Amazing advantage of owning gold

By 41 BC, just a few years after the assassination of Julius Caesar, a three-man dictatorship known as a triumvirate ruled in ancient Rome. It consisted of: a general named Marcus Emilius Lepidus, Gaius Octavius, who eventually became emperor Augustus, and Marcus Antony.

Many Romans rightly suspected that Marcus Antony was involved in Caesar's murder. He was rumored to have had an affair with Caesar's widow, Cleopatra.

Anthony's authority in Rome was absolute through his participation in the triumvirate. He could raise taxes, establish new social and religious traditions, confiscate private property, and even sentence people to death. All this was carried out without any trial.

Antony was not shy about using that power to quell the opposition. He executed several of his political enemies, including the much-loved Cicero. Antony also threatened to kill another senator named Mark Nonius. However, unlike Cicero, Nonius managed to escape from Rome, taking with him gold and jewelry worth about $1.5 million. People in the ancient world knew that precious metals (and gems) were virtually the only kind of wealth carried.

In those days, the main economic activity of people was agriculture. Assets such as land and crops cannot be moved. Gold was almost the only means by which the acquired wealth could be transported, and it remains so.

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There are many more options to move wealth these days, such as paper currencies, securities, intellectual property, bank deposits and cryptocurrency. Thus, there is no longer a need for gold to transfer money abroad.

However, the yellow metal still has a number of incredible benefits. First, it's a great way to preserve wealth. Buying gold does not require an intermediary, such as a broker who needs to pay commissions. No one enters the buyer of precious metal in a special database. Gold can be inherited without any bureaucratic obstacles. Secondly, gold is a rather profitable investment in the long term. In fact, since August 1971, when the yellow metal was formally untied from the dollar, its price has increased 42 times. In comparison, the S&P 500 rose about 40 times in the same period. This does not mean that gold is the best investment object. In fact, the stock is a more profitable asset. However, history shows that gold deserves attention as a reliable means of saving wealth. Dragmetal hedges systemic risks, functioning as an insurance policy: in a crisis, physical gold becomes more expensive. We are talking, first of all, about physical gold - bullion and coins.

Another good reason to invest in gold is diversification. The fact is that the investor should not put "all eggs in one basket." It is necessary to own several assets that have a low correlation with each other. Gold has an inverse correlation with the stock market. For example, if stocks rise, then precious metal usually falls in price, and vice versa. Thus, the yellow metal protects the portfolio during times of crisis in the stock market.

If the economic growth rate decreases, then gold rises in price, and if the economy is on the rise, then the yellow metal is trading sideways. Diversification is the main advantage of gold, especially now, in unstable times.