By Justin Rowlatt
Presenter, Business Daily, BBC World Service
8 December 2013
Mankind's attitude to gold is bizarre. Chemically, it is uninteresting - it barely reacts with any other element. Yet, of all the 118 elements in the periodic table, gold is the one we humans have always tended to choose to use as currency. Why? ............................................
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25255957
why do we value gold? - scacity and instinct to horde.
use of such things made popular by wealthy and royalty out of reach of common people that make them valuable and make people want to horde, same thing happen once upon a time with salt, sugar, tobbaco, whisky, caviar, tulips? Today these can buy anywhere accessible to most people so nobody hordes them anymore.
Diamonds too but already companies are using science to produce diamonds in a lab using vast amounts of energy, only a matter of time somebody finds a way to produce diamonds cheaply then the price will crash to a bag of salt.
People will always value and horde anything that is hard to acquire or come by.
but gold came from the stars - meteorites how do we produce that in a lab?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...132044.htm
Over the time, those who have faith in gold will lose their faith just as what happened before the rise of the gold. There is hardly any sign of further bull market in gold. Unlike companies, which have earning to support its falling price, there isn't much to support the price of gold rather than faith. And faith does not last when the price keeps falling.
The status of gold in international trading or payment is the past.
Currency is not meant to be held for long term. Currency is meant for payment. Assets are meant to be held for long term.
"Assets are meant to be held for long term. " - spot on!
Ya! Even for generations down the line. But most people believe it's very difficult to last more then 3 generations. Especially for doubtful acquired assets. Even clean assets also seldom last more than 3 generations.
Why?
i think the Law of Diminishing Return applies in the end if not for 3 generations then maybe 5 or 6 or ?