I recently came into possession of a solid gold bar (it’s a long story). With the personal interest on the line, I figured this was a time to take a look at the attractiveness of gold as a long term investment.

Gold needs no introduction. Since the start of mankind, humans have been drawn to this shiny metal. In 3000 BC, it was used by the ancient Egyptians to make jewellery. In 560 BC, it started to be used as a form of currency, and this continued all the way until the 19th century, when the US government pegged the US dollar to gold (the gold standard). The gold standard was only recently abolished in 1971, but the concept of gold as a store of value persists.

There are many ways to buy gold, including physical gold, gold ETFs (GLD and IAU), gold savings