Gold is the oldest precious metal
known to man.

The first contact man had with Gold is still unclear to this date, however it is recognized by the Archeological community that pharos and temple priests used Gold for adornment sometime around 3000BC. The first use of Gold as money has been traced back to the Kingdom of Lydia (western Turkey) in 700 BC.

In 1792 the Congress passed the US Coinage act. It invoked the death penalty for anyone debasing money and provided for a Mint where silver dollars were coined along with Gold coins beginning in 1794. The valuation for the nations new currency was set with Gold valued at $19.30 per troy ounce. This remained unchanged until 1834, when the price of Gold was raised to the $20.67 level which held for the next 100 years.

It was not until 1934 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt devalued the dollar by raising the price of Gold to $35.00 per ounce. The stated reason was to raise commodity prices (especially farm products) and to create more employment for the millions who were suffering through the Great Depression.

In December of 1971 the Smithsonian Agreement was created by the worlds ten most industrialized nations in order to improve international economic conditions. Gold was raised to $38.00 per ounce. Unfortunately international economic conditions continued to deteriorate and in 1973 the US Government was forced to devalue the dollar yet again by raising the official price of Gold to $42.22 per ounce. Finally all international currencies were allowed to "float" freely against Gold. By June of that year Gold had risen to $120.00 per ounce in London. Exploding Gold demand set the stage for the trading of Gold futures on the COMEX in 1975.

In 1980 Gold briefly hit $850.00 per ounce as the demand far outstripped supply and the bubble burst. Since that time Gold has been in a bear market and finally bottomed out in the summer of 1999 against the backdrop the greatest financial bull market in the history of the world.

The subject of Gold is both timely and critical. Prudent investors are realizing that the bull market in equities is now over and alternative investments are the in order.