Taxes durring shut down?

[Hawala]

Originally Posted by Ahldagor [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

to have gold you need the paper atm though. not to mention the only thing that keeps gold with a value is the notion that it's valuable being sustained by people. love how behaviors traverse cultures and time.

I am actually working toward my PhD in economics, and this is one thing that's always interested me. I'm currently working on a model economy that moves from a gold standard to fiat currency, and the ultimate fate of the economy is quite grim.

The thing that gives gold its value is not only its rarity but as you say, the notion that it is valuable.

I'd say the second most important attribute aside from rarity is malleability. Malleability is important, because if an empire collapses, you can melt the gold down into new coins very easily at a relatively low heat.

In addition to malleability, and related to it, gold is valuable because of how simple it is to determine its purity. The more malleable the gold is, the purer it is. Hell even human teeth are stronger than gold at its purest.

Also, just like any other mammal, we humans have a soft spot for shiny things. I think this is one of the primary reasons the idea of gold has traversed so many disparate and uncontacted cultures.