Gold. how does it work?
 

I saw a small bullion at Costco of all places. lady said they sell out so quickly.

oookaaay. "can you point me to the pillow case sized bag of oatmeal please?"

seriously. gold prices go up and down. I get that. I also get that people are buying gold incase the dollar turns to fire-starter in value.

how exactly do you sell the gold? you go into a gold store and it just feels shady. they are not buying at market value no? they skim the Vig?

in an apocalypse..it even makes less sense to me. do I bite off a link of 24k for a loaf of bread? that same bullion mentioned above. you hacksaw it? or ask for an even smaller bullion in change?

I'll be the first to become a zombie for sure. I have no clue.

I just buy GLD, but obviously that doesn't work if you want to physically hold it. Easy though...I've had some for years.

EDIT: to clarify, stock symbol GLD

I don't see the point. I understand what the normal reasoning is, but the reality doesn't seem to be what/how they think it works. It's got to be a money making setup on the part of the folks that buy and sell.

I remember seeing Buffet talking about how he doesn't invest in gold. But then, his investing isn't the same as the rest of us mortal folks' investing.

Right, if you want to invest in gold or silver, then one of the ETFs or something like that seems like the way to go, but then if the theory is that you're investing in gold for the apocalypse, then you probably need it physically on hand so you can barter for bullets and eggs with the neighbors.

It's like crypto coins, only real.

I think in that scenario there will be a lot of things more valuable than gold. Also, I’d rather just die if we get to the bartering stage….
Also, maybe I’m just naive, but I’ve always been an eternal optimist, I don’t plan for end of world scenarios because I like to think they aren’t going to happen.

Gold has intrinsic value. Meaning from time immemorial, humans beings have always valued gold.

Gold is permanent. It doesn’t tarnish, rot, dissolve or evaporate. You can bury gold and a thousand years from now it will be exactly the same as it was when it was buried. It is indestructible.

Gold is malleable. It can easily be made into any shape or form. You can cut it with a knife

As such, gold has been a constant throughout history and before. Currencies come and go. Governments come and go. Empires come and go.

You can’t eat gold. Well, you could but why? You can’t eat a dollar bill or a paper check, either. It requires absolutely no special care to keep. The most important thing about keeping gold is to not tell anybody if you have it or where it is. It will always be there. The local bank won’t be.

So…as long as humans have existed they have coveted gold. No matter what. Gold is bitcoin without the hassle of computers.

Here’s an anecdote. If you handed somebody a one ounce gold coin, as I have, every single time, that person will bounce that coin in his palm feeling the weight, the density, the color and the iridescence of solid gold. It’s mesmerizing. To everybody. Always has been. I’m guessing it always will be. Gold, for some reason, perhaps for some of those same reasons noted above, humans and gold go together.

That’s all I got.

A gold bar might be difficult to barter with for most ordinary day to day things.

Might help to also have coins.

Gold isn't like iron in that it rusts to nothing when left alone.

It is also difficult to obtain which creates a strong barrier to inflationary pressures.

It has industrial uses.

Local coin shop should give you spot or better but gold is so high now may be like 98%

Buy physical gold as insurance, emergency plan, off the books inheritance for your grand kids etc. Not really an investment short or medium term

My favorite was the crowie (shell money).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_money

I buy silver, and every now and then gold, off one of the better known websites. https://www.apmex.com/

Basically, if you are buying, you pay X number of dollars per ounce over the spot price. If you decide to sell, you sell for X number of dollars per ounce under the spot price. Of course, this means you are going to lose money unless the spot price increases enough over what you paid to show a profit.

I don't worry at all about the apocalypse. And if the US dollar ever collapses, the entire world will be in chaos.

That said, if things get real bad, gold will have little value as it is not food, and it offers no direct protection. Bullets will be the real commodity that can easily be traded back and forth. In all the apocalypse movies the humans seem to have unlimited ammo and fire off a lot of bullets. And they always have gasoline, and tires with vehicles that drive.

Everyone that watches apocalypse movies knows that bullets will be worth far more when the SHTF.

Exactly.

If you can't eat it, shoot with it, fish with it, wear it, drink it, heat with it, power with it just buy a gold cup for your jock strap...much cheaper and the beating will hurt less.

Imagine bartering with gold...

Gold as an investment is a completely different scenario.

I was once in a grocery store in Chicken, Alaska and an old placer miner in front of me whipped out a small sack of gold dust to pay for his groceries. I though that was pretty cool. I felt transported back to 1899. Here in the lower 48, I suppose you sell your gold to a dealer, but he/she needs to make money, so you won't get full value. How do you sell it at full value?

There are building and home improvement contractors around here who will accept gold as payment.

Face to face

eBay sells at spot

Comical

If ya wanna attract a gold-digger ... it's essential :D

A little physical gold is purdy .... expensive to buy and sell tho' via a site or brick & mortar ... was spot +/- $50 ... then 100 per oz .... WAY back.

I ditched a few 100oz bars of silver years ago for some land... glad they be gone.

At least gold is portable ... if the SHTF ... all that hoarded silver and most guns & ammo, etc. gets left behind.

Land gets left behind too...

If real bigly SHTF :D

Exactly.