Which confirms my point that things are valuable because people think they are, rather than some inherent value in a quantity of metal.
This whole issue of Gold is rather like a religion. People get all wound up over it, one way or another.
The bottom line, if I were preparing for some future Y2K doomsday, I think I'd rather have a granary full of rice and MREs than a bunch of gold. You can't eat gold.
I agree. Did you read my post about preparedness above? I just collect the quarters because it's fun, not as an investment. The only gold I own is in the form of jewelry. My other investments are real estate (bought my first house in my early 20's) and land and a balanced IRA retirement fund. (DH & I are self-employed, but took full advantage of 401Ks while we were wage slaves, then rolled them over.)
But the silver has been very good to us. Dad and I have speculated in the commodities market for years; coffee, cocoa, grains, etc. It's not for the faint of heart, that's for sure, and we never play with money we can't afford to lose. DH won't "play" with us either, LOL!
Some people like casinos, we like speculating. :)