Why is gold so highly valued all over the world and throughout history? What satisfaction do people get from this ridiculously expensive metal?
The main usage of gold is in jewelry but is it really worth spending such insane amount just to decorate your body? After all it is just a shiny, ductile and non-reactive metal. Do these properties justify its rates?
Isn't there a positive feedback loop in Gold's valuation i.e. more people want it so it's value goes up and since it's value goes up even more people want it and the cycles goes on?
Gold has been a great commodity for a very long time. It has been used in general exchange as a currency, minted into coins, or simply traded by weighted nuggets. It all depended on what time period a person happened to find themselves.
Today, it is still a very popular safe haven for wealth. The jump in price is directly connected to the recession that hit many developed (and developing) countries over the past few years.
Why is it so precious and valuable?
The basis for its precious nature is found in nature itself. Gold is a fairly difficult but not impossible resource to find. That allows it to have value. Gold is about as liquid as any other currency would be since it is desired in a majority of the countries around the world. It is easy to store, easy to transport, and is very useful in many modern applications. The simple answer is that gold is the appropriate precious metal for the job that will not deteriorate, disintegrate, or cause potential safety issues for the owner.
The most relevant is probably in electronics as gold is one of the best conductors out there. Gold is often used in precision electronics for this reason.
For a long time, currency was backed by gold (the gold standard). President Nixon kicked off the move away from that standard by withdrawing the United States from the standard to help pay down debts. This event is largely seen as the starting point for floating currencies and a foreign currency exchange market.
Traders, governments, investors all head to safe havens when the economic climate starts to experience turmoil. For a long time, the United States Dollar was considered the premiere safe haven currency because it did not experience severe price movements when problems arose. Other currencies, particularly the Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc, are also gaining in popularity as a safe haven. Gold and silver are both commodities that participants put their money into for protection as a safe haven in addition to general investors.
The gaining of gold value can be directly tied to a weakening dollar and an economy that has not quite turned the corner on making a rebound.
The main usage of gold is in jewelry but is it really worth spending such insane amount just to decorate your body? After all it is just a shiny, ductile and non-reactive metal. Do these properties justify its rates?
Isn't there a positive feedback loop in Gold's valuation i.e. more people want it so it's value goes up and since it's value goes up even more people want it and the cycles goes on?
Gold has been a great commodity for a very long time. It has been used in general exchange as a currency, minted into coins, or simply traded by weighted nuggets. It all depended on what time period a person happened to find themselves.
Today, it is still a very popular safe haven for wealth. The jump in price is directly connected to the recession that hit many developed (and developing) countries over the past few years.
Why is it so precious and valuable?
The basis for its precious nature is found in nature itself. Gold is a fairly difficult but not impossible resource to find. That allows it to have value. Gold is about as liquid as any other currency would be since it is desired in a majority of the countries around the world. It is easy to store, easy to transport, and is very useful in many modern applications. The simple answer is that gold is the appropriate precious metal for the job that will not deteriorate, disintegrate, or cause potential safety issues for the owner.
The most relevant is probably in electronics as gold is one of the best conductors out there. Gold is often used in precision electronics for this reason.
For a long time, currency was backed by gold (the gold standard). President Nixon kicked off the move away from that standard by withdrawing the United States from the standard to help pay down debts. This event is largely seen as the starting point for floating currencies and a foreign currency exchange market.
Traders, governments, investors all head to safe havens when the economic climate starts to experience turmoil. For a long time, the United States Dollar was considered the premiere safe haven currency because it did not experience severe price movements when problems arose. Other currencies, particularly the Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc, are also gaining in popularity as a safe haven. Gold and silver are both commodities that participants put their money into for protection as a safe haven in addition to general investors.
The gaining of gold value can be directly tied to a weakening dollar and an economy that has not quite turned the corner on making a rebound.
- It is extremely dense. Meaning it is easier to carry & handle than a sack of rice or a barrel of oil. In fact, anybody could put their entire family's wealth in a small bag and carry away (in times of crisis, disaster or migration).
- It is quite inert and doesn't corrode. Meaning it doesn't lose value. Thus, generations could hand over their gold to their next ones. Can you do that with paper or iron? Can your grandma give her savings in some crumbled notes to you (that her great grandmother gave)? Unless you are a philatelist or history students, those notes will have no worth to you.
- It is very easy to test purity anywhere in the world at almost zero cost. How easy is it to test a foreign counterfeit note? How easy is it to value land or diamonds?
- The supply of gold is stable across centuries. Very unlikely to produce new mines any time soon. How easy is to print currency & debase value? How likely is to find a newer mine for another metal? No government can cheekily steal your saving's value by increasing production.
- Gold has only one grade and thus single pricing. Meaning it is very liquid. If you were to trade in diamonds or oil, you have to deal with myriad range of grades & quality. Can you get the same value for your diamond ring if you were to sell it now at the price you bought it?
- Gold is recognized all over the world. This means flexibility and trust. No other material is this recognized across the world. Will your Yuans or Rupees or Reals work this way?
- Unlike silver or platinum, gold has very little industrial use (only about 100t annually is used in industries such as semiconductors). Thus, you are not taking away a valuable industrial commodity for trading
