I would submit that Gold is not an investment. It is a store of value. A gold mine would be an investment.
An ounce of of gold usually costs about the same as a high quality men’s suit. It was true in 1800, 1900, 1950 and is true today. It will probably continue to be true for a long time. It doesn’t rise in value but it keeps its value very reliably over time. Of course the price has some volatility in it, but the peaks and valleys average out eventually.
So, depending on the point you’re at in your retirement plan, there’s something to be said for preserving principal instead of focusing on growth. If you have enough to live on for the rest of your life, then it may be time to think about minimizing risk.
But it’s not technically an investment. It won’t appreciate in real value.
As others have pointed out, in the end-of-world scenario gold isn’t really all that handy a thing to have around. In fact it’s harder to trade for simple needs than many other commodities. It’s a wildly impractical currency. Gonna try to buy a gallon of milk with gold? Not handy at all. :-)
My investments right now are shifting. I’ve been sitting on cash for quite a while. But now I’m getting back into the stock market. There are some *epic* bargains to be had right now. Sure, some of them may go down a little further, but in ten years they’ll be back up on the pre-crash curve. In twenty years I should be able to feel like a genius. :-)
My grandfather always told me to buy at least one good business suit and spend a gold ounce for it, I guess this is a common comparison. That is a good comparison, a good off the rack Burberry or Hart Schaffner Marx runs around $900 now.