Thanks, I understand that. I used to be a jewelry manufacturer in a previous life, so I know a little about that.
I don’t care if I lose money (although I don’t think I will, given the way the world is going)... I just want something that will be there when I need it.
A year ago I told my money market manager (who has done well for me for the previous 12 years, until recently) to put everything in the most secure places he could find, and I still lost my @$$. If I had put it in gold when I first started to worry about it, when gold was at its second highest recent peak, and sold it today, when it is relatively low, I’d be no worse off than I already am.
And if worse comes to worse as far as bullion prices go, I can start making jewelery again.
Food for thought: In the Carter Depression I did well.
Everyone who was laid off suddenly became a "Silversmith" of varying degrees of expertise. Flea markets and crafts fairs became a whole underground cash economy. Usually, when the unemployment benefits ran out, the less skilled ones were shaken out and went back to manstream jobs.