[ml/nj]

As I said before the guys you see on TV and hear on the radio are brokers. I would certainly admit that these guys are shameless hucksters. In fact, they've probably cost me money because I view them as negatively as you do. It's pretty obvious that gold can be overpriced in terms of dollars; and one never really knows what the government might do like forbid evil gold transactions or try to confiscate gold as it did 80 years ago. It's pretty clear that one isn't going to get much gold past the TSA either. So anyway I haven't bought any gold since the days of Jimmy ("I'll never lie to ya.") Carter.

The real sellers of gold are the miners. That's their business. The "value" of gold really depends on how many man hours and how much equipment cost there is to get it out of the ground, refine it, fashion it into ingots or coins with a reasonable profit to the owners of the mine. It's just like any other business. If it only cost $30 an ounce to bring gold to the market, gold would be valued at about the same price as silver. And if everyone thought it were as worthless as you seem to think it is, they couldn't sell it for anything.

The only thing the hucksters say that is mostly true is that gold has never been worthless. Paper eventually is.

ML/NJ

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

And if everyone thought it were as worthless as you seem to think it is, they couldn't sell it for anything.

I've never said it was worthless. I've said that it was a good hedge investment against inflation (like it's proving right now), and it can be a very nice add on to an investment strategy.

But, as you have just stated, it doesn't have a magical intrinsic value. It is a commodity like other commodities and it's value is determined by the buyer and seller agreeing on a common price.

I just despise the panic mongers and grifters who lie to people about their magical yellow metal.