Depending on where you stand regarding the severity of Y2K, are the profits accrued from gold over the next 3 months really that important? If everything comes apart at the seems, and for me, that is the only pragmatice scenario, what will you end up doing with your few thousand, million, whatever? What will be valuable for the year following Y2K is what is worth having. Gold, though on the rise, is just a glittering sideline to a much darker reality.

Owl

-- owl (so@a.com), September 28, 1999

Answers

For one thing, it will help pay for the preps, pay down CC debt, stash some cash for later, keep the rest of PM for later a hedge if society after 2000 is still somewhat livable...

That's what the profits are for

-- (..@....), September 28, 1999.

Owl,

I'm with you on this one. If paper money is to be worthless and gold coins rises in relation to paper money, where are you? You can now buy a lot more (worthless)paper money with your gold coins. Not a big improvement.

On the other hand, the cost of a loaf of bread will always be tied to the value of gold.

I'd be buying stuff. Stuff like food, fuel, amunition, fencing, land, animals, seeds, clothes and cloth, books...things that matter, not some pie-in-the-sky hope to get rich off of the quaking masses.

If TSHTF, then someone will just kill you for your gold, if the band plays on, then your gold will drop in value again.

Use your time and wealth to provide for your loved ones-they are the treasure.

-- Randers (coyotecanyon@hotmail.com), September 28, 1999.

This whole "gold thing" has become scary. It's only money, people. Get a grip. I keep flashing on Moses coming down from the mountain and SMASHING the tablets on the golden calf. ... or was that Charleton Heston?

-- (DowGuy@wallstreet.com), September 28, 1999.

It's not just money--it's a financial profile of where we're at in re Y2K and other threats to our structure.

Also, the price of gold might not relate to anything within the next year, but it might relate to if you're going to eat ten years from now. I personally am not looking to be wealthy, but I would like to be able to have a roof over my head and some chow in 2010, if the structure holds.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), September 28, 1999.

All articles that coruscate with resplendance are not truly auiferous. Put another way, all that glitters is not gold. -PF (futures trader since '94) The current move up in gold is giving me some anxiety, being that I am unable to participate (lack of capital), so I will try and concentrate on more preps., ie., recently purchased wood stove and generator. Still like to trade, it's somewhat addicting. Constantly need to keep greed and avarice in check, however.

By desiring little a poor man makes himself rich. -Democritus

Wealth, in even the most improbable cases, manages to convey the aspect of intelligence. -John Kenneth Galbraith

-- PF (pf@sk.sympatico.ca), September 29, 1999.

Owl:

Gold doesn't do anything, ever. It is only itself. It is what people think, and agree upon that gives it any 'value' whatsoever. Over the course of human history, gold has been the most widely accepted form of 'storage' of 'value', because it possesses several unique characteristics: immutability, divisibility, portability, durability and rarity. It is likely that in the coming tumult, it will still represent a store of value to most people. Perhaps, if things are very difficult, you will only be able to purchase one chicken with your ounce of gold, but you may not be able to buy that same chicken for a whole wheelbarrow full of paper with fancy printing, from a government in which people no longer have any faith, and whose credit has run out.

It's a hedge against disaster. Most of the current 'value' that you command should be in tangibles: food, water, fuel, etc. If you have any left over, gold, historically, may be the safest store of that value.

Godspeed,

-- Pinkrock (aphotonboy@aol.com), September 29, 1999.

How about this point of view:

Since our oil out-of-the-ground industry is now practically non- existent in this country, we (as well as any industrialized countries who need oil to maintain their infrastructure) are beholden to countries who provide that oil.

All middle eastern countries value gold above anything else, they value strong currency, backed by gold 2nd and strong currency backed by a strong economy + partial gold backing 3rd.

Where is the U.S. on that scale? We are not on the list, folks.

Dig it? Now, do you understand the argument for gold?

-- OR (orwelliator@biosys.net), September 29, 1999.

I understand the long term value of gold, no question. My paradox point was that, say you have gold, and you've made a small bundle over the next few months. The paradox? Do you sell the gold for short term gain and acquire a few greenbacks, which will undoubtedly be worthless next year, or do you hold onto the gold for safekeeping over the next year or decade. So all the excitement about gold seems paradoxical IF you can't really cash in on it.

Owl

-- owl (b@a.com), September 29, 1999.

Owl hooted ------The paradox? Do you sell the gold for short term gain and acquire a few greenbacks, which will undoubtedly be worthless next year--------

Greenbacks UNDOUBTEDLY be worthless next year..........hehehehehehehehhhhhhhhhhheeeheheehe........

Get a grip Owl. Do you seriously believe the crap you espouse or are you a troll having fun?

-- Craig (craig@ccinet.ab.ca), September 29, 1999.

OK, lets see. No banks, no production of greenbacks, no stores to purchase anything....hmmm, exactly what, Craig, would the value of a greenback be if you can't use it, store it, or bank it? Trade it? Who who who would want it??

Owl

-- owl (b@a.com), September 29, 1999.

No banks and no stores next year hey Owl........can you spell P-A-R-A- N-O-I-A??

Okay, let's have a show of hands.......how many other people here think that there will be NO banks and NO stores next year........please respond with your vote people......I'd like to see just how many people actually BELIEVE this nonsense.

-- Craig (craig@ccinet.ab.ca), September 29, 1999.

Craig, if you think about this, how can Y2K be a middle of the road event? Do you understand logistics? If only a few banks go down, or a few supply chains for food are interrupted, etc etc, well, we are dealing with not only a herd mentality, but, all these computers are more alike than they are different. If a few problems crop up, they will crop up everywhere, so you can expect, even in the best case scenario, that many small inconveniences add up to a large inconvenience. Society is more fragile than an egg. When it crumbles even slightly, I hope you have something to fall back on.

Ever go without food for more than 3 days. I have, many times. Guess what? By day 2, yer hurtin. By day 4, no energy. Water is even worse. You seem to think that the powers that be will intervene. Well, so sorry, but they won't.

Owl

-- owl (b@a.com), September 29, 1999.

Craig, seeing that you are so much wiser that we mere mortals, please outline what IS going to happen....that is, if you can. Or do you just shoot blanks?

Owl

-- owl (b@a.com), September 29, 1999.

Owl, your question is valid. Here's the scenario that is unfolding in the economy as researched. We have gold lease rates that are pushing 10%, when last year at this time they were around 1%. A $40 spike in gold (which is where it is at as I write this) means the toppling of any number of large entities involved in the gold leasing scheme. The European groups of banks has made their intentions known about reduction of leasing and sales down to a trickle. (Japan too?). The perception created, in effect, is gold is too valuable to sustain this practice. This will have the effect of unwinding the fiat debt based US dollar as the world reserve currency, sending home huge amounts of our dollars that are now being held as a hedge against local currency fluctuation. You could look at this from the perspective A) our dollar value will be destroyed or B) we will suffer inflation like you've never seen. No one really knows how it will play out, only that it is happening as we speak. It could take days, weeks or even be played out over a period of months. Who knows?

Now, the big question is, what will happen to gold as money? I suppose that depends on the decisions of those in power in the western block (US FED, IMF, Bank of England-don't overlook the fact that the bank of England is now negotiating to enter the European union backing the Euro in about 2 years-defacto elimination of ties to US dollar) There are a number of avenues that we could go down. Most aren't pretty.

I won't go into the detail version of gold being a long standing store of value over thousands of years...Everyone on the planet has not lost sight of this, except for the western block of manipulators (and keep in mind Americans' perception of money has been perverted by these powers).

Suffice to say that our dollar is about to feel a huge hit in value. Gold is the lesser of two risks, by far. My advice will stand the same. Your cash should be used to purchase a store of supplies that you will use, then to retain the value of your cash, you need to consider the transfer of some of it to gold and perhaps a little silver in physical form only-take delivery. The percentage will be determined by your comfort level.

-- OR (orwelliator@biosys.net), September 30, 1999.

Owl your a hoot :)

OR seems to be the only one here with a ny real clue as to what is going on. Kudos OR, I don't have your patience to explain things to Owl.

Owl - it's all in the archives.

Go to usagold.com and read the articles about another and foa.

Read the latest Harry Schultz newsletters from Switzerland.

The latest Sherman Skolnick piece.

That should get you started - you have a lot of catching up to to laddie but I fear you have already missed the boat...

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 30, 1999.