Why is gold so valuable?

[PAH]

When I was an engineer we'd sometimes put a very thin plate of gold on edge connectors. I sometimes wonder how much gold is lost in industrial scrap.

Yeah, there's a whole market for overpriced av cables using gold plated connectors.

I'm sure it makes a noticable difference.

[BrilloPad]

Loads of valuable metals must be shipped out of the UK in old circuit boards and CRTs etc, to end up on giant scrap heaps in places like Nigeria.

Not sure how economical it would be to try and reclaim it in acid baths and suchlike though. But if the pound keeps sinking there must come a point when that is viable.

Plan B anyone?

[PAH]

Diamonds are a girls best friend, but a dog is a mans best friend.

That sums up the man/woman relationship pretty well. A bloke just wants a bit of 'company' and a bird will gladly give it if there's enough in it for her.

Whether that be a bacardi breezer, meal ticket, gold to dig, or simply a pussy-whipped slave, women have been exploiting men and their inability to think outside the dick for centuries.

[BrilloPad]

That sums up the man/woman relationship pretty well. A bloke just wants a bit of 'company' and a bird will gladly give it if there's enough in it for her.

Whether that be a bacardi breezer, meal ticket, gold to dig, or simply a pussy-whipped slave, women have been exploiting men and their inability to think outside the dick for centuries.

Hats off to women then. Nature has this way of eradicating those who are too stupid to survive.

[TykeMerc]

Plan B anyone?

Reclamation of gold and platinum from scrap electronics is already done commercially and has been for several decades.

I did some business with one in West London about 20 years ago, their security was far better than anywhere else I've ever been including military sites.

[larry]

Gold holds its value. 200 years ago you could buy a good suit for an ounce of gold. Today you can still just about afford to get a suit for an ounce of gold ($820). 200 hundred years ago a suit was available for a few quid or whatever they priced items like that in those days. If you carried forward that money in pounds now, it would be equivalent to a few quid.

[Doggy Styles]

Gold holds its value. 200 years ago you could buy a good suit for an ounce of gold. Today you can still just about afford to get a suit for an ounce of gold ($820). 200 hundred years ago a suit was available for a few quid or whatever they priced items like that in those days. If you carried forward that money in pounds now, it would be equivalent to a few quid.

I think the question was WHY does it hold its value? (Except when Gordon Brown wants to sell it.)

It has a distinctive appearance, it doesn't tarnish, it's heavy, it's rare, and so since the beginning of trading it has been accepted as a standard currency.

[TykeMerc]

I think the question was WHY does it hold its value? (Except when Gordon Brown wants to sell it.)

It has a distinctive appearance, it doesn't tarnish, it's heavy, it's rare, and so since the beginning of trading it has been accepted as a standard currency.

It also can't be forged as there are simple tests to prove its authenticity which make it a reliable currency.

[AtW]

which make it a reliable currency.

No, it makes it very bad currency because people will hog gold coins. There is simply not enough gold int he world to satisfy cash requirements of modern economy.

[TykeMerc]

No, it makes it very bad currency because people will hog gold coins. There is simply not enough gold int he world to satisfy cash requirements of modern economy.

I didn't suggest that it should be used as currency, however it is reliable so people invest in it as an alternative to cash or shares.