What’s so special about gold?
By macdon35, 3rd Feb 2012 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutWritingEssays
Throughout history gold has maintained its status as a sign and depository of wealth
Paper money can turn into funny money, but gold remains gold
What’s so special about gold? Well, gold is gold – it looks valuable, it feels valuable, and it is valuable.
But why is it valuable - isn’t it just another kind of metal? Yes, that may be true, but gold is unlike other metals in that it doesn’t tarnish, it doesn’t rust or corrode, it doesn’t deteriorate in any way. Regardless of how much time passes it remains the same, so that the gold you buy today will be exactly the same in five hundred years time.
Gold is found throughout the world and there is hardly a country which does not have some gold deposits in one form or another. But in the early days it was probably first found as nuggets, which are pure gold in its natural state, and which, because of gold’s softness, could easily be worked into items of worship, decoration, or jewelry. And from that time on gold’s association with the gods, with royalty, and with wealth has always remained strong.
Eventually gold came to be used for trade. Instead of goods being exchanged for other goods, as was the custom, they started being exchanged for gold. In this way gold became a medium of exchange, the first real money.
Then because of gold’s many unusual characteristics when compared with other metals, its denseness, its malleability, its scarcity and its beauty, it was made into coins. These proved convenient in many ways – for trading transactions, for storing wealth, they could be carried about easily and privately, and they were permanent.
And so it has remained until today. It’s nice to have cash in a bank account, but paper money can lose its value very quickly, and sometimes quite drastically. Generally when the value of paper money goes down, for instance when there is economic uncertainty, or inflation, the value of gold goes up. There may be fluctuations in gold prices quoted in various markets, but it can be said that gold never really loses its value, and that, unlike real estate, it is a liquid asset, something that can at anytime be turned into immediate cash. And this is one of the many reasons that make gold so special.
Comments
3rd Feb 2012 (#)
Well you can't buy groceries or goat food with it so I have no use for it.
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4th Feb 2012 (#)
May I repeat the final few words of the story -
"it is a liquid asset, something that can at anytime be turned into immediate cash. And this is one of the many reasons that make gold so special." So when you have the cash you can buy some goat food with it!
macdon35
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4th Feb 2012 (#)
I digress, they don't take gold at the grocery store and if I exchange it for cash the chance of it losing it's value on my way to the market, as you pointed out, is to risky.
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8th Feb 2012 (#)
All currencies are someone's liability, debt, and hence carry a risk. Gold is a pure asset by itself. Thanks, macdon for a nice article - siva
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