# Is there a GQ response to the right wing marketing of gold?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-gq-response-to-the-right-wing-marketing-of-gold/517433>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 13, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-gq-response-to-the-right-wing-marketing-of-gold/517433 "2009-11-13T12:12:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-gq-response-to-the-right-wing-marketing-of-gold/517433/31 "2009-11-15T03:55:30Z")

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> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> I think that this is only sort of true. [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gold_price.png) is a chart of the actual and inflation-adjusted gold price from 1968-2006. Yes, it’s gone up, but not by very much, and certainly not much compared to the S&P 500 Index.

Let’s do the comparison. One dollar invested in the S&P 500 in January 1, 1978 would be worth $24.60 in Dec 31, 2008. [Cite](http://www.moneychimp.com/features/market_cagr.htm). Note that I picked an endpoint during one of the worst bear markets of the post-war era.

An oz of gold was worth about $170 on Jan 1, 1978 and $875 at the end of 2008, coming off of the worst post-war financial crisis when gold should be worth zillions. Dividing, $1 of gold bought in the beginning translates to $5.14 now.

5.14 \<\< 24.60.

## Hey, gold might be a terrific investment going forward. But it sure has been a dud in the past.

**What do baseball cards, art and gold have in common? They’re _really really_ cool**  
I would expect gold to have lower returns over the long run. Like art, people like to hold the shiny metal, while investing in x share in Big Corp is boring. So they have to pay a premium for it, translating into lower returns. Add in conspiracy fantasies and gold’s allure becomes overwhelming.

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