In your opinion, Is Gold money? If so, is it a better currency then paper cash?

Question

For much of our nation's history, the only reason paper cash had value at all was because they were backed by gold. Which suggests gold is superior to cash

Answer 1

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Once upon a time people used gold and other precious metals for money. It was cumbersome and risky to carry, so some people started "houses" where people could safely store their gold. Depositors would be issued a note for their gold. These were the first banks as we know them.
It didn't take long for people to start using the paper notes as money in place of gold. The bankers noticed that, and they also noticed that there was little to stop them from printing notes for more gold than was actually deposited. A customer deposits an ounce of gold, the bankers give the customer a note for an ounce, and then print more notes for their own uses, secure in the knowledge that people would use the notes in place of the gold. This was called "fractional reserve banking". It made the bankers fabulously wealthy. Of course the notes were in theory backed with deposited gold, but if all the depositors went to the bank for their gold at once they would find there wasn't anywhere near enough gold to cover the notes. This is known as a "bank run". It's kind of a forerunner of the "too big to fail" scam. In the case of the FED and the USA Nixon put an end to backing the FED notes with gold and precious metals. Now they are only "backed" with a promise from the bankers that they will destroy you if you don't play along.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thank you for the history lesson.

Answer 2

All fiat currency eventually returns to its inrinsic value of zero. The USD became the world reserve currency because it was backed in gold and after WWII the US was the sole manufacturing and crediting powerhouse of the world. None of that is true anymore and now India and China have signed an agreement to no longer trade in USD's with each other. They're trading with each other in their own currencies now. Also look up BRICS. They plan on scrapping the dollar. South Carolina just recently approved of gold as currency. You can now go to a store and pay for stuff with gold coins, the way it should be. Utah was the first state to do this and I believe more will. The death of the dollar and hyperinflation is soon.

Answer 3

Gold in itself is not money. It is a valuable commodity, that is used to make money, or to back money. Today, money is backed by the government that issues it. Unfortunately, when the governments economy goes belly up, their cash is worthless. Gold is superior to cash. That is why rich people always invest some of their holdings in gold.

Answer 4

Money does not exist. It is an artificial construct that exists only in the minds of humans. Anything can serve the function of currency as long as counterfeiting it is difficult. The only reason metals became currency in the first place is because metals are more difficult to counterfeit than clay (the first form of currency). Gold has no naturally occurring universal 'value' and any expectations contrary to that originate from superstitious assumptions. (After all, based on your own argument, you should consider gold a fiat currency and clay a precious material, but also based on your own argument, you never said that, did you?)

Answer 5

Under the Constitution, it absolutely is. States can issue ONLY gold or silver as currency; NOT paper money.

It borders on the absolutely bizarre that the media have managed to make gold the enemy. It rocketed from under $400 to over $1600 and is holding in the $1500 - $1700 range. Some in the press mention the outlier value of $1850+ where it hovered for a few days, reporting that since it "plummeted" 11%, it's ascent was all hype and no real value.

Anybody buying into that fuzzy math needs to explain it on a level that logical people can grasp.
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Answer 6

gold and other precious commodities like solver and diamonds have ALWAYS had great value. the paper money we use today is only as valuable as the nation it is produced by. so long as idiots who try to talk down the dollar fail the dollar will have value, but as soon as those (like you) who deride the dollar succeed it will be essentially worthless. think about this, 2000 years ago the "coin of the realm" was the Denarii, as soon as Rome fell that particular form of currency became worthless! or is that what you're after? the fall of the Anglo-American Empire?

Answer 7

Gold can serve as a kind of money, but it's still an illusion.

Whether gold or fiat currency, it only has value as long as everyone agrees it does. In an actual emergency/economic collapse, both are equally worthless.

Remember, gold is just a shiny, very heavy metal with little practical use outside of being a corrosion resistant conductor.

Answer 8

Sort of.
If you have a brick of gold (or silver), you have a much stronger position to barter with someone once the dollar is totally valueless.
Plus, you can barter in any country or language-no false exchange rate, it is worth whatever the other person will give you in exchange for it.

Answer 9

Gold is not money, it is a valuable mineral, same as silver or rubies or sapphires or diamonds.

Answer 10

Really, no offense but of course it is money, it is officially international money. Gold is always better then paper.

Answer 11

Anything can be used instead of barter. Gold is usable but silver would be better since there is more of it but no so much that it could be devalued.

Answer 12

Our currency is mostly backed by silver, and yes, precious metals are more sustainable.

Answer 13

Got to the grocery store and try buying something with gold.

Answer 14

Yes. gold has actual value..our currency isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

Answer 15

It is. Damn Woodrow Wilson.

Answer 16

Yes and yes.....

Answer 17

When the time comes. And it is. Its going to be awful heavy.