[babble-on]

my dad gave me a maple leaf on my 18th birthday and told me to hang on to it in case I ever need it to get on that last flight to Lisbon. I didn't understand what the hell that meant until I saw Casablanca. I've still got it, plus a few krugerrands and US gold and platinum. I mean the bid/offer spread is brutal, there's no yield, the price performance is hideous, BUT if things ever really go wrong in the world somebody out there is going to accept gold as payment. Its like an insurance policy for a time when all the insurance companies have gone bankrupt. a last resort investment

[templar]

BUT if things ever really go wrong in the world somebody out there is going to accept gold as payment.

Probably the only really valid argument for owning physical gold. Gold (silver too, I guess) is something you can carry with you and it will have value anywhere in the world. No need to try to convert an out of favor currency (or bank account) from an out of favor country you may be fleeing to a valid local currency (or bank account) in whatever country accepts you.

You know, for large amounts of money, diamonds might be even better. Easier to conceal (you could sew them into the linings of your coat), harder to detect, take up a lot less space. Wonder why no ones' ever thought of that?

[snopercod]

If things really go wrong in the world, people will just come and take your coins from you by force.

You may be able to deal with honest people, if you can find them in the chaos that will follow the collapse of the financial system.

Having said all that, I have done the same as you and squirreled away a few coins here and there just in case.

Did you watch Citicorp stock today?