Comments on: Harrods starts selling gold bars http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/ General interest observations and true web-log. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:22:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: LibertyLover http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590663 LibertyLover Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:06:24 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590663 I think some of you are missing the point about gold. Sure, you can use it buy things . . . if you can find someone to give you fiat currency for it. And the less that currency is worth, the more you'll get for your chunk. But gold is more than that. It is the single best indicator of the confidence in a nation's currency -- not day to day but over a longer term period. Whether the reasons are logic or not, that is how it is. I think some of you are missing the point about gold. Sure, you can use it buy things . . . if you can find someone to give you fiat currency for it. And the less that currency is worth, the more you’ll get for your chunk.

But gold is more than that. It is the single best indicator of the confidence in a nation’s currency — not day to day but over a longer term period. Whether the reasons are logic or not, that is how it is.

]]> By: ECA http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590572 ECA Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:15:48 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590572 Anyone want to do a robbery?? Anyone want to do a robbery??

]]> By: Olo Baggins of Bywater http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590569 Olo Baggins of Bywater Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:02:32 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590569 Odd fact about gold, from National Geographic: In all of history, only 161,000 tons of gold have been mined, barely enough to fill two Olympic-size swimming pools. Odd fact about gold, from National Geographic:
In all of history, only 161,000 tons of gold have been mined, barely enough to fill two Olympic-size swimming pools.

]]> By: Cursor_ http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590398 Cursor_ Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:58:08 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590398 Gold is one of the worst investments you can make, especially now seeing it will peak at best at 1200 per ounce. It is all down hill from there. If you buy at 1k and it slides just to 800 you lose. Diamonds are just as bad unless they are uncut. The powers at De Beers makes the diamond market so stable they will not make you much on your investment. All precious metals are only good if you get it low and wait for a crisis. Best bet are coloured precious gems in the 3 carat and up size. Gems like sapphires, rubies, tanzanite, alexandrite, etc. They are as easy to carry as diamonds and can fetch more money per carat than a diamond if you get good pieces. Just don't buy them from those shopping channels as that is all crap and over-priced crap at that. Cursor_ Gold is one of the worst investments you can make, especially now seeing it will peak at best at 1200 per ounce. It is all down hill from there. If you buy at 1k and it slides just to 800 you lose.

Diamonds are just as bad unless they are uncut. The powers at De Beers makes the diamond market so stable they will not make you much on your investment.

All precious metals are only good if you get it low and wait for a crisis. Best bet are coloured precious gems in the 3 carat and up size. Gems like sapphires, rubies, tanzanite, alexandrite, etc. They are as easy to carry as diamonds and can fetch more money per carat than a diamond if you get good pieces. Just don’t buy them from those shopping channels as that is all crap and over-priced crap at that.

Cursor_

]]> By: chris http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590385 chris Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:53:37 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590385 I would consider stuff like this, or those gold kiosks in Germany to be a sell signal. I'm quite of aware of the practical arguments against that, though. I would consider stuff like this, or those gold kiosks in Germany to be a sell signal. I’m quite of aware of the practical arguments against that, though.

]]> By: deowll http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590340 deowll Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:35:30 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590340 This issue as noted is that I don't have any way to get face value back if I do buy the stuff. This issue as noted is that I don’t have any way to get face value back if I do buy the stuff.

]]> By: Glenn E. http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590308 Glenn E. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:06:13 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590308 Yeah I remember when gold hit $800 in `81. But didn't come back down to almost half that? As far as the current price. Seems it's been just above $1k for some months. So there's no way of knowing if it will go up from $1072, or back down. And unless you can actually walk out with a real brick under your arm. The only only thing you're likely to have paid for is some gold certificate or share. Which me you have an investment note based on some gold, someone else is holding onto. For everyone to have a bar of real gold, is impossible. There just isn't enough of it to go around. Not even for a fraction of the world's population. And after owning a bar (if you can), how do you manage to use it later? The only thing unique about gold, is that it's not tied to any one nation's economy, the way printed currency is. BUT... if all nations' currency is failing or falling in value. At some point you're going to need to sell that gold to eat. What do you trade it for, and to whom, to buy a loaf of bread? So in the long run, you still end up dealing with a currency system. Unless banks are willing to buy the gold back, directly, and credit your Savings account to some value level agreed upon. But I haven't heard of the banks planning to do this. None have done it before, to my knowledge. So don't hold your breathe that they will come the next economic disaster. Yeah I remember when gold hit $800 in `81. But didn’t come back down to almost half that? As far as the current price. Seems it’s been just above $1k for some months. So there’s no way of knowing if it will go up from $1072, or back down. And unless you can actually walk out with a real brick under your arm. The only only thing you’re likely to have paid for is some gold certificate or share. Which me you have an investment note based on some gold, someone else is holding onto. For everyone to have a bar of real gold, is impossible. There just isn’t enough of it to go around. Not even for a fraction of the world’s population. And after owning a bar (if you can), how do you manage to use it later? The only thing unique about gold, is that it’s not tied to any one nation’s economy, the way printed currency is.

BUT… if all nations’ currency is failing or falling in value. At some point you’re going to need to sell that gold to eat. What do you trade it for, and to whom, to buy a loaf of bread? So in the long run, you still end up dealing with a currency system. Unless banks are willing to buy the gold back, directly, and credit your Savings account to some value level agreed upon. But I haven’t heard of the banks planning to do this. None have done it before, to my knowledge. So don’t hold your breathe that they will come the next economic disaster.

]]> By: LibertyLover http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590304 LibertyLover Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:46:03 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590304 Here is <a href="http://tinyurl.com/yla7r6w" rel="nofollow"><u>a writeup on a guy</u></a> in Vegas who actually used gold coins for payroll. Here is a writeup on a guy in Vegas who actually used gold coins for payroll.

]]> By: LibertyLover http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590286 LibertyLover Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:45:00 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590286 The same thing happened when it became legal to buy gold in America again. All these banks started dumping their gold on the market to drive the price down to "prove to those goldbugs that fiat currency was safer." We saw how that turned out when gold hit 800/oz in '81. The same thing happened when it became legal to buy gold in America again. All these banks started dumping their gold on the market to drive the price down to “prove to those goldbugs that fiat currency was safer.”

We saw how that turned out when gold hit 800/oz in ’81.

]]> By: sargasso http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/harrods-starts-selling-gold-bars/comment-page-1/#comment-1590284 sargasso Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:37:49 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=60331#comment-1590284 Quite the fashionable coffee table paper weight in Chester Square. As they're from Switzerland, you can boast that they're really melted Jewish teeth. Quite the fashionable coffee table paper weight in Chester Square. As they’re from Switzerland, you can boast that they’re really melted Jewish teeth.

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