BySameer Advani:
It is a common refrain amongst gold aficionados that one ounce of gold has always and will always maintain the ability to purchase one "decent men's suit." Hence the notion that gold will always maintain a constant purchasing power. Judged by this metric, let's find out how one ounce of gold has done for the last 212 years.
I have no personal bias for or against gold, but the merits of maintaining gold as a portion of one's wealth should be based on its historical performance relative to other asset classes. After all, gold is just that...an asset. Granted, it is a hard, tangible and shiny asset, which gives it a striking allure, but nevertheless, it is an asset whose value is subject to economic and market forces.
The starting point for this analysis is the year 1800. I believe that duration provides a long enough runway to analyze. In
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