Gold Is Not An Investment.

My opinion is that in the days of yore it had value either because it was rare and thus exclusive, or had great ornamental value and was a sight to behold, and it wouldn't tarnish, not as easily as any other metal at least... and civilization simply had moved on from exchanging shells and stones( don't they still stash giant stone currency on some island somewhere though?) and other easily obtained 'resources'. While i'd say as a collector that its main appeal lies in its appearance and monetary value as dictated by economic systems and hype and of course human nature, it has real value and use in various industries, so one can't possibly say that it is worthless, perhaps just hyped up at times as often happens with all earthly things. So if one were a speculator then value exists so long as opportunity for gains exists, but it'd be worthless and a liability if one judged it according to some other notion.

But yes, it is to me a speculative investment. Whether an asset or liability is up to free market(and whatever goes on behind closed doors) to ultimately decide... I too don't see how it's supposed to help when humanity falls into long-term or permanent disarray though, like what are you going to do with it, eat it? have a jolly good bet on who's going to make it to see the next sunrise and reminisce on when gold could actually obtain the now scarce or non-existent supplies? lol

I have gold crowns on my teeth.

Seriously, to me at least, I can't see gold as an investment because it is inert. Both chemically and economically. It does not grow. An ounce of gold now will still be an ounce of gold in one million years lt does not generate revenue or ever become anything more than what it started as.
I am no expert. I realize I am speaking in the most general terms and that there are too many variables to readily identify, but the idea of a typical stock investment is that the investor can make money because the company grows and generates revenue. Of course, if the company craters, its stock investors could lose their entire investment.
Real estate has value because you can do something with it. Farm it. Build a high rise or a subdivision on it. Or a factory. The value of real estate is tied to its actual or potential usefulness, and that in part determines its value at any time. Conversely, raw land in the desert without roads and utilities is truly "dirt cheap." And real estate is always illiquid, and sometimes almost impossible to sell. And like stocks it is subject to significant value swings based on economic conditions. But there is always a potential for it to generate revenue.
That is not to say gold has no value. I just wouldn't plan my retirement on it. It is a hedge against inflation. I guess you could call it a contrarian investment as it can go up in value when other assets go down. But if the value of gold rises significantly, it is likely that the value of other assets, your home, your securities, your bank account and so on have gone down. In my particular situation, stagnant gold prices are good because everything else I own is holding its own.
Many well-informed people believe gold has a place in an investment portfolio as part of a diversified investment plan. I understand it as a protection against hard times. And the world could reach a point where physical assets like gold have the greatest value. But we are not living in such a world now, and absent worldwide catastrophe are unlikely to live in such a world in the future.
Personally, I would not choose to make a significant investment in bullion gold because I don't see a reliable upside. But I can understand why people feel differently.
Investment? Not for me at my age and financial circumstances. But for others it could make sense, although I just can't see a significant net benefit because a rise in gold prices probably means that other assets have cratered.

Politicians and banks will likely not allow a return to a gold standard. There is a set standard of value and they can't lie as easily or promise enough when their feet are held to the fire of honesty.

Look at the Financial Accounting Standards Board and how they scrapped mark to market standards in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. What about the loses the Federal Reserve has taken on the bonds they bought in the aftermath of said crisis? None of it is truly recognized--thus we are left with mark to unicorn, which suits the politicians and banks fine.

For insight into when things tighten up for the crooks--those mentioned above:), watch long term interest rates--like on the 30 year US Treasury Bond--they have steadily been going up and may continue that way--that will be the demise of the current system--when the government and banker largess causes some real pain. It is not likely to be a smooth path up, but it is coming and that is when things MAY change.

In the meantime higher while long term real rates (for instance the 30 year treasury interest rate less the rate of inflation) go up, it may not be the greatest thing for stocks/bonds/precious metals--as anything "liquid" would be sold for survival in a real crisis. Cash might be king for awhile, even if that is fiat.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_P6hcLu1z9...nd+crash.png

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/h...ye012119.pdf

I was unaware that banks are hoarding gold and silver. I have done a lot of work with banks over many years and had not heard of banks hoarding specie. I would be interested in knowing more about this. I know of no other business that does this, as tying up capital by buying gold (essentially like burying it in the backyard) reduces the capital available for profit-making endeavors.
I have always understood that banks, like Warren Buffet has explained with insurance companies, make money because they use their customer deposits (or premiums with insurance companies) as interest-free loans for making other investments. Because specie has no growth potential, it seems counterintuitive that banks would own a lot of it. It doesn't make money for shareholders, in fact it would reduce shareholder profits by reducing available investment capital.
Banks, at least in U.S., do not seem to sock money away for rainy days. Indeed, the 2008 financial crisis taught us that financial institutions are woefully unprepared to survive a collapse of the financial markets. It cost the American taxpayers $800 billion to bail out banks that were unprepared to deal with a financial collapse.
Banks are risk-takers. They make subprime and other riskier investments to increase profits. Before President Clinton signed a bill repealing the Depression Era Glass-Stegal act in 1998, banks were more constrained in their lawfully permitted investment activities. Ten years after the Glass-Stegal repeal, the banks led us into a financial crisis that we are still recovering from more than ten years later. (As one example, real wages are still lower than they were in 2006). While the 2008 financial meltdown was occurring, I didn't hear anything about banks having gold reserves to buffer the collapse. All the media reported was that the real estate collateral securing most bank loans had declined in value until it was worth much less than the amounts owed on the loans the collateral was securing.
I could give other examples, but the upshot is that banks hoarding gold and silver would seem to limit rather than maximize potential profits. I wish banks were more cautious and conservative sometimes, but if they were, growing businesses would have a harder time raising money for fueling growth, and without growth the economy stalls.
There are so many factors and variables involved that we have an entire Federal Reserve system to watch over things. I don't know how holding gold would effect all these factors, but I have never heard of it being particularly important.
If anyone could explain how and why banks are hoarding gold and silver, I would be very interested in knowing more about how banks are using specie in their investment portfolios.

They say that all the gold ever mined would only amount to a cube 20 meters on an edge, just a bit bigger than a large house.

I've also heard that if all the gold in the earth rose to the surface it would cover the planet in a layer about knee-deep.

Which begs the question of supply of gold - if per capita supply decreases, I would expect price to gradually rise. But a remaining abundance of gold left to be discovered raises the possibility of a commodity glut and possible crash of gold prices if there were some big discovery of a loaded seam or meteor impact in the future.

Here is a link to Chinese investors in Australian gold mining

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02...ent/10808558

Hate to be in their shoes tbh.