Wednesday, 26 October 2011

Money Or Commodity - What Is The True Nature Of Gold?

By Jack Wogan


Many wars and conflicts were fought for gold because this precious metal was very rare and consequently, very expensive. Nowadays, its value remains unchanged even though centuries have gone by since its first discovery in 1848. According to financial analysts, gold continues to be one of the safest and most lucrative investments there is, despite the numerous statutory and physical changes that the metal has suffered throughout the years.

Gold pebbles and grains were collected in the beginning by people who spent days searching the mountain rivers for traces of precious metal. Gold diggers would wash and polish the pebbles after they collected them; their small sacks of gold would then be sold to banks in exchange of paper money. Although the metal could not be regarded as downright currency, it was often used among tradesmen to purchase various products and commodities.

Political leaders were eventually forced to mint coins made out of gold due to the frequent trades that merchants made with gold. Even though the form of the coins was different from one nation to another, historical documents claim that they were often used in foreign commerce relations, too. The raw material was collected by miners and processed by gold manufacturers, so it was no longer considered a stone, but a currency.

Even though there were few nations like the Bulgarians or the Hungarians whose women wore necklaces and bracelets made out of gold coins, it was not until recently that gold was considered a piece of jewellery. Gold manufacturers have started to mould the precious metal into various shapes of jewellery and adorn it with gems. Thanks to designers' inventiveness, the metal was no longer considered a form of currency, but a commodity, especially since it was no longer used for market exchanges.

Gold is the only product on the market that can be used as commodity and currency at the same time, market analysts say. The precious metal gives financial value to the paper money that is printed by national treasuries. Gold will always remain stable despite the fluctuations that are registered on the market. Given these circumstances, buying gold is a safe investment as you will never have to worry about economic recession again.

Many investors choose to buy gold in times of recession because its price will continue to grow due to people's interest in durable possessions. If you want to make a fortune with little effort, you will seize this opportunity of purchasing bullion bars and coins at affordable prices and you will resell these products later on, when the gold price begins to grow.




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