DaVinci

Gold and silver have retained their purchasing power. So an once of gold still buys the same amount of stuff it did 50 years ago. Okay. But isn't this measured in U.S. dollars? So if an ounce of gold is $1500, that is what I can get for it if I sell it. $1500. When the paper currency implodes, it then stands to reason that I will have to wait for a new currency to be created to take advantage of my gold. Because if the paper money that everyone uses goes to zero then what can I get with my gold? Not paper money obviously. I suppose it could be used to barter with. But owning gold seems contingent on having a paper dollar to tie it to in a society not built to accept gold.

I keep hearing people say "Buy gold. Buy silver". Okay. Why? "Because the economy is going to collapse" is the standard answer given. Okay, so the economy 'collapses', and paper money becomes worthless due to massive inflation. So then what? Most people don't own gold, unless you want to count jewelry. But I can't walk into a grocery store and buy food and hand them my gold wedding band and expect change. They will tell me they can't accept it. There is no system in place to take gold as a payment for anything. So how is an economy where paper money has become worhtless going to function when no one accepts gold and silver coins? It seems much more likely that another paper currency will take the place of the dollar and people will be stuck with a bunch of coins that they can't do anything with.