We have a small to moderate amount of gold and silver. Much more silver than gold.
We DO NOT trust or rely on it. Scripture is clear not to trust in it. We are to trust the Lord.
Having said that, there are a lot of things we own for their use, yet we don’t trust in them. House, car, tools etc…
Everything we have or use is temporary. So the precious metals we have MAY have a great use, that can temporarily let us survive.
When, not if, the SHTF, there may be a time that PMs may be used as a form of currency or barter. For us folk that don’t know how to farm or have animals, PMs may be the best thing for us to temporarily survive.
This from an article on gold’s value:
Why Is Gold Valuable?
Some people argue that gold has no
intrinsic value. They say it is a barbaric relic with no monetary qualities. They contend that in a modern economic environment, paper (or digital)
currency is the money of choice, and that gold’s only worth is as a material for making jewelry.
At the other end of the spectrum are those who assert that gold is an
asset with various intrinsic qualities that make it unique and
necessary for investors to hold in their
portfolios. They believe that investors have as many
reasons for investing in gold as there are gold investment vehicles.
The reasons behind gold’s enduring value include:
- Gold is perceived as a symbol of wealth, power, and majesty.
- Gold has had an exalted position throughout the ages as a highly coveted, even worshipped material.
- Gold has been used over millennia as jewelry and a means of exchange.
- Gold has an important economic role as a means of exchange should currency collapse.
- Gold is a store of value and thus an investment opportunity for individuals.
- Gold is rare and difficult to extract.
- Gold is malleable and can be formed as needed for use in, among others, electronics, dentistry, medical tools, and the defense, aerospace, and automotive industries.
- Gold is durable and noncorrosive.
- Gold has visual beauty and magnetic appeal.
Gold’s Essential Dichotomy
Most would agree that gold has always had value as a component of decorative jewelry,
a sometime currency, and as an investment. But in addition to these concrete values, we would add another characteristic of gold that, though harder to pinpoint, is just as real. Part of the appeal of gold is the mystery of that appeal.
In Search of a Method of Exchange
Our ancestors were faced with devising a method of exchange that was easier to implement than a
barter system. A coin is one such medium of exchange. Of all the metals in the periodic table of elements, gold is the logical choice. We can rule out elements other than metals because a gaseous or liquid currency isn’t very practical from the standpoint of personal portability. This leaves metals like iron, copper, lead, silver, gold, palladium, platinum, and aluminum.
Iron, Lead, Copper, and Aluminum
These metals are prone to corrode over time, so they wouldn’t have good value in terms of storage, which is required of coins. Moreover, keeping the metals from corroding is a labor-intensive task.1Aluminum feels very light and unsubstantial—not ideal for a coin-metal that should invoke feelings of security and value.
Noble Metals
Platinum or
palladium, among the substances known as the noble metals, are reasonable choices because they are mostly nonreactive to other elements—that is, they produce little corrosion. But they are too rare to generate a sufficient number of coins to circulate.2 To assign value to a metal, it must be somewhat rare (so that not everyone can produce coins with it) but plentiful enough so that a reasonable number of coins can be created for
commerce.
Gold and Silver
Gold doesn’t corrode. It can be melted over a flame, making it easy to work with and stamp as a coin. Silver and gold are beautiful metals that are easy to form into jewelry, and both of these
precious metalshave their own devotees in fine-jewelry circles.