About currency...

[xkatz]

I know this might sound silly but try to work with me

Why do we use gold and silver to back up currency? Besides being used for jewelry and minor components (at least as far as I know), it doesn't help all that much. Why do we value gold and silver so much? Why can't we back up the currencies with something more useful like uranium or oil?

 

[Aquitaine]

I know this might sound silly but try to work with me

Why do we use gold and silver to back up currency? Besides being used for jewelry and minor components (at least as far as I know), it doesn't help all that much. Why do we value gold and silver so much? Why can't we back up the currencies with something more useful like uranium or oil?

Well if you use the Dollar (Federal Reserve Note), the Pound Sterling or the Euro, you don't back your currency up with Gold or Silver, they are entirely Fiat, to my knowledge.

 

[JMorris]

Well if you use the Dollar (Federal Reserve Note), the Pound Sterling or the Euro, you don't back your currency up with Gold or Silver, they are entirely Fiat, to my knowledge.

paper money has about as much value as gold & silver..........which is psychological. gold & silver dosent have any more inherit value than paper money......soooo..........

 

[ericoh2]

You're right, we could use just about anything to back money if we had an honest financial system. It is said that King Henry 1 implemented a currency using tally sticks which lasted for 726 years. It was used as a way to prevent manipulation of the currency by the goldsmiths. The only reason I can see that we don't use something else to back our currency is that those in control do not want us to get out of debt so they can stay in power and manipulate the wealth. Here is a very informative video I just posted on another thread that goes into how this came to be if you are interested.

The Money Masters - How International Bankers Gained Control of America

 

[Aquitaine]

paper money has about as much value as gold & silver..........which is psychological. gold & silver dosent have any more inherit value than paper money......soooo..........

Yes but when it's created out of thin air and loaned out to Governments at interest, it creates a vicious debt cycle that cannot ever be broken, and the currency will inevitably lead to hyperinflation.

Given that both the Dollar and Pound are created and loaned to Governments at interest, the same is true for us.

Of course I do agree with you about Gold and Silver, they too are equally useless but for some reason we Humies like them - mmmmm shiny!

 

[dust1n]

Silver can also be used to make collodial silver!

 

[enchanted_one1975]

paper money has about as much value as gold & silver..........which is psychological. gold & silver dosent have any more inherit value than paper money......soooo..........

Funny...my gold is worth over $1100 per ounce, right now, this second. I can exchange it for an equivalent amount of goods and/or services anywhere on the face of the earth. Good luck doing that with the American Dollar.

 

[xkatz]

Funny...my gold is worth over $1100 per ounce, right now, this second. I can exchange it for an equivalent amount of goods and/or services anywhere on the face of the earth. Good luck doing that with the American Dollar.

Maybe we could use your golden Anubis statues for currency <ent:

 

[JMorris]

Funny...my gold is worth over $1100 per ounce, right now, this second. I can exchange it for an equivalent amount of goods and/or services anywhere on the face of the earth. Good luck doing that with the American Dollar.

yea that is funny, unless everyone all of a sudden decided it was worthless, then it'd be hilarious. funny how psychological value works

 

[xkatz]

I would also like to quote part of an entry I found on Wikipedia:

However, the amount of gold in the world is finite and production has not grown in relation to the world's economies. Today, gold mining output is declining.[8] With the sharp growth of economies in the 20th century, and increasing foreign exchange, the world's gold reserves and their trading market have become a small fraction of all markets and fixed exchange rates of currencies to gold became unsustainable. At the beginning of World War I the warring nations moved to a fractional gold standard, inflating their currencies to finance the war effort. After World War II gold was replaced by a system of convertible currency following the Bretton Woods system. Gold standards and the direct convertibility of currencies to gold have been abandoned by world governments, being replaced by fiat currency in their stead. Switzerland was the last country to tie its currency to gold; it backed 40% of its value until the Swiss joined the International Monetary Fund in 1999.[9]

 

[Aquitaine]

I would also like to quote part of an entry I found on Wikipedia:

To my knowledge though, inflating one's currency doesn't really help "pay" for anything, you're just devaluing the currency by printing off more notes. I guess it's just literally to temporarily "trick" people into thinking you've got more money.

Not only that but until we revamp our current Monestary System of borrowing money from Central Banks at interest, all Fiat currencies (including ours) will inevitably fall victim to hyperinflation, and then totally collapse.

Perhaps hypothetically Fiat currency could work, if it were created interest-free and honestly.

 

[enchanted_one1975]

Maybe we could use your golden Anubis statues for currency <ent:

Bite your tongue vile beast!

yea that is funny, unless everyone all of a sudden decided it was worthless, then it'd be hilarious. funny how psychological value works

Hasn't happened since the beginning of time. Why now? Every religious text from thousands of years ago even refers to Gold and Silver being the only money.

 

[JMorris]

Hasn't happened since the beginning of time. Why now? Every religious text from thousands of years ago even refers to Gold and Silver being the only money.

i dunno, maybe some day people figure out that "shiny" isnt a commodity worth valuing.
what is the practical difference between a $100 bill & a $100 worth of gold?

 

[enchanted_one1975]

i dunno, maybe some day people figure out that "shiny" isnt a commodity worth valuing.
what is the practical difference between a $100 bill & a $100 worth of gold?

The gold will increase in value while the bill decreases. The gold can also be used in the production of jewelry and electronics while the bill can be used for wiping dirty body parts. Hey, I would be tickled to death if gold lost its value overnight. That would just mean that I could buy it all and corner the market on it.

 

[xkatz]

The gold will increase in value while the bill decreases. The gold can also be used in the production of jewelry and electronics while the bill can be used for wiping dirty body parts.

But why not use something like Uranium, which is rare but can be used for more useful things like defense, energy and scientific research?

 

[enchanted_one1975]

But why not use something like Uranium, which is rare but can be used for more useful things like defense, energy and scientific research?

How safe would it be to carry a hunk of uranium in your pocket when you go to town to trade? Any item of value can be bartered with. Minted metals just work best.

 

[xkatz]

How safe would it be to carry a hunk of uranium in your pocket when you go to town to trade? Any item of value can be bartered with. Minted metals just work best.

Yea but it's not like we go around literally carrying piles of gold with us.

 

[enchanted_one1975]

Yea but it's not like we go around literally carrying piles of gold with us.

Some do. When the economy gets so bad that the currency is worth more than paper, those of us that thought ahead will be carrying gold and silver for trade.

Gems can be used too, but there are so many factors that can affect value. It takes a real expert to know what a gem is really worth. Minted gold and silver have the purity and weight stamped right in them. Many gold bars also come with a certificate of authenticity with the bar sealed inside it so you know it is the real deal. The best, most secure example is made by a company called Goldas.

 

[dust1n]

I read someone where once that Gold is useful for our Alien overlords, so governments collect all the gold they can, so that it can be used for... whatever aliens use it for. Probably powering their intergalactic jet skis.

 

[enchanted_one1975]

I read someone where once that Gold is useful for our Alien overlords, so governments collect all the gold they can, so that it can be used for... whatever aliens use it for. Probably powering their intergalactic jet skis.

Everyone knows that aliens invented lasers long before us and that gold is a very important component in a laser. They have made so many that they ran out of gold and need ours. You will see when they come here how those of us with gold are treated with favor...