ST Alpha - "what's funny is that there's no practical reason it should be gold as opposed to anything else." (Reading a Post)

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In response to "Wouldn't inflation be insane right now if our $ was backed by gold?" by TWuG

what's funny is that there's no practical reason it should be gold as opposed to anything else.

Posted by znufrii Mar 30 '11, 07:43

beyond traditional cultural assumptions of its worth as determined in the marketplace, which is exactly the same thing that underlies US currency.

Responses:

Gold has a few qualities that make it a decent choice - a relatively low smelter point, is easily alloyed and has low reactivity. - Reagen Mar 30, 07:58 4
- scarcity works to its advantage too, as does density. -- nm - mafic Mar 30, 08:08 1
  - all of which are of pragmatic value, rather than intrinsic. - znufrii Mar 30, 08:11
- the real quality that it has is that it's a commodity that has held value across many thousands of years and multiple cultures....nm - x Mar 30, 08:00 1
  - I would argue that that's a consequence of what I pointed out. - Reagen Mar 30, 08:03
oil actually makes more sense. you can at least do stuff with it. -- nm - mafic Mar 30, 07:45 2
- (from the intrinsic worth POV. it has myriad other problems). -- nm - mafic Mar 30, 08:03
- exactly. -- nm - znufrii Mar 30, 07:48

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