lundi 6 janvier 2014

The Many Sides Of Gold In Our Lives And Society

By Andrew Block


Humans have cherished gold more than any other precious metal throughout history. For centuries it was used as legal tender and it backed legal tender in the United States. Gold adorned kings, pharaohs and in recent years became a sign of opulence among the world's very wealthy as they coated cars and weapons with the expensive metal. Human beings have been attracted to gold throughout the ages and this trend shows no sign of stopping any time in the near future.

When times get tough economically, banks, countries and wealthy individuals often turn to gold to preserve their riches. Gold gives people and societies the security of knowing that no matter what happens in the world, they will still be wealthy. While money in the bank can suddenly become worthless in times of trouble, gold in the hand will always be able to buy you the things you need to survive and live the life you have grown accustomed to. People might think that we're crazy to think this way or prepare for something that might never happen but it's often better to be safe than sorry. There are many countries where after a war their currency becomes as worthy as the paper its printed on. It is the wise investor who is prepared and the savvy person who is realistic about the future possibilities and invests at least a portion of his savings in a material that will hold its value as well as be liquid enough to turn into money no matter where he is in the world.

There are some that feel that gold simply lacks the liquidity that other investments have. Stocks can be sold quickly and money in a savings account can be withdrawn easily. Owning gold is probably difficult to turn into spendable cash, right? Actually, precious metals are very liquid and it is possible to exchange gold for currency in many countries. You would simply walk into a bank with your gold and ask for it to be exchanged for money. Selling your gold back to the source of your investment or another investor is also an option and this is often the route that most owners go when they decided to liquidate their portfolio or a portion of their investment. Gold is actually more liquid that many other investment vehicles.

Take real estate or collectibles such as antiques or cars, for instance. While a home is a great way to invest your money while reaping the benefits of having an investment that you can live in, it is not very liquid. If you begin to see the value of your home dropping, it's very difficult to liquidate your position. The same holds true for other collectibles such as cars or antiques. Gold is very bit as liquid an asset as stocks or bonds.

Gold is often viewed as one of the most stable and logical long term investments. While there might be days, weeks or months when the price of gold goes down, overall, gold retains its value and historically goes up in value over time. There are people that trade gold the same way that people trade stocks. They buy and sell gold short term hoping to ride the highs and lows in the market. Overall, though, most investors look at gold for security as well as a way to avoid inflation that is prevalent in an economy where money is printed and injected into the economy, this making the existing money worth less. All of these aren't the only reason why we might want to invest in gold.

As children, many of us played games or imagined that we were kings and queens. We ruled the land and lived in castles. Part of that fantasy or role playing probably involved wearing a gold crown and other finery. Others bowed down before us and we were admired. We had rooms filled with riches which included a lot of gold. Even many of our fairy tales revolved around gold. We were Midas with his Midas touch or we read about Rumpelstiltskin who turned hay into gold. We dreamed of gold and we knew that it was a sign of wealth, prosperity and security.

Owning gold satisfies this carnal desire to be wealthy and secure. It's likely that more than one investor has relived that childhood dream and stood with a smile on his or her face as they held their first gold ingot in their hands. They had arrived. They were living that childhood dream. Of course, this probably isn't the main reason why most people invest in good but it sure is one of the fun parts.




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