Hello Wilfred,

On Thursday August 08 2019 13:38, you wrote to me:

 WV> The value of gold is also determined by the fact it is hard to get
 WV> (mine), and there is relatively little of it on earth compared to
 WV> other elements.

Gold is relatively rare, not only on earth, but in the universe as a whole. 
When the universe became transparent, some 300000 years after the Bing Bang, 
there was only hydrogen. Heavier elements were produced much later by nuclear 
fusion inside stars. This process can go on until the formation of iron. Beyond 
that it /takes/ energy to form heavier elements. Iron is at the bottom of the 
nuclear energy well. Heavier elements are formed as as side product when stars 
explode as suspernovas at the end of their life. The heavier the element, the 
more rare.

Gold is rare. but not as rare as platinum. Even more are rare palladium and 
irridium. Mining was hard before the industrial era. It is still relatively 
hard ro mine, but not as hard as platinum or irridium.

 WV> The paper money is much easier to create, or those numbers in your
 WV> bank account can be created at no effort at all, by a push of the
 WV> button.

Creating paper money is still too hard to do it in my own garage...

 WV> So maybe you think gold has little intrinsic value. The intrinsic
 WV> value of those numbers in your bankaccount is 0.

Indeed. It has value only because there is consencus that it has value. If 
society collapses that value will collapse as well.

My point is that gold is not immune to that process.

 MvdV>> Gold has little more intrinsic value than many other common
 MvdV>> metals. Humanity just has not discovered that fact. Wait until
 MvdV>> the great famine returns and someone tries to trade his
 MvdV>> inedible gold for food...

 WV> If that happens I rather have gold than numbers in a bankaccount, of a
 WV> bank that no longer excists...

If society as we know it collapses and we are back to the dark ages, you and I 
will not be able to survive. With or without gold.

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25255957
https://sciengsustainability.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-is-gold-so-valuable.html
https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-194047,00.html
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-gold-still-so-valuable


Cheers, Michiel

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