No Stupid Questions

. 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.

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.

Buy Silver instead.

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

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.

Gold as a long term investment isn’t great unless it’s one small part of your strategy. This is largely because the value of gold isn’t just going up and up like with other possibilities out there. In the event of a societal collapse people are going to be bartering with food or useful items, not gold.

in the event of like complete societal collapse or hyperinflation, they could use it for purchasing.

They are going to learn that you can't eat gold. It has next to no purpose other than looking pretty, and that's not going to matter much anymore in one of these events. It's value is as speculative as any other.

I bought some gold a few years ago, the price has gone up quite a lot since. I invested in small little pieces recovered from a lake somewhere. I figured it’s easier to barter with a tiny piece than a huge coin or bar of gold. It’s only a small part of my portfolio. I decided to invest in a mix of stuff, as you never really know the future. A little bit of cryptos, gold, silver, bullets, canned foods, solar panels, batteries, rain catchment and containers, etc. I also worked on my survival skills, tool skills, crafting skills, etc. it’s a huge way to barter with people when you have skills they need. The biggest thing I invested in is raw land in the middle of nowhere. The land has an RV and working on systems to gather water, power, etc. 99% of the stuff will be solar powered, but we do have a diesel heater, it doesn’t use much fuel as we only use it when it’s really cold.

I think gold is just one of the many things needed to survive if things collapsed. If it’s even needed. It’s just one of those things that makes me feel better as an insurance / just in case. But I feel the other things I have done will make a bigger difference if it ever comes down to it.

Yes.

I don't think society across the whole planet will collapse, short of a nuclear war in which case gold won't help one bit

Much more likely that certain areas will experience famine, war, disease, and reduced access to medicine.

Really the best bet is to be able to be mobile if an area has a significant decline you can move to where it's better

"this rock I found is special" "why?" "it's shiny and heavy"

And some poor dumbass was like "fuck yeah gimme that shit". Same with jewelery...

Bitches love gold. Just sayin.