this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2025
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No Stupid Questions

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I know people out there who have invested a lot in gold under the belief that in the event of like complete societal collapse or hyperinflation, they could use it for purchasing.

I have the hunch it's a scam, but I haven't learned enough monetary theory, business, or economics to understand why.

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[–] janNatan@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Absolutely. Invest in silver instead. It's prettier.

[–] lando55@lemmy.zip 1 points 5 days ago

If that's the sole qualifier, I'm investing solely in bismuth

[–] Semester3383@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Generally speaking, precious metal commodities are a hedge investment; they aren't a primary investment themselves, but they're a hedge against a loss in value of other investments, like stocks or bonds. If you are investing in gold as a hedge against inflation wiping out stock market gains, then yeah, it's pretty solid. You probably don't want to hold on to it forever though; if you'd bought gold just prior to Carter taking office and the stagflation of the late 70s, you be pretty much break-even with things like index funds.

As far as total societal collapse, you would need to have the physical bullion, not just have precious metals in your investment portfolio. And even then, gold might not have a ton of value in a subsistence society. People might trade for it, but if I had food to trade, I don't think I'd be trading for gold, since I can't eat gold. The people that will clean up in a subsistence environment? The Amish.

[–] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

If you look back at the 2k8 crash gold plummeted almost as fast. People sold it off to cover other positions.

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

so you're saying buy the dip sell the tip?

it's selling time soon.

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I’ve seen the assertion that silver is a safer bet than gold. Less glitzy, but still precious and with more industrial uses.

Of course, if civilisation collapses completely, neither will matter unless someone will trade you something for your krugerrands.

[–] DrBob@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 days ago

Worth less so harder to carry large amounts of capital.

[–] RamRabbit@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Gold is a solid store of value. That's about it. It isn't a terribly good investment as it just doesn't gain value very fast compared to inflation. But, as I said, it is a solid store of value, so if that is what you are looking for, it isn't a bad option.

If you want to invest, you are better off with index funds held over the long term.

invested a lot in gold under the belief that in the event of like complete societal collapse

If that happens, a better investment is to make yourself as self-sufficient as possible. Have a way to generate power (solar + batteries), acquire water (well water), sewage (leech field), stored food (just extra cans of food you normally eat), acquire food (a rifle and somewhere deer exist), security (that same rifle).

None of that is unreasonably expensive or hard to get. But all of those are what you would want if you are worried about societal collapse.

[–] ThatGuy46475@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The thing about gold is they are always mining more of it, not great for long term value

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[–] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

It isn't a scam. It is an asset like buying land in the middle of nowhere. It will in general match inflation but underperform most other investments. In the very long term I would expect that with global population stabilizing and declining, the value of gold will also stabilize and decline.

[–] Cevilia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

NFCs, bitcoins, silver, gold, whatever. If the only way people can cash out is to get someone to buy what they're selling, there's always going to be an element of grift to it. It's just some are more grifty than others.

[–] douglasg14b@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

I mean that applies to literally everything

Everything that you make an investment in has some measure of liquidity.

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago

Shit, I gotta stop paying with NFC.

[–] Fleur_@aussie.zone 3 points 6 days ago

If you're looking for something to buy now that will have value in say 1000 years, gold's a pretty good choice.

[–] Balldowern@lemmy.zip 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] Gold_E_Lox@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)
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[–] Steve 2 points 6 days ago

As a finical instrument for investing it's fine. Makes total sense to have some of your money in gold.
As you describe, being a part of a prepping plan for the end of the world. It's really dumb, and a total scam.

[–] Taco2112@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

. It largely depends on how they are investing in it. Gold is a commodity just like lumber, gas, cotton, or livestock. You can invest in them like you would a stock or a mutual fund. Just like those other investments, the price will change daily based on the market. Gold is a weird one because everyone knows it was valuable historically and many people have physical versions of it. People use gold in their investment portfolios to hedge against some of their risk because typically the value of gold would go up when stocks would go down but our money was also tied to gold 50+years ago. The physical versions will change price too but they change differently.

  • Gold coins? Unless they’re old or rare, they’re only worth the face value.
  • Gold jewelry? It has value if it’s solid and not plated and then you need to get it appraised to know a fair value.
  • Bullion? Probably the best form to have it in because that’s what countries and people that want to transfer physical gold will use.

In the event of total societal collapse, gold won’t matter other than it’s a shiny metal. They are better off investing in something more useful like the lumber.

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