Copyright time
In all these cases, gold did well as an alternative money to paper/debt money. Over long periods of time, it was the money with the best track record of holding its purchasing power. This is why it is now the second-largest reserve currency held by central banks. That doesn’t mean that other currencies were worse storeholds of wealth than gold over time. That is because paper/debt monies provide interest, and gold does not. So, when interest rates were high relative to the rate of decline in the value of the paper/debt monies, these paper/debt monies gave a higher return. The market timing game, should one choose to play it (and I advise not to), is to hold the paper/debt money when the interest rate is high enough to compensate for the default and devaluation risks of holding the money. But when the devaluation and default risks of the paper/debt money risks are not adequately compensated for by the interest rate, it’s wise to hold gold.
