Weak thinker noted: "The only value gold has is dollars and vanity. There was NEVER a NEED for gold. There are better/cheaper materials that can replace gold in almost all scenarios." PLEASE LIST ALL OF THOSE BETTER/CHEAPER MATERIALS YOU ARE AWARE OF THAT HAVE BEEN UTILIZED FOR SAY....2 THOUSAND YEARS+++. NOTE WHICH OF THOSE HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN USED DURING REAL TIMES OF SHTF MOMENTS. I'M INTERESTED TO SEE YOUR LIST. "Gold goes up cause dollars are worth less. So is gold really worth more than it ever was?" YES! IT MOST ASSUREDLY IS IF YOUR NEIGHBOR LEFT ALL OF HIS $ IN DOLLARS. YOU CAN BUY HIS HOUSE AND MOST OF WHAT HE/SHE OWNS WITH YOUR GOLD WINDFALL. "In a real collapse I would not trade food for gold. Would you?" I AGREE FULLY WITH YOU HERE, OF COURSE NOT. BUT I HAVE MUCH MORE FOOD STOCKPILED THAN YOU, MUCH MUCH MORE. I WILL BE TRADING FOOD FOR GOLD AT THAT MOMENT. WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF FOOD LONG BEFORE I DO, WHAT WILL YOU BE TRADING TO GET FOOD? "There are a million things that would be much more valuable than gold in a collapse." THAT'S AN IGNORANT THING TO PITCH. WHAT KIND OF COLLAPSE? HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW WHAT THAT PARTICULAR COLLAPSE WILL BE LIKE. HISTORY SHOWS US MANY MANY VARIATIONS. DEPENDS WHAT THE COLLAPSE IS. IF THE COLLAPSE IS SUCH THAT YOU NEED TO GRAB SOME VALUABLES AND HOP OVER THE BORDER, A SMALL BOX OF GOLD WILL BUY YOU ALL THE THINGS YOU LIST WHEN YOU GET THERE. IF YOU HAD TO FLEE FOR YOUR LIFE FROM YOUR HOME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, SERIOUSLY, THIS HAS OCCURRED MANY TIMES IN THE AGES, HOW MUCH OF ANYTHING/EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIST WOULD YOU GRAB AT 3AM AND TAKE WITH YOU? OR WOULD YOU PREFER A SINGLE SMALL BOX OF GOLD? Seeds Coffee Tobacco Food Water Tools Skills Etc..." Gold is a fantastic store of wealth. Make sure you have water, food and weaponry situated before you buy it of course. What say ye about all that up there Weakthinker? Please provide a list of things other than gold which have been utilized by people fleeing during STHF times. I'll start on that list: DIAMONDS and SKILLS (from your list). We all know gold isn't perfect, so tell us what is. Now your turn. Make it good.