+mundooffshore, excellent exposition; I believe even the unusually obtuse likely to benefit should they truly seek new insight. My only addition would be caveat emptor, golds historic popularity as a general medium of exchange does not imply its sole worthiness as such. It seems to me that many of the factors lending preference to gold could be seen as less material in this modern era: specifically, rarity and by extension ease of transportation and storage (also resilience). Regardless, similar commodities, though not quite as appealing as gold, must gain attractiveness on a relative basis, when the exchange value of gold increasingly soars ever higher.