Gold And Its Meaning In Our World

By Andrew Block

Humans have cherished gold more than any other precious metal throughout history. For centuries it was used as legal tender and it backed legal tender in the United States. Gold adorned kings, pharaohs and in recent years became a sign of opulence among the world's very wealthy as they coated cars and weapons with the expensive metal. Human beings have been attracted to gold throughout the ages and this trend shows no sign of stopping any time in the near future.

In the wake of economic crisis, countries, banks and wealthy individuals have been investing in gold as a way to secure their wealth. Gold has always been readily exchangeable for currency. Every country in the world recognizes gold for its worth. The thought is that if there ever is an economic collapse, gold and other precious metals will still be valuable and easily exchanged for currency. While none of us wants to think of a world where money suddenly become worthless, history has shown that this can happen.

Many average people shy away from investing in gold and they fell more secure in saving their money in stocks, bonds, mutual funds or in savings accounts in banks. The worry often is that it would be difficult to transition their gold into spendable money. They worry that they will have some gold but no way to liquidate it in the event that they need that money. How is this done and is it possible to quickly turn your gold into spendable cash? In many countries, it is absolutely possible to exchange gold for currency over the counter at a bank. In other countries, you can sell your gold back to the company that you bought it from or any other company that buys and sells gold. Gold is very liquid and it is probably the only material that is known worldwide as the equivalent of money in physical form. How many other investments can you think of that are liquid as well as universally known?

Take real estate or collectibles such as antiques or cars, for instance. While a home is a great way to invest your money while reaping the benefits of having an investment that you can live in, it is not very liquid. If you begin to see the value of your home dropping, it's very difficult to liquidate your position. The same holds true for other collectibles such as cars or antiques. Gold is very bit as liquid an asset as stocks or bonds.

Most people invest in gold because of the stability. Gold has steadily increased in value over the years and it is a long term investment vehicle meant to stave off inflation as well as give the owner some security in uncertain economic times. Of course, the appeal of gold goes beyond its monetary value. We are drawn to gold. We equate gold with wealth and it is almost a universal sign for success.

As children, many of us played games or imagined that we were kings and queens. We ruled the land and lived in castles. Part of that fantasy or role playing probably involved wearing a gold crown and other finery. Others bowed down before us and we were admired. We had rooms filled with riches which included a lot of gold. Even many of our fairy tales revolved around gold. We were Midas with his Midas touch or we read about Rumpelstiltskin who turned hay into gold. We dreamed of gold and we knew that it was a sign of wealth, prosperity and security.

Owning gold satisfies this carnal desire to be wealthy and secure. It's likely that more than one investor has relived that childhood dream and stood with a smile on his or her face as they held their first gold ingot in their hands. They had arrived. They were living that childhood dream. Of course, this probably isn't the main reason why most people invest in good but it sure is one of the fun parts.

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