Quote:
|
An old adage used to explain inflation, and has generally been true since 1873 is “a damned good handgun is worth an ounce of gold.”
|
I'd never heard it put quite that way, until now. And I think it seems a bit overvalued.
The one I heard, from back in the early 70s was "in the 1970s a $20 gold piece would buy you a Colt revolver. Today, that same $20 gold piece will still buy you a Colt revolver. But a $20 Federal Reserve note won't even come close. (alternate: "but a $20 Fed reserve note will barely buy a box of ammunition" which, in those days, it would but today won't come close...)
The base price of a new 1873 Colt Peacemaker in the 1870s was $20.
An 1870s $20 gold piece was not an ounce of gold. More like 7/8 oz or so, and the gold in it wasn't pure gold, it was coinage gold.
The considerable value of a $20 gold piece today is not because of the metal content but because of its value as a rare old coin.