Above the fold
As Good As Gold
Until Richard Nixon unhinged gold as the backing for the nation’s money supply people would (safely) assume that their paper currency was “as good as gold.” But, nowadays you might wonder, ‘how good is gold?’
The answer isn’t easy. The price of gold has closed lower in about four of every 10 years while rising six of every 10 since the decoupling 48 years ago. This makes makes it more volatile than stocks and bonds. In the short term you often have gotten burned. Yet it’s annualized return over the last 30 years actually outstrips the performance of broad indices of stocks and bonds. To further confuse things, gold’s total return in the last 15 years is the exact same as the last 30. It tends to be a flight to safety often rising as a hedge when stocks and or bonds are retreating. This behavior was acutely present right after 9/11 and before, during, and after the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
But, is all gold safe? After all there are gold mining stocks, pure gold bars (bullion), and gold coins. Each have their plusses and some have some negatives. And, a part of one is downright rotten. Which one? Gold coins that are a dime a dozen in availability and worth only a nickel a dozen after you purchase them.
Henny Youngman said, “take my wife, please!” 
Take Rosland Capital, please.
Rosland Capital primarily offers gold coins, silver coins, and gold IRA’s. Their pitch on gold coins by their TV pitchman and former Hollywood actor William Davane pleads to the elderly’s biggest fears. Their biggest fears are their physical safety and their financial stability in retirement. Rosland, time and time again, says that you need gold as a safety net. In one commercial they use a naval vessel to show the defense department protecting you physically and equate it to gold taking care of you financially. They have a debt counter (22 trillion and counting) on the homepage of their website to stoke your fear. They show Davane coming out of the rain and into the sunshine as he says that when he has extra money he buys more gold.
All the while the split screen shows these beautiful, one of a kind, limited edition gold coins. Call now!
If your insecurity about your security consumes you, maybe you do call. And with “expert gold advisors” standing by to help here is what you get if you buy. You get overpriced, commission heavy, hard to sell, mass produced gold coins. The coins melt value (it’s what it sounds like) is worth less than the price they sell them to you by either a lot or a lot lot. They are tied to the price of gold, you just start in a hole.
Stated differently, gold would have to go up by a lot, or a lot lot, for you to break even when you need to convert the gold to cash. How ironic! The very thing that gold did (back paper cash) now doesn’t convert gold into the cash you would expect.
And, all of that assumes that you find a buyer. These are readily available coins. These aren’t rare, and won’t be. Think baseball cards. Mickey Mantle is worth a lot. Mike Trout isn’t worth much. Why? Few Mantle cards exist. They’re more Trout cards than trout fish in the sea.
Maybe gold should be a part of your financial portfolio. Maybe not. Maybe gold coins should be a part of your portfolio. Maybe not.
Maybe William Davane should be ashamed of himself. We wonder if he is compensated by Rosland in gold coins. Maybe not. Greenbacks? Probably so.
publisher’s note: The above is only meant as commentary and opinion by the boomboomsroom.com staff. It is in no way an attempt to offer any financial advice or solicit or direct any reader in any way.