Hello Al, I remember was gold was no longer fixed. The price popped
up to 42.00 right away and the industry experts were firmly convinced
the the jewelry industry was doomed. We’re still here.
Tom Arnold
The last time gold was less than $200/oz was 1979, not 2004. The
last time it was $35 was 1967.
Jerry in Kodiak
Who remembers when the price of gold was $35.00 an ounce?
I do. When I was studying metals at the University of Oregon. Silver
was less than a buck an ounce. I remember buying sterling silver
flatware for 15 cents at garage sales and junk stores.
By the time I finished school in 1974 gold was almost the
unbelievable price of just under $100 bucks an ounce. I still have an
18kt gold and enamel salt cellar that I made then.
Professionally,I’m not all that bothered with the high price of
metals right now. It lends a certain aura of preciousness to our
work. Personally, I have put on hold some fun projects that will have
to wait til the price goes down, which it will eventually.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
www.timothywgreen.com
By the time I finished school in 1974 gold was almost the unbelievable price of just under $100 bucks an ounce. I still have an 18kt gold and enamel salt cellar that I made then.
Not really surprising, since the US price had been regulated. I
don’t remember what the price was in other countries, but I was in
Korea in the early 60’s, and some GI’s were getting letters from home
with gold sheets in them. They made a handsome profit selling to
local jewelers. Illegal, of course.
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ
You are right - and I was wrong. I bought gold in Jan. 2004 for
$293.
when gold was $35 an oz what did a bottle of coke cost in the USA? A gallon of petrol? What are the prices today?
Pre-Tricky Dick (Nixon) prices: Gas, $.29; Coke, $.15 (with $.02
bottle return); cigarettes, $.25. Now: Gas, $2.90; Coke, maybe
around $1.50; cigarettes, close to $5.00.
Pete
Just for interest, when gold was $35 an oz what did a bottle of coke cost in the USA?
First off, I’d gently suggest that if anybody really knew the how’s
why’s and wherefores of the gold investment business, they wouldn’t
post it here.
Like all such things, there’s an element of chance, which way the
wind blows, panic, current events, foreign relations… Many
people study it muuuuuuuuuuch deeper than I do, and most of them
aren’t rich either… ;}
But - yes, I also remember $40 gold, and silver was $2.20/oz. I also
used to go to the Saturday matinee for a quarter, and gas was 35
cents when I got my driver’s licence. When gold changed from $40 to
the open market (which was a false, American marketplace to begin
with, which is why it was changed), a loaf of bread was around 75
cents or a dollar. Right now, gold is (call it) $1195, which is
(call it) 30 times higher than $40. That would make the 35 cent gas
$10.50/gallon, the loaf of bread $30. Even real estate prices have
by-and-large only tripled or quadrupled. A house I almost bought,
back at that time, was $37,500 for three bedrooms, two baths. That
would be $1.125 million, at that ratio, today. Comparable in that
place, today, is more like $100k - $150k.
BTW, a Coke was around 50 cents, too, at that time.
I don’t pretend to really understand the gold marketplace, but it’s
clear that there’s more than inflation at work, more than supply and
demand, more than any single, definable thing, in fact.
Larry- you could buy a 6oz bottle for .05 and a gallon of reg for
about .20cents The Feds controlled all the gold and only sold or
released it for jewelry making-dont really know-didnt even wear
jewelry back then. In the '60s France had some arrangement to be paid
for something and insisted it be paid in gold bullion. They never
paid their war debt, however. In fact nobody ahs except Denmark. A
new car cost from 1700 to 4000 depending on make and model. Minimum
wage was about ! .65
And I am old enough to remember when I first learned to drive we
could get gas for 5 cents a gallon - coke hadn’t even come out just
yet - I remember my mother saying it was a dumb idea when it did come
out - after all who’d want to buy 6 of the same thing (and this was
when it came in the little 6 oz glass bottles with metal caps! And
you could get an ice cream soda with a double dip of ice-cream,
whipped cream and cherries in a big tall glass with 2 straws and
refills when you wanted at no additional cost - think the first ice
cream soda cost around 10 or 15 cents? Of course getting your hair
curled was an ordeal as you were hooked up to curlers that were
attached via electric cords to a dryer type cover - wonder we didn’t
get electrocuted - did get the hair burned on more than one occasion!
But by the same token, my first job was putting price tags on
dungarees (by hand) and up in the attic (no a/c) in WT Grant and I
made 11 cents an hour, cost me 5 cents each way on the street car
with 2 transfers (free), a 10 minute break in the morning, 30 minutes
for lunch and a 10 minute break in the afternoon and we worked from 7
a.m. to 7 pm. So everything is relative - Since bread was 9 cents a
loaf you had to work nearly 1 1/2 hours to afford it. Today bread is
around $2.50 a loaf and at minimum wage, you probably only need to
work 1/2 hour to buy a loaf.
K.
gold used to be very expensive. the price of gold nowadays has gone
considerably down, even though the actual numbers have raised, a
dime was worth a lot back then
Larry,
In the '60s France had some arrangement to be paid for something and insisted it be paid in gold bullion. They never paid their war debt, however.
It wasn’t the 60’s, it was in 1971 when the US was printing money
that was not covered within the gold standard umbrella. The whole
world knew it, and this is why France wanted to be paid in bullion
for the US dollar reserves it held. The whole World knew that the US
was over spending (sound familiar?) which caused a run on Fort Knox.
Nixon in turn, took the US off the gold standard and of course this
needed to be replaced with something to support the value of the
dollar, hence the International Currency Exchange was established.
In fact nobody ahs except Denmark.
Actually it was Finland.
As far as I know, Denmark had no real financial obligations at the
end of the War, however it was in trouble. Any money that is possibly
owed, would fall under the Marshall plan which ran from 1948 - 51
IIRC
However, the United Kingdom just finished in 2006 paying their war
debt to both the US and Canada. Germany’s debt was forgiven in part.
Best Regards.
Neil George
Pre-Tricky Dick (Nixon) prices: Gas, $.29; Coke, $.15 (with $.02 bottle return); cigarettes, $.25. Now: Gas, $2.90; Coke, maybe around $1.50; cigarettes, close to $5.00.
Gold reached it’s highest peak in 1980. It was something like $800
per ounce. This adjusted for inflation is around 2300, so we have a
way to go.
Leonid Surpin
Just for interest, when gold was $35 an oz what did a bottle of coke cost in the USA?
I used to go to the corner Marathon gas station, an old concrete
block building complete with church pews and backky’ chewin’ old men
out front, and the car lift outside, and for.15 cents get a coke in
a glass returnable bottle from a machine that was filled with ice
water. After putting your money in, you waited for the machine to
unclamp the bottles, and then reached into the numbing cold water
quickly before the machine clamped shut again…50 cents bought you a
coke and a pocket full of candy. Gasoline was around.15-.20/gal for
ethyl(the best grade back then) The gas station owner , Bob Blake,
was about 500 lbs and we called him BLOB BLAKE. His employee had a
shriveled up right arm and we called him LEFTY-they say a train ran
over his arm as a kid, and me, my name was CATFISH-don’t know
why-just the name that Blob gave me. One old guy who usually sat on
the pews, real name was Horace Leek, but we called him PONY PEE.
Sometimes we would take bets on who could ride a wheely on their
bicycles all the way to the next town over(about 3 miles). We lived
in Orestes (pop. about 300 back then) but we called it Oysterville.
And by the way, gold was $35/oz.
Ed
Gold reached it's highest peak in 1980. It was something like $800 per ounce. This adjusted for inflation is around 2300, so we have a way to go.
$850 an ounce in January 1980. That is when I bought the gold for my
own wedding rings. But the price was below $500 by April. The
cumulative average for 1980 was $612. Still more than today if you
factor inflation, but we have not seen anything like that spectacular
but temporary spike up in 1980. That would be like it going to $1700
for a week and then dropping several hundred dollars. It could
happen. I bought a big platinum casting last week when Pt was over
$1700 and now it has fallen to under $1500. If any of us really
understood this, we could be rich commodities traders. Or more
likely, we would just think we understood it because we made some
lucky guesses in the past, and loose our shirts.
But business has been surprisingly good for the past two months. Not
complaining.
Stephen Walker
And I am old enough to remember when I first learned to drive we could get gas for 5 cents a gallon - coke hadn't even come out just yet
That would make you undoubtably the most ancient Orchidian, since
Coke was invented in 1886
Jerry in Kodiak
i think this whole phenomena surrounding gold at this time is going
to facilitate Greed to an extent that we crafts people & hands on
jewelers are going to suffer.
The “we buy gold” wave is attracting every single self serving
speculator the world over looking to make a fast buck.
I would be open to the possibility in the USA we are going to end up
with the consequences of quick fix band aid or knee jerk ill thought
through regulation on the part of our esteemed government lawmakers.
We may awake one morning to discover our federal trade commission
guidelines changed into laws that will require expensive and time
consuming licensing and government certification.
I think that if abusive practices can destroy the housing market
these same types of greedy methods on the part of people who see
jewelry only as a means to an end at the expense of consumers may
surprise all of us. Those of us who are legitimate in our trade and
craft will need to work diligently to maintain our dignity and the
public trust.
goo