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.

[Ahldagor]

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

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.

cool. has its usage in technology had a significant affect on its value? i know the amounts used aren't much per item, but when combined it's a lot, a lot a lot, of gold.

[mtb tripper]

malleability is a factor I never really thought much of

[Ahldagor]

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

malleability is a factor I never really thought much of

same here. the shiny thing is just too true. diamonds are pure carbon and not rare, but have crazy value. graphite is carbon too, but has little value yet we use it in pencils and lubricants...it's just not shiny...also this stuff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene

[mtb tripper]

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

same here. the shiny thing is just too true. diamonds are pure carbon and not rare, but have crazy value. graphite is carbon too, but has little value yet we use it in pencils and lubricants...it's just not shiny...also this stuff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene

humans are a crazy species

[Ahldagor]

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

humans are a crazy species

hehehe, makes it fun

[Orruar]

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

same here. the shiny thing is just too true. diamonds are pure carbon and not rare, but have crazy value. graphite is carbon too, but has little value yet we use it in pencils and lubricants...it's just not shiny...also this stuff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene

The reason we don't use diamonds as currency but we do gold is that diamonds are not divisible. If you take a $100k diamond and break it into 2 smaller diamonds, they are worth far less than $100k combined. Gold is the same price per unit whether you have a milligram or a ton of it.

[Ahldagor]

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

The reason we don't use diamonds as currency but we do gold is that diamonds are not divisible. If you take a $100k diamond and break it into 2 smaller diamonds, they are worth far less than $100k combined. Gold is the same price per unit whether you have a milligram or a ton of it.

what are you talking about?

[Greegon]

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

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

yeah if theres truly some really hard times coming will take a loaf of bread instead

[Toehammer]

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

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.

Hawala brings up many good points here.

A lot of people think that rarity is the key issue, but it is not. http://www.periodictable.com/Propert...Abundance.html

Gold has a unique set of properties (browse the above link) when compared to the other elements. Malleability and ductility, and a low melting point make it extremely useful to the metallurgist and materials scientist. High electrical conductivity, electron density, shininess, etc. but all precious metals (Au, Ag, Cu, Pt, etc.) have these qualities and are used for high-demand products like electrical wiring.

Gold is unique because it is almost chemically inert. That may sound simple, but it has profound impacts on its use as a currency (standard). Silver, platinum, copper, and other metals tend to oxidize and rust. Gold doesn't. The combination with its malleability and low melting point make it easy to distinguish from other metals and give the consumer strong confidence in its purity.

But I agree, the fact that it glitters, glitters forever (due to its complete resistance to corrosion at ambient conditions), and since it can be isolated from other metals easily by either heat or acid make it an ideal candidate that has evolved into a solid currency standard. People tend to forget that currency evolves too along with society, and gold seems to just inately possess all the right properties that humans naturally selected: it's shiny forever, "easy" to get in a pure state, and is rare enough to hold some value.

All currency basically represents a quantification of time/effort put into obtaining it. The most straightforward way to gain material wealth is to pull it out of the ground. So of course the rarer, more technologically useful, and prettier the element, the more it is worth.

People also tend to forget that human history is mainly categorized by the metals/elements we use to make stronger tools (whose power is mostly displayed through warfare/weapons). The stone, copper, bronze, iron, steel, and now silicon/petroleum ages. Although gold hasn't had immense use over the history of time, it does now with electronics and medicine, and we pull it out of the ground any time we find these other more "useful" elements.