Saw this video about gold, it’s chemical structure and malleability. I still don’t understand why gold is worth anything at all……
In: 236
its modern value is founded by use in electronics, satellites, high end instruments, and obviously still in jewelry. The old value was found in its rarity, beauty, and its ability to not tarnish like other metals which made it good for coins. It also has been a good metric for currency because there is no easy way to mine it and very dense deposits are rare so the effort to acquire it is pretty standard anywhere on earth.
its modern value is founded by use in electronics, satellites, high end instruments, and obviously still in jewelry. The old value was found in its rarity, beauty, and its ability to not tarnish like other metals which made it good for coins. It also has been a good metric for currency because there is no easy way to mine it and very dense deposits are rare so the effort to acquire it is pretty standard anywhere on earth.
If you’re looking for anything to represent value, gold is the ideal substance. It has exactly the properties needed to make it valuable.
1. It’s scarce but not too much. Imagine you used iron for coins, to buy a car you’d need to haul several tons of gold. Imagine you used something much scarcer than gold, to buy groceries your coins would be microscopic. Gold has a nearly ideal level of scarcity to be used as a reference for value.
2. It’s easily recognizable. It has a unique color that sets it apart from all other metals. There are simple tests to tell if something is gold or another golden metal like brass. If you have the technology to falsify a gold piece you also have the technology to detect the falsification.
3. It doesn’t corrode or degrade in any normal circumstances. You can bury it for years, you can burn the house down, your gold will still be intact.
4. It’s easy to work with. You can subdivide and join pieces of gold in a way you can’t do with other substances like gemstones, for instance.
If you’re looking for anything to represent value, gold is the ideal substance. It has exactly the properties needed to make it valuable.
1. It’s scarce but not too much. Imagine you used iron for coins, to buy a car you’d need to haul several tons of gold. Imagine you used something much scarcer than gold, to buy groceries your coins would be microscopic. Gold has a nearly ideal level of scarcity to be used as a reference for value.
2. It’s easily recognizable. It has a unique color that sets it apart from all other metals. There are simple tests to tell if something is gold or another golden metal like brass. If you have the technology to falsify a gold piece you also have the technology to detect the falsification.
3. It doesn’t corrode or degrade in any normal circumstances. You can bury it for years, you can burn the house down, your gold will still be intact.
4. It’s easy to work with. You can subdivide and join pieces of gold in a way you can’t do with other substances like gemstones, for instance.
The real question is why are diamonds worth anything?
The real question is why are diamonds worth anything?
At first it was pretty and rare (among other unique properties) so early civilizations highly valued it. Fast forward several civilizations later and it is still pretty and rare plus the entire human history telling you that this thing is worth a lot.
cause it’s shiny rare (status symbol?) and pretty so humans like it
It’s rare, shiny (we like shiny things let’s be honest) and doesn’t lose mass through oxidation like iron or copper.
At first it was pretty and rare (among other unique properties) so early civilizations highly valued it. Fast forward several civilizations later and it is still pretty and rare plus the entire human history telling you that this thing is worth a lot.
Latest Answers