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why so expensive?: its rare but in sufficient quantity that it can be mined
why so rare?: it can only be made in the dying seconds of a supernova as elements are fused together (same as pretty much everything else in the universe)and then ejected into space
Unlike art or cars or fine wine there are no aesthetic judgements involved in its valuationIt is universally accepted.
Neither of these things is true, though.
1) All of gold jewellery (which is still a fair chunk of production) and a fair chunk of pseudo-investment grade commemorative gold (which is a big chunk of US conspiracy theory investment) involves aesthetic judgements
2) It's not universally accepted. It's crap as a medium of exchange.
one of the other things with gold is that it can't (afaik) be destroyed. Over time it won't decay, or oxidise, it'll just stay as gold. Handy
[b]Konabunny[/b]
Gold jewellery isn't what I'd be buying usually as an investment is it?
And gold does have a tangible quality to it which - rightly or wrongly - inspires trust in those who buy it. Not something you would rock up to the bank with - but easier to exchange than property or Greek Government bonds?
really? most of the people i see wearing lots of gold are chavs.
That says more about the places you hang around than it does about rich people and their [i]accoutrements[/i] 😛
Have a read of this:
[url] http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2011/07/money [/url]
easier to exchange than property or Greek Government bonds?
The problem with real property and Greek government bonds isn't their lack of liquidity. It's their price.
At current prices, one of those gold bullion bar things is worth a bit over £450,000.
Blimey. When I was a kid, a friend's dad used to have gold and silver bullion just stacked up on the floor around his house.
It was bloody heavy is all I remember and based on those prices, worth considerably more than their relatively modest house.