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1. Gold is great but the post ya’ll had about the $20 piece from 1850 being worth$1830 today is very misleading. Annualized evenly that return is 2.38% average year over year. People who bought and held beginning in 1975’ish forward have a real rate of return (beginning of outrageous gov’t spending). 1850-1974 prices are essentially flat and a loss when weighted against inflation.

   Not bashing, just say’n. 😉

   1. Take a $1 bill out of your pocket and stare at it really hard…it won’t ever be more than $1 (it has no yield), and gold is no different. To produce any kind of interest on a $1 bill you must give it to the bank, and then you take on the risk of fractional reserve lending, businesses unable to accept credit cards during disasters, bank failures, etc.

      You are right, nobody is gonna get filthy rich off of gold, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a small portion (5% of investible assets?) to hedge against trouble.

2. Cash….I’ve been having difficulty lately with stores accepting $50 and $100 bills due to forgery problems. Supposedly these bills will pass the ink test.

   1. I never use anything larger than a twenty.
      Might take up a little more room in the wallet but at least the stores will accept them without question.

3. On precious metals vs-a-vie fiat currency:

   Paper money in the end is basically just toilet paper or kindling. Precious metals will always, always have value. It has been so for at least 5000 years. Nothing has changed. If the worst happens, there will be someone who will always accept precious metals in trade for goods. That will be in preparation for a time in the future when a new currency based on precious metals replaces fiat money. Until that time, use your fiat currency wisely while it still has its imaginary value.

   In the end, paper is just that, paper.

   1. Read Ferfal on the siege in Yugoslavia. After a few weeks, only gang leaders (who had soldiers to protect their assets) would take precious metals, and even so, only at a huge discount. People would only accept usable or edible items to barter. A lighter was worth more than a gold coin.

      A water purifier (which no one had) would have been incredibly valuable.

      If I remember the book, he lost a family member to bad water.

4. I was in Cambodia recently. Dollars are the medium of exchange with the local currency regulated to being given as small change.
   Do be beware that dollars have to be perfect. Even slightly worn bills or a bill having a small tear of a quarter inch in one edge will cause banks and shops to reject it.

5. All paper- bills, checks, bonds, stocks, equities, and all contracts denominated in units of fiat currency are merely IOUs, and are only as good as the person or entity who promises to pay.
   If they refuse payment of goods or services for their IOU, you are OUT the amount of the IOU.
   If the government says that green money is obsolete and this new red money is the new legal tender, all your cash is no good. If a company defaults on its bonds, you are OUT. If the bank refuses to honor a check, you are OUT. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
   The only REAL acceptable payment is tangible assets- gold, silver, diamonds, land, food, ammo, etc. . Can you convert your sweat, mental labor, or payments owed to you to these ?
   EVERYTHING ELSE is an IOU and relies on someone”s honoring their obligation.

6. Regarding gold not “going up” much in value since 1850, until 1971 we were on a de facto gold standard. Gold served its purpose as being money during this time. Most of the inflation has happened since 1971 when gold was officially $42/oz. If you bought gold in 1976 when it was legal to do so again, you would have done very well.

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