Search for:
  • Home/
  • /
  • A Golden History Lesson

A Golden History Lesson

Amoeba and I were in Seattle on the waterfront this week and I read a commemorative plaque that surprised me. The Klondike (or Yukon) Gold Rush was triggered by two ships, one that landed in San Fransisco and one that landed in Seattle. The ships disgorged miners with large nuggets of pure gold. The press got a hold of the story and soon the rush was on.

The news of gold in Alaska came during a time of serious recession. There was wide spread unemployment, bank failures and devastating financial hardship. The promise of huge gold nuggets littering the ground was too great a lure. People from all walks of life rushed to Alaska in search of gold.

Nations topple. Banks fail. Property prices wax and wane, but golden “nest eggs” in the form of coins have kept people from panicking for years.  I know my step-mom would buy gold coins and squirrel them away. She kept them in a tennis ball tube in the back of her closet. That was her security against ever being broke.  Now days places like Goldline International provide gold storage. I’ve never used their service myself, but I am certain they provide better protection then a tennis ball tube in the back of a closet would. If you’re thinking of investing in gold, you’re following an historic tradition.

15 Comments

  1. Right, gold is the preferred currency of hysterical people in full panic. Always a good suggestion.
    .-= Doug´s last blog ..Sad =-.

      1. I don’t see the distinction. But if the point is to have means after the U.S. dollar vanishes, a much smarter investment is shotgun shells close at hand. Gold in storage doesn’t sound particularly helpful in that scenario.
        .-= Doug´s last blog ..Sad =-.

  3. My mother invested in expensive jewelery and oriental carpets. Only years later I understood why. After WW II when there was nothing to eat, the once who had jewels and carpets could exchange it against eggs, bread, butter and milk ! She probably thought if ever we are hungry again, I have my rings and bracelets !
    .-= Gattina´s last blog .. =-.

    1. Gattina — that is why exactly. Money with the name of this or that government can be declared worthless, but gold and precious gems are international.

  4. The only gold I have is some Yukon Gold potatoes! Dennis’s parents didn’t have gold — but it was AMAZING the places we found cash stored when cleaning out there house. I mean BESIDES the 3 dozen coffee cans! We had to flip through pages of EVERY book and magazine! There were $20’s here and $20’s there! Shoe boxes in the closet – money INSIDE the shoes! Puzzle boxes, pantyhose eggs, tins in the medicine chest! Had to search the pockets of EVERY article of clothing in the closets — they had money squirrel’d EVERYwhere! Old folks are funny that way!
    .-= Melli´s last blog ..Princess Purple Dress From The Palace of Pinecone Puddle =-.

    1. Melli — I have no gold, either, and I totally know about people hiding money in weird places. My parents did it. Our freezer alone had enough money in it that it could have bought it’s own private kitchen and cook.

  5. My parents lived through the Great Depression and yep, we had lots of different investments hidden in the house in all kinds of crazy places: silver cutlery, gold coins, diamond jewelry my mother owned but never wore, and all sorts of collections and antiques. It was their peace of mind…. but now what do I do with my half of all this crap? LOL I hate to sell it because it was theirs — hate to keep it, knowing what it’s worth.
    GAH.
    .-= Susan at Stony River´s last blog ..Friday Flash 55: Oopsie =-.

    1. Susan — I don’t think my Gram did that. She was very fond of the bank and she only had two pieces of gold I knew of — her wedding ring and a Black Hills Gold mother’s ring.

  6. Quilly here is something off the top of my head…you’re right about the “secure feeling” gold lends to the public look at all the Gold “Buyers” that now rely on the public’s trust in that gold and send you a little envelope to send your unwanted strands and filling in for an “unknown” dollar amount. People trust that gold is going to get them big bucks even the guy on the TV told them so…. only to be disappointed . I would go for stashing coins in the tube over that idea any day!
    .-= Amanda´s last blog ..Sensational Haiku Wednesday =-.

Comments are closed.