Money - a medium of exchange

Real money - something of value that you would exchange for something you want.

Fiat currency - a medium of exchange where paper represents a generally accepted value based upon the confidence exchangers have in the ability of the paper issuer's ability to deliver something of value in exchange for the return of that paper.

Honest money - any medium of exchange that is generally recognized as having value to multiple parties interested in trading.

Relative value - the value of a good or service when compared to honest money

If you can agree with the above defintions

Money is about confidence. Confidence is inspired by reliability. Reliability is a function of honesty. Honesty depends upon integrity. Integrity lacks fraudulence.

Gold and silver have for centuries been very difficult to counterfeit. Regardless of when their value can be represented by the ability to locate, extract, and refine a scarce material. Whether through the effort of a prospector in incredibly dangerous conditions, or a mining company who uses various factors of production the average cost to locate, extract, and refine that scarce material will determine its value.

BUT if and only if there is a demand for that scarce material.

WHY demand gold and silver - ability to transport, relative difficulty in counterfeiting, the general recognition of value amongst civilizations and generations, relative ease in identifying the material, especially when minted by a trusted authority.

Who do you trust? Why do you trust them? Will you be able to continue to trust whom you currently trust? If necessary will you be able to relocate yourself to a "safer enviornment" and will what you have to exchange with others also be recognized as having value.

Here are my answers

I trust myself and my judgement in others, thus I trust my wife implicitly and other family and friends I trust to varying degrees. Unless behaviour patterns change I will be able to continue trusting thos I currently trust. If necessary there are things I may be able to take with me to a "safer" environment, although history would suggest that may not always be the case or some things may be more difficult to take with me in the future for a variety of reasons. The diversity of things in my possession will continue to have value in varying degrees. This includes physical gold and silver which I believe will continue to be the easiest thing to transport (even in dangerous conditions) and they will continue to retain value in the eyes of mutiple civilizations and generations.

That is why I choose to hold these items and why I invest in the production of gold and silver and allow others whom for now I have a degree of trust to hold them on my behalf.

Hope this makes sense, is understandable and challenges your reasons or lack of reasons for holding or not holding these "precious metals".

orgy