patrick.net

Dan8267 says

Had a person bought gold in 1979, he would have been financially wrecked. Today's gold bubble is far greater.

No he wouldn't. Today's pricer is more than double that of 1979. With gold, you just hold it, and you will break even, eventually. With the dollar, you are guaranteed to lose. Also, when you sell your gold, you are actually, buying back your dollars. Why would anybody want to sell the only true store of value, and buy worthless piece of paper, with ink printed on it, backed by nothing but debt and the lying politicians who rule our untrustworthy gov't.

Dan8267 says

doesn't mean the market price of gold doesn't fluctuate wildly.

By market price, you should be meaning the paper price of gold.

Sure of course it fluctuates, because gold truly does not float. Gold futures (a lot more than available physical), gold backed derivatives, metal leasing/lending -- all of these lead to price fluctuations on the physical. Nevertheless, I think because of all this paper trading (a lot more volume than the actual physical), time to time-- there's significant discount on spot price.

Consider: http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-is-spot-price-of-gold-and-silver.html

Dan8267 says

I have yet to see any offer in writing that guarantees that I will not lose money if I purchase gold today.

I think the capital gains tax of 28% is extremely punitive and I agree it doesn't make it worthwhile when measured in dollar terms . But the reality that you should consider is that the tail risk for bad outcomes are quite high now.

Dan8267 says

doesn't mean you can't incur massive losses during periods of rampant speculation.

I agree average investors cannot make a ten bagger with gold. But that's not the point of gold though. If you think of it like that, you are losing the plot ....

REpro says

With the same reason every woman prefers a ring with a diamond in the center instead of soy bean.

Of course!

After all, value does not exist outside mankind's consciousness.

Gold only goes up. Just like Real Estate.

Mpgph! Just being reminded of that author and his series of books makes me sick.

Retail investors = momentum chasing idiots.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/03/06/biggest-problem-for-gold-and-silver-doomsday-never-comes/

dunnross says

Today's pricer is more than double that of 1979. With gold, you just hold it, and you will break even, eventually. With the dollar, you are guaranteed to lose.

Where have I heard that before. Oh yeah:

Today's price is more than double that of 1979. With housing, you just hold it, and you will break even, eventually. With the dollar, you are guaranteed to lose.

Actually, if you look at housing, it has risen more than gold from the 1979 peak. And we all know what a bad deal housing can be.

dunnross says

Why would anybody want to sell the only true store of value, and buy worthless piece of paper, with ink printed on it, backed by nothing but debt and the lying politicians who rule our untrustworthy gov't.

The point is, gold isn't a constant store of value. If only it were. No one here is arguing that our fiat currency doesn't suck the sweat off a dead man's balls or that our fiat currency doesn't lose damn significant value over a decade. That's NOT the point.

The point is that gold does fluctuate wildly in its purchasing power, a point well proven back in the 19th century, again in the 1970s, and yet again today. Compare the number of gallons of milk you could buy in 2000 with an ounce of gold to the number of gallons of milk you could buy today with the same ounce of gold. You get a lot more milk today. Sounds like buying gold is a good idea, right? WRONG!

It is exactly because you get more milk per gold ounce today that makes buying gold today risky and makes gold a lousy store of value. A good store of value neither goes up nor down in its aggregated purchasing power. Gold has gone way, way up in its purchasing power. Getting in on the gold rush today is like being a peak housing buyer. Anything that can as quickly and as dramatically increase in purchasing power can also as quickly and dramatically decrease in purchasing power. What goes up, can and does come down.

Gold has been an excellent financial move in the past ten years, but that doesn't mean it is an excellent move now. Furthermore, if we're talking about wealth preservation rather than speculation, gold is bad, bad, bad. As I wealth preserver, I don't give a rat's bottom if I have a 70% chance of doubling my purchasing power, but I do care deeply about the 30% chance of losing 50% of my purchasing power. And no one will ever give a written guarantee, backed with insurance, that a portfolio of gold won't decrease in purchasing power. And for good reason: we all know that someday the gold bubble will pop. We have no idea when, but it is a matter of when not if.

Cash, as crappy as it is, at least is a far less risky short-term store of value. Yeah, I get hit hard with the inflation tax, but I'm not going to risk my life savings trying to time the gold market. All it would take is one major player to sell off all its gold and short the gold market to cause a massive stampede out of gold. It makes no sense for me to risk being caught by this stampede when I plan to spend my savings within the next few years.

uomo_senza_nome says

Dan8267 says
doesn't mean the market price of gold doesn't fluctuate wildly.

By market price, you should be meaning the paper price of gold.

Nope, I don't care about the price of gold in U.S. dollars. I care about the price of gold in milk, wheat, Ferraris, Caribbean cruises, hours of maid service, and other relatively stable commodities/services. And gold has increased greatly priced in these measurements, which means it can also decrease greatly priced in these measurements.

uomo_senza_nome says

Nevertheless, I think because of all this paper trading (a lot more volume than the actual physical), time to time-- there's significant discount on spot price.

Maybe there is, but I'm not a speculator and I don't want to try to time the gold market. There be sharks in those waters who knowledge of the gold market and players far exceeds my own and that get information far quicker than I do. Gold: good for speculators and day traders, bad for savers.

uomo_senza_nome says

Of course!

After all, value does not exist outside mankind's consciousness.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but we all have the same eyes.

You can say beauty (value of appearance) does not exist outside of mankind's consciousness, but that appraisal is based on things that most certainly do exist outside of mankind's consciousness and can be objectively measured.

uomo_senza_nome says

Retail investors = momentum chasing idiots.

I'm afraid that a lot of people getting in the gold market today are chasing momentum as well.

Dan8267 says

I'm afraid that a lot of people getting in the gold market today are chasing momentum as well.

Gold's popular phase is just getting started. The NASDAQ bubble took the index up 60 times between 1975 & 2000. The Housing bubble exploded over 17 times between 1975 and 2005. Gold's last bubble of 1970's took the gold prices up 35 times since late 60's. All these numbers dwarf the current gold bull market, which is only up 6 times in the last 11 years. Also, most people in developed countries still don't own any gold. When these people start to speculate in the gold market, like they did in the NASDAQ and the housing market, gold will see another 5-6 times gain from the current levels.

uomo_senza_nome says

TPB says

Then Gold is over inflated that's no secret.

Is gold over inflated or is the dollar's credibility inflated ?

It's entirely possible that gold is over inflated in relation to the dollar right now, but when the governments needs to start printing lots of money to cover it's inability to live within it's means, let alone pay off the debts from previous years of budget short falls people will look back and kick themselves for not buying at the unbelievably cheap price it's at right now. The recent downgrade on America's AAA rating is only the first sign investors are getting fed up (and starting to fear) the Federal governemnt will never repay there debts.

So yes gold prices could very well collapse in a year, but in 10 years, gold will be ten times what it's at today. The day of hyperinflation is rapidly approaching.

She might not look like much, but I bet she sure could bop on your scmeckle.

TechGromit says

So yes gold prices could very well collapse in a year, but in 10 years, gold will be ten times what it's at today. The day of hyperinflation is rapidly approaching.

That belief is already "priced in."

TechGromit says

The day of hyperinflation is rapidly approaching.

The only FED can decide if this has financial sense for them.

dunnross says

Gold's popular phase is just getting started.

Then it should be damn cheap to get insurance to cover losses on gold speculation. I'm willing to give up 10% of my real profits in gold speculation in exchange for a guarantee that I will take no real loses. Go find me an insurance company that will sign this deal and back it up with adequate cash reserves.

Here, you want a rundown on what the United States is facing:

http://tinyurl.com/3uuvulg

If Patrick doesn't allow you to see it, it's to your own detriment.

You see, this time it's not different. All fiat currencies go to zero. In 1850, $20 was a lot of money, a lot of money. That was a little less than 1 ounce of gold.

You can compare purchasing price of gold with anything: Silver, McMansion, Big Macs or Coffee Beans. Gold is overpriced. Am I buying gold? Hell yeah!

Gold is high because people are worried big time! If, by some divine intervention, economic problems go away overnight, Gold will surely drop like a rock. Until our economic worries go away, I'll dedicate a small part of my savings to gold.

Dan8267 says

Go find me an insurance company that will sign this deal and back it up with adequate cash reserves.

Your insurance is called - "put options". You can buy put options on GLD.

Dan8267,

How many people do you know who own Gold?? How many people owned nasdaq and real estate when we hit bubble levels??

The "Peter Schiff Factor" is already priced into the gold market. People are buying gold based on fear. Want proof? Gold is advertized on right-wing web sites and certain AM radio shows.

Gold will eventually mean-revert.

How we can be so sure that by buying gold certificates is real gold behind? The same people control gold supply as money supply. If money can be created from a thin air so as gold. Nobody really have access to see it or have gold bars shipped to his home.

bgamall4 says

Not so sure. When they get worried, like when stocks tank, gold sells off.

Sometimes it moves opposite of the stock market. Other times, Gold drops when stocks drop. I suppose it depends on the nature of the news that triggers the rise or drop. Worries about the broad economy make people buy gold.

Gold chart for the year 2011.

Dow Jones 2011.

Gold moves opposite of stocks from August to September as the U.S. lost AAA rating. Similar movements in November due to EU drama. At the end of the year, stocks were moving up while gold was moving down. Comparing the beginning of the year to the end, both gold and stocks are up.