(This was written late last year and only gets more relevant)

You would need to be living in Baffle Creek not to have heard that Gold has returned to its glittering position in any investment portfolio and edging well into traders' favourites. Shares in gold mining companies are good though nothing beats having safe ownership of the actual beautiful stuff.  The properties required of money were first described by Aristotle in the fourth century BCE.  (Before Christian Era for you non-politically correct persons)

• It is durable. It won’t evaporate, mildew, rust, crumble, break, or rot. Gold, more than any other solid element, is chemically inert. This is why foodstuffs, oil or artwork can’t be used as money.
• It is divisible. One ounce of gold—whether bullion, coin, or dust—is worth exactly 1/100th of one hundred ounces. When a diamond is split, its value may be destroyed. You can’t make change for a piece of land.
• It is convenient. Gold allows its owner physically to carry the wealth of a lifetime with him. Real estate stays where it is. An equivalent value of copper, lead, zinc, silver, and most other metals would be too heavy.
• It is consistent. Only one grade exists for 24-carat gold, so there is no danger of owning 24-carat gold varying in quality. Twenty-four-carat gold (pure gold) is the same in every time and place since gold is a natural element, unlike gems, artwork, land, grain, or other commodities.
• It has intrinsic value. Gold finds new industrial uses each year. Of all the metals, it is the most malleable (able to be hammered into sheets less than 5-millionths of an inch thick), most ductile (a single ounce can be drawn into a wire 35 miles long), and the least reactive (it can stand indefinite immersion in seawater, does not tarnish in air, and can withstand almost any acid). Next to silver, it’s the most conductive of heat and electricity and the most reflective of light.

At publication of this page 24th November 2005, GOLD was AUD66.80 a 1/10th troy oz.

Today, 18th February 2008, GOLD is AUD99.46 a 1/10th troy oz.

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