Gold has been being used as a form currency for thousands of years and up until 1971 almost every major dollar in the world was backed by gold. The fact is that gold is a rare, nearly indestructible item that man has coveted for a long time and will continue to covet. Even though gold is now seen as just a commodity it is still traded for currency all over the world.
Growth Rate
In September of 2005 if you bought an ounce of gold you would have paid $470. Fast forward 5 years one ounce of gold is currently going for around $1270, which is like having a 22% interest rate on your initial investment, not bad for an investment. Experts predict the value of gold reaching $2000 an ounce in the very near future. With the values of major dollars going down all over the world, the value of Gold is going up.
Diversification
One of the main reasons you should buy gold as an investment is to utilize it to diversify your portfolio. Stocks and bonds are great in small dosages however in reality they are just pieces of paper that represent ownership or a part of a company. If that company that you own shares in tanks or an extreme situation happens like the market crashing all you will have is paper. Gold is tangible and indestructible therefore it is much more secure. There are currently plenty of markets conducting gold transactions so it is really easy to buy and sell gold especially in its currency forms like gold coins, bullions, and bars. This type of flexibility makes gold relatively easy to liquefy into cash so gold’s liquidity doesn’t have to be an issue to discourage you from purchasing it.
Security
One of the biggest benefits of gold is the security it could provide given an all out economical disaster. If a economic disaster occurred which rendered the fiat currency system null in void no one would want accept paper cash for goods or services. People would be forced to go back to doing what has worked for thousands of years before the fiat currency system, backing everything with gold. If you see people using a wheelbarrow to transport a big stack of hundred dollar bills to buy a loaf of bread then you know you will be sitting well if you have a reserve of gold lying around.