Gold: Past, Present, and Future

Andrew Barrett4 said:I’ve got some land, and I’m slowly adding more to it. A few years back, I took a permaculture course at a local open-access farm. Now, I’m going on my second year of messing around with beekeeping—essentially, I’ve got the degree and a handful of hives to show for it. It’s just a useful hobby, I guess. click

Beyond that, I hold other types of real estate, some private equity, and various securities. There are plenty of folks on this forum, at least in this sub-section, who seem to have a similar setup.

The biggest issue here isn't actually what you said, but rather the fact that you jumped into this conversation with such a heavy bias.

Sorry for the tangent.

It wasn't a prejudice; it was just a statement of fact:
Gold isn't "safe" because right now—just like at the end of a bull market or in the middle of a refugee trek—someone can simply take it from you. So, "safety" exists in water or inflation, though you might end up with nothing to show for it. The only thing you truly can't be stripped of is knowledge. That is almost always liquid or useful, and you can't really have too much of it if you're learning for your own sake. You can only have "too much" in a formal sense—like having a PhD and being stuck with a low starting salary where nobody wants to hire you to clean WCs—but then again, someone in that class shouldn't be looking for those kinds of jobs anyway.

Kudos on the other pursuits.

Melissa Sanchez17 said:Is there any actual truth to the rumor that the Federal Reserve is gonna double down on the money printing starting next Wednesday? Word on the street is they might swap out the current twist operation for something similar? 🤷

Who knows? Word is that according to the May calendar, the FED's contract or schedule expires sometime soon...

Walter Barrett8 said:It wasn't a prejudice; it was just a statement of fact:
Gold isn't "safe" because right now—just like at the end of a bull market or in the middle of a refugee trek—someone can simply take it from you. So, "safety" exists in water or inflation, though you might end up with nothing to show for it. The only thing you truly can't be stripped of is knowledge. That is almost always liquid or useful, and you can't really have too much of it if you're learning for your own sake. You can only have "too much" in a formal sense—like having a PhD and being stuck with a low starting salary where nobody wants to hire you to clean WCs—but then again, someone in that class shouldn't be looking for those kinds of jobs anyway.

Kudos on the other pursuits.

Who knows? Word is that according to the May calendar, the FED's contract or schedule expires sometime soon...

This sounds like a setup where you teach yourself a skill, land a job, draw some fake money on paper, and then pay yourself a salary.

If you look at history: it didn't matter if a guy holding gold was a PhD or an illiterate farmer. All that mattered was that he had the gold.

There's a logical progression here: knowledge is deferred gratification—an investment in future value. Gold is realized value that you possess right now.
They belong in completely different categories. It's like comparing owning a kilo of gold to owning a manufacturing plant. Owning the plant doesn't guarantee anything. On the other hand, actually having a kilo of gold definitely means something.🙂

lonehawk5 said:Just finished buying up more..

gold..702.47$
silver..33.08$

What's even the point of posts like this? 😕 Is this just an ego trip? You trying to flex your trading skills on us?

It’s nice to see there are still people left in this country who actually care about real values.
Knowledge is one of those things nobody can take away from you—unless they manage to brainwash you first—but I suppose having some decent material possessions doesn't hurt either... provided you take care of them, of course. 🙂

Anthony Evans78 said:It’s nice to see there are still people left in this country who actually care about real values.
Knowledge is one of those things nobody can take away from you—unless they manage to brainwash you first—but I suppose having some decent material possessions doesn't hurt either... provided you take care of them, of course. 🙂

It isn't just helpful; it's necessary.
Knowledge is great, and honestly, we all have a responsibility to pursue it based on our own interests and abilities. But let's be real: it's way harder to cash out your knowledge than it is to liquidate gold.

So yeah, everything has its place (...under the porch 🙂 )

vividgull10 said:It isn't just helpful; it's necessary.
Knowledge is great, and honestly, we all have a responsibility to pursue it based on our own interests and abilities. But let's be real: it's way harder to cash out your knowledge than it is to liquidate gold.

So yeah, everything has its place (...under the porch 🙂 )

Try selling gold or, even worse, silver at a fair price—something close to the actual spot rate—here in the States. Sure, you can do it, but it’s a bit of a grind. In many cases, it's nearly impossible unless you "know a guy," and since most people don't, local pawn shops and scrap dealers make their killing on the spread.

On the flip side, if you know how to fix a toilet or pick a lock when someone gets stuck outside their apartment, you’ll find cash appearing instantly. And I'm talking decent money for very little effort. A friend of mine recently got locked out of her place; some old handyman showed up, finished the job in literally ten seconds, and pocketed $233 right then and there. 😉

The spot price is just for the elite few, not for us regular folks; once it leaves the refinery, you can kiss that spot price goodbye.🙂
Silver is hit with Sales Tax in almost all of Europe, so forget about matching the spot price there.
Besides, everyone in that supply chain needs to make a profit.😉
True. You always end up paying the plumbers and contractors regardless of the market rate... in my field (IT), people always go with "Oh, this should be easy for you, just fix it." And when I tell them my rate is $117 per hour, they claim "the neighbor's kid can do it for cheap."
Fine, let the kid fix it, then you'll come crawling back to me and I'll charge you $167 an hour 😁
.

Anthony Evans78 said:The spot price is just for the elite few, not for us regular folks; once it leaves the refinery, you can kiss that spot price goodbye.🙂
Silver is hit with Sales Tax in almost all of Europe, so forget about matching the spot price there.
Besides, everyone in that supply chain needs to make a profit.😉
True. You always end up paying the plumbers and contractors regardless of the market rate... in my field (IT), people always go with "Oh, this should be easy for you, just fix it." And when I tell them my rate is $117 per hour, they claim "the neighbor's kid can do it for cheap."
Fine, let the kid fix it, then you'll come crawling back to me and I'll charge you $167 an hour 😁
.

Since we were diving into gold as an investment vehicle—or just a way to squirrel away savings—I’ve been looking at it from a specific angle. Think about it this way: when you commit capital to gold, you aren't just spending money; you're incurring an opportunity cost by choosing not to invest that same cash into gaining specialized knowledge or other assets. You buy a certain amount, say at one price point, and then you're stuck playing the waiting game until you can find someone to take it off your hands. $383 You go out and buy some gold coins, thinking you've got a solid hedge, but then reality hits when you actually try to liquidate. It’s not like walking into a Starbucks and trading cash for a latte. Unless you have a private jeweler or a regular contact who deals in bullion, you’re stuck heading down to a precious metals buyer or a pawn shop. And once you’re standing there, facing those predatory buyback rates... well, you quickly realize how much they're going to squeeze you. $233 He really ought to be happy.

Gold and knowledge are both long-term plays. They’re both high-demand assets, and honestly, they can both be a pain to actually liquidate when you need them most. But if you look at the long game, they should theoretically yield the same kind of masterful returns. There is just one massive distinction: you can lose physical gold. You can have it stolen, lost, or wiped out in some market catastrophe. Knowledge? That stays with you. It's portable, untouchable, and permanent. I think that pretty much sums it up. 🙂

You’ve got a point, but I’ll add my own take on gold and silver: I have no intention of swapping them for fiat currency. Instead, I’m using them to acquire assets that actually build value over time 😉

Walter Barrett8 said:Since we were diving into gold as an investment vehicle—or just a way to squirrel away savings—I’ve been looking at it from a specific angle. Think about it this way: when you commit capital to gold, you aren't just spending money; you're incurring an opportunity cost by choosing not to invest that same cash into gaining specialized knowledge or other assets. You buy a certain amount, say at one price point, and then you're stuck playing the waiting game until you can find someone to take it off your hands. $383 You go out and buy some gold coins, thinking you've got a solid hedge, but then reality hits when you actually try to liquidate. It’s not like walking into a Starbucks and trading cash for a latte. Unless you have a private jeweler or a regular contact who deals in bullion, you’re stuck heading down to a precious metals buyer or a pawn shop. And once you’re standing there, facing those predatory buyback rates... well, you quickly realize how much they're going to squeeze you. $233 He really ought to be happy.

Gold and knowledge are both long-term plays. They’re both high-demand assets, and honestly, they can both be a pain to actually liquidate when you need them most. But if you look at the long game, they should theoretically yield the same kind of masterful returns. There is just one massive distinction: you can lose physical gold. You can have it stolen, lost, or wiped out in some market catastrophe. Knowledge? That stays with you. It's portable, untouchable, and permanent. I think that pretty much sums it up. 🙂

You didn't actually say anything there. Gold from 300 years ago still holds its value. Knowledge you picked up last year has probably already depreciated significantly.
It's also much easier to sell a bar of gold than it is to sell your expertise; society requires a far more sophisticated framework to trade skills than it does for bullion.

So yeah, comparing these two assets is just a total miss.

Walter Barrett8 said:Since we were diving into gold as an investment vehicle—or just a way to squirrel away savings—I’ve been looking at it from a specific angle. Think about it this way: when you commit capital to gold, you aren't just spending money; you're incurring an opportunity cost by choosing not to invest that same cash into gaining specialized knowledge or other assets. You buy a certain amount, say at one price point, and then you're stuck playing the waiting game until you can find someone to take it off your hands. $383 You go out and buy some gold coins, thinking you've got a solid hedge, but then reality hits when you actually try to liquidate. It’s not like walking into a Starbucks and trading cash for a latte. Unless you have a private jeweler or a regular contact who deals in bullion, you’re stuck heading down to a precious metals buyer or a pawn shop. And once you’re standing there, facing those predatory buyback rates... well, you quickly realize how much they're going to squeeze you. $233 He really ought to be happy.

Gold and knowledge are both long-term plays. They’re both high-demand assets, and honestly, they can both be a pain to actually liquidate when you need them most. But if you look at the long game, they should theoretically yield the same kind of masterful returns. There is just one massive distinction: you can lose physical gold. You can have it stolen, lost, or wiped out in some market catastrophe. Knowledge? That stays with you. It's portable, untouchable, and permanent. I think that pretty much sums it up. 🙂

Not really, though. Gold is probably going to deflate once this bull market finally burns itself out... or maybe it'll even become part of some new monetary system 🤷. Just look at the gold charts from the last 30 years compared to the last 10.

Look, I work in tech, and I'm constantly—honestly, practically every single day—learning something new or brushing up on old skills. There's that old saying about how you never stop learning as long as you're breathing 😉

analogharbor44 said:What's even the point of posts like this? 😕 Is this just an ego trip? You trying to flex your trading skills on us?

Who even are you? Seriously... what is your deal?🙂
Is there some kind of ban somewhere? Is someone blocking me or what...
Wait, so we aren't even allowed to post stuff like this anymore? Is that the rule now? Seriously...
The mods? Seriously?...

Melissa Sanchez17 said:Not really, though. Gold is probably going to deflate once this bull market finally burns itself out... or maybe it'll even become part of some new monetary system 🤷. Just look at the gold charts from the last 30 years compared to the last 10.

Look, I work in tech, and I'm constantly—honestly, practically every single day—learning something new or brushing up on old skills. There's that old saying about how you never stop learning as long as you're breathing 😉

Exactly.

Strictly speaking, we aren't just talking about acquiring knowledge—it's about building the mindset and the habit of constant self-improvement. That's where the real value lies.
The thing about gold (and plenty of other assets, obviously) is that it preserves value (except when it doesn't 😬) right at those moments when someone gets lazy with that commitment to constant learning.

That's the bottom line.

lonehawk5 said:Who even are you? Seriously... what is your deal?🙂
Is there some kind of ban somewhere? Is someone blocking me or what...
Wait, so we aren't even allowed to post stuff like this anymore? Is that the rule now? Seriously...
The mods? Seriously?...

😂

lonehawk5 said:Who even are you? Seriously... what is your deal?🙂
Is there some kind of ban somewhere? Is someone blocking me or what...
Wait, so we aren't even allowed to post stuff like this anymore? Is that the rule now? Seriously...
The mods? Seriously?...

What does gold, history, and the future have to do with your trading? Seriously! 😕
Why even call for the mods? Honestly, I don't think your posts even belong in this thread!

quiettrucker12 said:😂

Look, I see you're a trader too, so why aren't you posting your entries and exits here?

Jim Grant: It feels like we’re navigating an era defined by heavy-handed manipulation, doesn't it?

If the link isn't working for some reason, you can catch the video right here: http://www.slimbeleggen.net/blog/1...ens-jim-grant/

analogharbor44 said:Look, I see you're a trader too, so why aren't you posting your entries and exits here?

Good on him for starting this thread. Honestly, it beats all those endless ZeroHedge links everyone around here obsesses over anyway.

I've suggested this movie as an alternative to ZeroHedge a few times now:



Might be a bit off-topic, but 😁

"Jerry Fletcher (Gibson), a conspiracy-obsessed New York City cab driver, sees evidence of sinister plots in even the most ordinary places" 🙂

analogharbor44 said:What's even the point of posts like this? 😕 Is this just an ego trip? You trying to flex your trading skills on us?

I actually find these posts pretty useful, mostly because I don't trade this way myself. I always pay attention to them; they give me some insight into how other people approach things, I guess.

quiettrucker12 said:Good on him for starting this thread. Honestly, it beats all those endless ZeroHedge links everyone around here obsesses over anyway.

I've suggested this movie as an alternative to ZeroHedge a few times now:

Might be a bit off-topic, but 😁

"Jerry Fletcher (Gibson), a conspiracy-obsessed New York City cab driver, sees evidence of sinister plots in even the most ordinary places" 🙂

Totally agree with you regarding ZeroHedge. Honestly, I'm done arguing with people on this board. It’s pointless. They treat those guys like they're gospel, so...

I'll go look at the movie. Super curious to see what it's all about! 🙂

Regarding that other guy—I don't get what's so exciting about him just posting a gold price and saying "long" when his whole trade lasts like two or three hours. 🙂