Originally posted by JSR
the topic of the thread is gold back currency.

who cares how rare gold is.
----
i read somewhere that the dinar is backed by gold. this is why the islamic contries have been buying gold.

the world bank has been keeping a tight fist on thier gold (i think this is where all the gold in ft. knox went) keeping prices high.

i also read, that china will be reinstating the gold backed currency, as soon as opec switches to the euro for trading oil. (notice they refuse to unpegg there currency, which was a rule when they entered the wto. they are now, i think, 4 years past the dead-line for unpegging it.)

when this happens, you will see all the countries who hold dollars, quickly dump them. and you had better been holding some gold.

then, china will make its move, and soon there after will be the foriegn reserve currency. then china, assuming USD is done with, will be the worlds super power.

so learn your mandrin everybody!

So we close all the walmart factories and any others, the workers will
crowd the towns and streets and revolt and sell off the gold cheep
and beg the us dollar to come back and make walmart junk again.

It might take 30 years but so what.

Originally posted by runetang
Alternatively,

Illicit Drugs, Preserved Alcohol, and Preserved Cigarettes will not devalue, they'll increase in value, during a major depression of the U.S. economy or if the 'crap hits the fan' and we have total social upheavel and anarchy.

So if you cant get your hands on gold, silver, or precious gems lol, stock up on beer, cigarettes, and whatever else you can get your hands on.

Edit: I'd suspect in an anarchic, ruined future, even the seeds that grow illicit substances would be way more valuable than they are currently.

[edit on 11/8/2006 by runetang]

Like the days of Al Capone and the Rum Runners or Wiskey from Canada,
a law that handed money into the hands of law breakers.

Nothing like logic when making laws.

Human Factors are lacking in many a human thought.

Yeah back in the 60s the silver coins went out of circulation.

So the silver backed dollar had to go since the silver quarters

would not be around to demand for change.

I skipped the last page and a half, so forgive me if I'm reiterating someone.

The average joe doesn't need to invest in any valuable metals. When/if the crap hits the fan, most people won't trade you anything for useless heavy, hard material. The currency of choice will be some form of paper currency. Who's currency is to be decided. If conditions deteriorate completely, the currency of choice will be food, water and weapons.

Only those folk who deal with folk who can turn valuable metals into something of value(meaning potential human labor) should concern themselves with hoarding gold, etc.

nextguyinline wrote just what I was going to. How in the world can one effectively exchange bullion for goods in a major depression? You cant just shave off a hunk and attatch a market value to it. When something hits the fan, food water and contraband are the easiest way to barter. If I need food and I have a case of whiskey and some silver earrings, which do you think the guy on the street will take as more valuable?

I know this is slightly off topic, but the thread did raise that question in me.

Useful materials such as food and water would be the trading materials of choice in the case of a major depression, but the only way one can maintain sizable wealth is with precious metals. One cannot stock up on food and water and store them until the depression is over. That is why gold is such an important and valuable material in times of crisis.

Originally posted by ajh91
What did you mean by backed by 15% gold, is the euro actually redeemable with gold? Can you take your euros to a bank and get gold or not?

It's like djohnsto77 said. The Euro isn't back by gold as such, but the European Central Bank does keep gold reserves that it can use to buy Euros to support the currency if needed.

So no, you can't redeem your Euros for gold at a bank.. YOu can of course take your money to a gold dealer who would be happy to oblige. I agree the "backed by 15% gold" term is confusing and I've never seen an reliable source for that info.. I presume it means the ECB aiming to hold enough gold to convert 15% of the outstanding Euro notes into gold, or in other words, holding enough gold to redeem each Euro for 15c worth of gold.

Personally, I'd rather go to the gold dealer and get a whole Euro's worth of gold for my Euro. (well, 95c worth once the costs/spread is taken into account), but maybe that's just me!

As things are, there are no restrictions on anyone owning gold, so really it's up to the individual to decide whether to store their own "value" in cash, gold, bricks'n'mortar, pokemon cards or something else... and IMHO that's how it should be in a free society.

If the world has an oil economy then the dollar is backed by oil for

the countries that have the oil and the countries that buy the oil.

So we are safe for centuries.

Most trade and the products are based on oil, except for third world that
have all the coconuts they need, we most likely force the banana growers
to export.

Originally posted by mr_albest
Useful materials such as food and water would be the trading materials of choice in the case of a major depression, but the only way one can maintain sizable wealth is with precious metals. One cannot stock up on food and water and store them until the depression is over. That is why gold is such an important and valuable material in times of crisis.

Interesting, I do have gold, hedge, metals ... investments but the big thing is
food and in light of what I just said we gotta move to a crowded coconut island.

Thinking back to the depression, I think that was do to lack of oil until the
Gulf and Texas oil was found to power WWII and the cars nowadays.

Selling apples in the street, yeah it was food in the soup kitchens everyone
went to.

Originally posted by TeslaandLyne
If the world has an oil economy then the dollar is backed by oil for

the countries that have the oil and the countries that buy the oil.

So we are safe for centuries.

The Iraq move is a short term fix for the oil backed dollar, unless the oil stays in the ground and we switch to alternative fuels. Then the untapped oil reserves in the middle east will maintain value as an alternative energy source if we ever encounter problems with alternative energy.

[edit on 29-11-2006 by In nothing we trust]

Originally posted by TeslaandLyne

Thinking back to the depression, I think that was do to lack of oil until the
Gulf and Texas oil was found to power WWII and the cars nowadays.

Selling apples in the street, yeah it was food in the soup kitchens everyone
went to.

Everyone wants a free lunch

There are no alternative fuels, there are alternative raw materials.

Gold is worthless unless you put it around your neck to look pretty. Oil is third only to water and sulfuric acid in importance, but is less readily available than the other two. Very few nations have gone to war over trade disputes involving gold, but trade disputes involving oil have led to every major conflict in the last 100 years.

Originally posted by Aramco
There are no alternative fuels, there are alternative raw materials.

Gold is worthless unless you put it around your neck to look pretty. Oil is third only to water and sulfuric acid in importance, but is less readily available than the other two. Very few nations have gone to war over trade disputes involving gold, but trade disputes involving oil have led to every major conflict in the last 100 years.

Exactly.
No alternative power sources other than oil, a great source of many products.
Even with the loss of major uses, oil will continue as a raw material.

The emergence of anything powerful from Zero Point Radiation effects
means there may not be any. Other than perhaps zpr being involved in
fluorescent lighting operation and isotope decay, the principle has not
even moved into a major factor catagory.

Now if gold became a factor, that would be interesting.
Is gold that inert, its good for electrical contacts.