, or whatever.

    Basic economic models that drive the price of every day goods even today.

    Great example: flat screen televisions.

    When they came out they cost a serious amount of money. The components were expensive, the manufacturing process was proprietary, and there were only a few manufacturers that actually made the items. The price was set by demand, and other factors. Now, they are still expensive, granted, but not near what they were in price say 5 years ago. Why? Hundreds of thousands of the flat screens hit the markets when other companies figured out how to make them, the price was driven down through supply side competition.

    If I am the only guy with salt, but I need fuel and all the folks who want my salt have no fuel, but I know a guy who will take gold or silver for fuel, what do you think I will trade my salt for?

    Granted, this is a very basic scenario - but not impossible nor improbable - just one to get the ol' brain working.

    Then there is the other side of the coin. Wealth transition.
    What happens when a society gets back on its feet, economically, after a massive crash? Well, currency - hopefully a stable one - becomes available. Most likely the people who make it through a massive economic crash to hte other side will have all the basics and a way to procure them. What gold and silver do is transition your wealth beyond basics. They give you the ability to trade a hard asset for currency. You may or may not have the same ease with chickens. You start ahead of the game.

    My great grandfathers, grandfathers, and great uncles were able to save a majority of the family wealth through the stock market crash and the Great Depression by selling out of the market, cashing out bank accounts, and holding some cash, purchasing silver and gold, then burying the gold and silver. When the markets stabilized, and the economy started to really boom again, they turned some of those precious metals back into currency. They had nearly every dime they went into the depression with.

    To each his own, YMMV. Just my [2c].
     
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