I noticed that once again, because of market conditions, that the gold commercials are out in full force. They use celebrities and promise safety and investment returns that beat the traditional methods. Are they correct?
These ads prey on people! Many people have the mistaken notion (and these ads capitalize on that) that gold is a good investment that will cover them if the economy collapses.
Gold is actually a lousy investment. Having been a financial advisor for over 14 years (before I became a realtor 21 years ago) I can recall the "gold pushers" back in the 70's saying the same exact thing they are today! The average rates of return (tracking it WAY back) are around 2% per year!
From a numismatic (fancy word for coin collector/expert) point of view, gold coins are historic and incredibly beautiful! I have a few numismatic gold coins myself...they look lovely on glass display (backlit of course).
In the last 50 years, gold has rallied to a 4% gain a year, which equates to just above the average passbook savings account and about the same as inflation. It should be noted that during that same time period, an investor could have made approximately 12% in a good growth fund. Also gold is extremely volatile and has much more risk than a mutual fund.
History shows that when economies fail, gold is NOT used...if anything, a system of bartering usually occurs (give me some of your vegetables I'll give you some lumber etc.) In the case of new governments, the first thing that is established is a system of paper money; most certainly NOT gold bars. 
Don't be suckered into these claims of gold being safe and the way to make money; real estate is still by far the better hedge against a failed economy!
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