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Gold And Silver Are More Meme Stocks Than Money
I'll say it again: Excessive volatility can negate store of value considerations when it comes to as
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These days I can’t tell which is the actually volatile concept, fiat or metals. Saying the USD has not been volatile may only be in ratio to other fiat currencies. I have to say, the world of finance is reassessing assumptions and stressing many an investing thesis. A plane in extreme turbulance fatigues the structure until the structure breaks.
If I recall my history, the massive influx of silver from South America triggered a huge inflationary spiral in Europe. Ironic since people today see it as an inflation hedge.
While I’m no bullion “stacker,” I have always thought it would be cool to own an original authentic Spanish Piece of Eight.
They can be had for around $225, but at that price they will be fairly worn specimens (Argh, Matey!)
“Moneyness” (not the options trading term) is a useful concept that Lyn Alden uses in her book “Broken Money”. It is not a black and white thing. Low volitility is but one aspect of what makes a useful form of money, and gold fails in other ways besides that, such as transportablity and, at least until recently, scale. It is also subject to a continuing headwind in that a nontrivial amount comes onto to the market every year from mining. And even if gold beats out USD as a store of value over time, many would say that this makes it less useful as a medium of exchange (see demurrage currency).
But “meme stock”? H, have you been keeping 5-10% of your portfolio in meme stocks without telling us?
I dunno. Does anyone really think it is a form of money? But Florida recently joined some other states in allowing it to be used for retail transactions. Perhaps used at survivalist stores?
But before “meming” it, ponder the chart shown in the on Bloomberg titled “Gold has overtaken Treasuries in global central banks’ FX reserves”. As far as I know, they are not the Roaring Kitty crowd.
(https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-01-27/the-debasement-trade-is-a-real-worry-for-scott-bessent?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy
Doesn’t silver have growing value (no pun intended) as an industrial metal – solar panels as well as some types of AI chips?