Following is quoted from
John Embry: Chief Investment Strategist – Sprott Asset Management

JOHN EMBRY: I think the key thing I am watching is the unfolding saga with respect to paper gold. There are some very interesting developments that I am not at liberty to discuss at this point going on, on this front. And I thnk as this becomes more obvious to people, I think an awful lot of individuals and institutions that hold ETFs, pooled gold accounts, gold certificates are going to probably start to feel very uncomfortable about what they own. And, if they start moving in the direction of owning physical gold, or vehicles where the gold is allocated and allotted. I think that will have an outsized impact on the price.

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2007/02/is-gold-inflation-hedge.html

Here’s a nugget for you (very compelling):

”
* Gold is a poor hedge against major inflations.
* Gold appreciates in operational wealth in major deflations.
* Gold is an ineffective hedge against yearly commodity price increases.
* Nevertheless, gold does maintain its purchasing power over long periods of time.

The intriguing aspect of this conclusion is that it is not because gold eventually moves toward commodity prices but because commodity prices move toward gold.
”

There is also some discussion of silver. You can easily scoop up physical silver in the form of tubes of Canadian Maples and American Eagles on ebay.

Owning gold or gold-based ETFs may be a decent hedge against inflation, but honestly, inflation is pretty much the least of our worries right now. And you’d still be better off with, say, TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities).

As to the whole “fiat currency” thing, look into the history of the gold standard: it’s often, rightly, described as a barbaric relic of the middle ages. A currency that floats is a currency that can be managed, and which can be used to moderate the effects of booms and busts…. I agree that it may be steered well or poorly but that’s way better than pegging it to some shiny metal dug out of the earth so that it it cannot be steered at all.

Mint’s a great application, but you’d have a hard time finding writers who offer worse money advice. Is the next piece “Rent-To-Own: What a Great Idea!”