Gold Ounce Price Comparison To A Loaf Of Bread

Precious metals have been used as a medium of exchange for thousands of years. During the Gold Standard, the period of time in which precious metals backed the value of the currency. In 1717 one dollar was worth 1/20 of an ounce, making an ounce of gold worth $20. From 1789 to 1971 the Gold Standard fell, a fiat currency system taking its place. Fiat is currency not backed by precious metals. Radcliffe Brent, an author writing for Investopedea, describes fiat as “Fiat money is currency that a government has declared to be legal tender, but it is not backed by a physical commodity”(Brent 1). Tyler Durden, who wrote in the publishing Zerohedge explains that China started printing paper money and it lost most of its value and many Chinese citizens

This is discussed in Dr. Mariottini’s article “Gold and Bread” and in a Coins Actioned article, “History of Gold Ounce Price Comparison To A Loaf Of Bread.”According to Dr. Mariottini during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, a ruler of Babylonia in 634-562 BCE it was recorded that an ounce of gold was worth 350 loaves of bread. In 1997 to 1998 the amount of bread you could buy with an ounce of gold was 300. In 2015 the amount of bread it would be possible to buy with an ounce of gold would be approximately 388 loaves of bread which have an average value of 346. These numbers demonstrate that even over thousands of years, it has only fluctuated a little bit (see Figure 2). Fiat currency has an account of failing and it loses value over time. This is demonstrated by Tom Cloud’s article, “Historical Value of U.S. Dollar” and the Tuolumne County Historical Society. Cloud and the Tuolumne County Historical Society search historically for numbers on currency and gold. Table 1 demonstrates how the value of fiat currency decreases. Every dollar amount in the third column the fourth column lessens as time becomes more modern. This occurs because of the intrinsic value precious metals posses. gold standard monetary system are more beneficial than fiat because of its stable value. The reason for this is explained in Kimberly Amadeo’s article, “Gold Standard Explained with Its Pros and Cons.”Amadeo describes gold in a factual manner he explains that “The benefit of a gold standard is that a fixed asset backs the money's value”( Amadeo 1). This relates to the benefits of utilizing gold standard monetary system as a medium of exchange because of Amadeo explanation of what could be beneficial in using precious metals instead of fiat currency in monetary systems. These numbers and facts demonstrate how currency backed with precious metals are more beneficial than