Euro's Loss = Gold's Gain?

Discussion in 'Bullion Investing' started by fatima, May 16, 2012.

  1. medoraman

    medoraman Supporter! Supporter

    I never said paper money would have helped either, but you didn't ask that. You asked when has those with gold starved. They starve if either there is no food to buy, or they are in a position that those with food do not value their gold. Cloud mentioned the Mayans, that is a case where there was no food to buy. My examples were ones where those who had the food refused to sell it for gold to them.

    You can substitute gold for any other commodity. At times people can starve, and no commodity can prevent that. That was my only point.

    Again, gold is valuable in times of troubles as a means to escape that trouble. If there is no escape or hope of escape, then gold is a pretty bauble. Hopefully we would never experience such times.
     
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  3. medoraman

    medoraman Supporter! Supporter

    Because you post in absolutes. Your post did not say "within this context", or "as a currency holding function", or anything else.

    You say we have a remarkable ability for missing context of a post, well I say you have a truly remarkable ability to insult others at every turn that do not agree with you. Maybe that has some bearing on how we respond to your posts as well. ;)
     
  4. fatima

    fatima Junior Member

    Someone paying attention to my post which you responded t0 should have realized the response was in regards to holding currency. I've said before that I assume anyone buying gold or silver are big boys and girls now and don't need the hand holding.
     
  5. fatima

    fatima Junior Member

    Absolutes? How silly. Anyone should have been able to figure out what I am saying. You and Cloud have started back your, "lets defend the status quo" mode, no matter how nonsensical your responses become.

    If you didn't get the context then. It should be clear now. I assume you don't have an answer to this, hence these distractions.
     
  6. Cloudsweeper99

    Cloudsweeper99 Treasure Hunter

    Okay, thank you for admiting you were wrong. Life is risky by nature, and faith in any substance to shield you from serious adversity is pretty naive.
     
  7. scottishmoney

    scottishmoney Buh bye

    I really don't post trivially anymore - time and other interests vary my existence on forums.

    I have enjoyed reading the many posts in this thread, but I have a view that will diverge with many as I have a different perspective with my viewpoints having been formed by experiences living in a part of the world that has seen a lot of economic turmoil in the past couple of decades since the dissolution of the country into new states that had no practical experience in the political and economic field. Not until you have been wiped out financially not just once, but actually several times, do you have a practical understanding of what you would and wouldn't do.

    I can best compare the situation to guiding a ship through a tempest, albeit with the rudder being completly ineffective or non-existent. As the captain, you must make many decisions regarding your course that require adjustments and allowances. It might mean changes in propulsion, be it sails or a motor. You may very well be forced to make sacrificial decisions that prior would not have ever crossed your mind as to having to make. Cargo at that point could be so much deadweight and really is not the necessity of your further planning - so it can be tossed over the board if possible. You may as the captain find that some people are more deadweight because of their opinions. Obviously civility and humanity dictate that you can only restrict them to their cabins - walking the plank is no longer optional. You may have to severely ration fuels, foods, beverages etc. All the while if you have a radio(communication with the world outside your immediate proximity) you do what you can to communicate your plight and seek whatever assistance is possible. But most importantly you assess and triage the resources you have available.

    So thus said, back to the scenario at hand - in the immediacy of a financial meltdown cash is king. Lots of people living in more chaotic economies know that. They also know that durable goods and foodstuffs are important all throughout the process. Gold and other PM's are important particularly in the mid and latter parts of the meltdown when cash loses value or is gone altogether. Believe you me, I know in my chaotic and sometimes catestrophic part of the world that gold is the penultimate insurance policy, then cash, durable goods and foodstuffs. People in Europe really do not act like people in N. America though with gold - it has more of a longterm assurance appeal rather than the view in N. America that it is something you delve in from time to time.
     
  8. Cloudsweeper99

    Cloudsweeper99 Treasure Hunter

    I don't disagree with what you said. However, the US is not presently in the middle of a financial meltdown, or rationing, or currency collaspse, or turmoil, or dissolution. It may come to that someday, and nobody knows the future. For now, the US is doing its best immitation of Japan with a period of slow growth and recessionish conditions that may last a long time because of structural problems in the economy.
     
  9. medoraman

    medoraman Supporter! Supporter

    Nice post. I agree if things get worst a lot of the baubles of life become unimportant. I think we saw that in the US in 2008-2010 where a lot of colelctibles dropped precipitously in value, especially items of special appeal to baby boomers, (near term antiques). When the stuff hits the fan, collectibles drop quickly.

    I also view the US right now in more of a retrenchment mode. It could last for a while, (already has 3 years now), and our corporations and governments simply need to rebuild balance sheets.

    Honestly I agree with you and Fatima about gold being a nice store of value and a legitimate asset diversification tool for many reasons, some of them if things go to heck and we experience a third world nation type of incident. For some reason Fatima and I, for the amount we agree on that fact, are oil and water it seems.
     
  10. InfleXion

    InfleXion Wealth Preserver

    I agree completely, at least for the initial reaction. USD and US treasuries are the de facto safe haven currency for people in a currency crisis who do not understand the role that gold plays. However, ultimately all fiat currencies face the same fate, and once the Euro situation has reached fruition it will be our turn to be under the microscope. I consider it one last great buying opportunity.
     
  11. fatima

    fatima Junior Member

    I haven't done this. You created a red herring and haven't answered the question asked. And forgetting that, in the example you gave, there is no sign the people who starved, if they starved, had gold in the first place.

    The point at hand is that gold is preferable to paper money should some sort of collapse occur. As I mentioned above, the Confederates left with paper dollars cried a lot of crocodile tears when it was all said and done. Those with gold dollars, even gold dollars obtained in the confederacy, had no such issues.
     
  12. fatima

    fatima Junior Member

    It appears the run on the banks has spread to Spain. Depositors have withdrawn over a billion euro from just one Spanish bank and Moodys has downgraded 16 other banks in Spain.
     
  13. Cloudsweeper99

    Cloudsweeper99 Treasure Hunter

    It's fine with me if you believe your gold will protect you from physical injury in a collapse. I know that you can lead a fool to wisdom, but you can't make him think. So just keep thinking that your gold coins will let you stroll to the front of the food lines in an economic or currency collapse. I don't care.
     
  14. InfleXion

    InfleXion Wealth Preserver

    Ask somebody in Zimbabwe what they buy their food with.
     
  15. giorgio11

    giorgio11 Senior Numismatist

    I have been saying for years now that gold is not merely a safe-haven play (which it is not; the recent correction has been painful, yet an extremely healthy consolidation of an asset that has been up every year for the last dozen). It not merely "risk-on, risk-off" as all the parrots on the financial media keep saying. In point of fact, gold is functioning as an alternative currency. The dollar is merely, as the world's reserve currency (so far), the best of a bad lot compared to the euro or other paper currencies.

    Think for yourself, don't just "like" this (had to say that on a day when Bookface goes public). Don't bet the farm on anything (or the house -- that's how a lot of Americans got into trouble in the last few years). Pay down your debt starting with the highest-interest loans first, then dollar-cost-average into real assets. Someday you will be glad you did. Good luck and watch out for the fiscal cliff.

    Best Regards,

    George
     
  16. justafarmer

    justafarmer Senior Member

    I am willing to bet the most popular answer would be the US Dollar then probably the Euro followed by the South African Rand with gold being way down on the list of answers.
     
  17. giorgio11

    giorgio11 Senior Numismatist

    Gold is a store of value but you wouldn't get very far at Wal-Mart with a gold American Eagle either.

    Best Regards,

    George
     
  18. InfleXion

    InfleXion Wealth Preserver

    I can't remember what it was called, but I saw a documentary where the people there spend dawn to dusk panning for fractions of gold just to buy a loaf of bread since the hyperinflation.

    Since I don't recall when it was made, they could very well be using those currencies you've detailed by now. IIRC it was in 2010.
     
  19. medoraman

    medoraman Supporter! Supporter

    Justafarmer's response was correct. Zimbabwe has switched to USD for currency, in fact we shipped a bunch of $1 coins to be used there. There may be more in circulation in Zimbabwe than in the US today.
     
  20. Cloudsweeper99

    Cloudsweeper99 Treasure Hunter

    US dollars, of course.
     
  21. justafarmer

    justafarmer Senior Member

    People may still be spending dusk to dawn panning for gold but seldom was it or is it traded directly for food. It was sold for Dollars, Euros, Rand, etc which was used to actually purchase the food.
     
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