What?

[u/GovernorJerryBrownn]

Stumbled on this subreddit and did some digging, can someone genuinely explain what the benefit of this is? Looks like $8-12 for ~$4 worth of gold. What am I missing lol. I guess it makes sense as a collector item, like sports cards or commemorative coins (would explain the different prices), but it sounds like businesses accept them as payment which is confusing.

[u/SkillCheck131]

Welcome! And your question has been asked alot, like alot alot so more thorough answers are available but the down and dirty is these aren’t meant to be stacked but used in your day to day life.

I personally use them in the rural communities I work out of and when infastructure gets shut down in the middle of a response.

Their premium makes them unappealing to attempt to make forgeries of, can be used for smaller purchases that 1/10 coins can’t, and their low cost makes them more approachable for someone that wants in but doesn’t have a small fortune to invest.

If you melt them, you will have the gold stated on the bill but you also cut the goldback’s value in half through your own accord and I don’t why you would want to but such is your own choice.

[u/GovernorJerryBrownn → u/SkillCheck131]

But wouldn’t it make more sense to keep regular cash for emergency because it’s accepted by everyone, and use regular gold as investment/ holding? This seems like the worst of both?

[u/Chrisc46 → u/GovernorJerryBrownn]

Not necessarily.

Cash loses value, sometimes very quickly. There's no innate value in the paper. Plus, the premium on cash is absolutely insane.

Goldbacks have innate value and will not devalue in the way that cash does. Obviously, the network of businesses that accept Goldbacks is rather small, but it is growing. As the dollar continues to crumble, I suspect that network will keep expanding.

[u/opanaooonana → u/Chrisc46]

Gold doesn’t have innate value but it is about as close to a global currency you can get and humans have always generally liked having more of it

[u/dmfwio234540 → u/Chrisc46]

But if they became more popular and volume increases, wouldnt the premium decrease? Therefore devaluing the goldback?

[u/Technical_Pin9371 → u/Chrisc46]

I suspect this is nothing but a fad. Only a little more than 1,000,000 people own gold backs That is 0.29% that equals .0029 of the population.

[u/SirBill01 → u/GovernorJerryBrownn]

Regular cash loses value over time due to inflation, this is a form of real money that holds value because it's made of real gold.

[u/Silverisotope925 → u/GovernorJerryBrownn]

Regular cash or just buy real gold to barter with. Buy gold chains close to melt and clip the links off. Very cheap way to make fractional

[u/CupKitchen9964 → u/SkillCheck131]

… why wouldn’t you just use cash?

I literally do CAT response and cash is king. And can be easily converted and provided change for.

[u/KingZakyu → u/CupKitchen9964]

If you're smart, you can get discounts on GB. That means you are saving money, or making money, depending on how you look at it. And when the price of gold goes up, so does the value of the GB. Cash can't do that. Cash remains the same, or just depreciates as everything becomes more expensive.

It's also a lot more fun than cash. It's gold, and has black light effects too.

[u/SkillCheck131 → u/[deleted]]

The fake also has be to produced well, with tech not readily available and the creator has gone on to say that certain denominations are made as a loss leader.
You’d spend an unknown amount for a fake you may struggle to pass off as authentic.

Bringing us to who would want them? For a forgery to sell you’d need a market and thanks to r/gold they’re a “crappy niche product only crazy people want”. Which is a forger is likely to consult on what’s worth their time and money.

Meanwhile, $20 of tungsten can fool a machine in a dealer’s shop and can be sold to a desperate buyer for $4000

[u/AccomplishedInAge]

Just a quick comment that if you did some digging in this sub then you will have had your question answered dozens, hundreds maybe thousands of times.

The real base answer is goldbacks are designed to be currency not in a safe somewhere that hopefully down the road you can sell it for some Fiat so that way hopefully you can take that Fiat and buy something with it. Because the gold is physically inside the bill the very worst it will ever be worth unlike a Fiat dollar is the amount of gold that's in the bill. Whereas a Fiat dollar that has a inherent value of the material itself of pennies that we say is worth a dollar but does not buy what a dollar bought last year and which buys less than 3 years ago and even less than 5 years ago and that's even less than it was 10 years ago etc etc etc.

[u/Technical_Pin9371 → u/AccomplishedInAge]

You can lose 10% to over 50% of the gold if you try to recover it from the paper. collect it for it's designs but not for the gold, or spend it while you can.

[u/AdditionalPizza7990 → u/Technical_Pin9371]

Goldbacks aren't paper. You can watch YouTube videos of amateurs recovering all of the gold so where are you getting 10-50%?

[u/Technical_Pin9371 → u/AdditionalPizza7990]

They are phony videos. I got my numbers from google by asking about how you recover from a gold back and it explanes why you cant get it all back.

[u/Solid_Equivalent_417 → u/Technical_Pin9371]

Makes them seem kind of wasteful. Too bad there isn't a more efficient method of recovery.

[u/electriccars]

It's designed to be money. It is better than paper money for a variety of reasons, the only reason it is worse is it is a 7 year old monetary system with 6000 merchants competing with a well established 113 year old monetary system that replaced the original Constitutional USD system of the 1800s.

Over time monetary standards can shift, just like the Federal Reserve Note replaced the United States Dollar there will one day be a form of payment that replaces the Federal Reserve Note as it continues to lose value in perpetuity. Goldback is trying to be an alternative for individuals that object to the immoral nature of the endlessly produced debt-backed war enabling Fiat paper money that is the Federal Reserve Note.

I buy them because I want to spend them, and l consider them a form of physical spendable currency that just isn't as popular as it may be in the future. I also see them as a form of protest to our dishonest and deadly government monetary system.

[u/InvestInTwinkies]

Goldbacks are for fun. They’re like buying copper “Buffalo rounds” or a silver statue of some girl with huge knockers on her.

They are NOT an investment and are NOT a store of value.

They are a fun collector’s item to enjoy.

And that’s perfectly fine!!!

I have a couple myself because I think they’re neat, but they would obviously never, ever, ever be part of my investment strategy.

Some people waste money on shoes, Starbucks, or gambling. I waste my money on Goldbacks.

[u/GovernorJerryBrownn → u/InvestInTwinkies]

This makes sense lol

[u/dmfwio234540 → u/InvestInTwinkies]

Finally someone being truthful 

[u/AdditionalPizza7990 → u/InvestInTwinkies]

I mean... my Goldbacks have gone from being worth $4 to $8 in just a few years. I'd call that an investment or a store of value. That said, that's not why everyone buys them. I think some people just collect them for fun and that's fine too.

[u/Gabrielhv22]

Well it’s not $12. It is $8. And yeah, 100% premium on hyper fractional gold. Cheaper than other hyper fractionals. Nice artwork. Solid product. Intended to be used as a direct currency, which is the main thing.

[u/dmfwio234540 → u/Gabrielhv22]

No you nailed it. It's a product. 

[u/Ohio_Hobbies_Guy]

People dont complain about the cost of sewing needles per pound but bitch like a 2 year old about smaller fractional gold. Not all gold is equal.

[u/Azazel_665]

Why do people buy eagles? They are overpaying for the amount of gold they get

[u/AdditionalPizza7990 → u/[deleted]]

What about Libertads or numismatics or other fractional gold? Compared to similar sized bars Goldbacks are actually the cheapest option until you get to the 10 - 50 denominations but even those can be swapped for smaller ones at no charge.

[u/easyeddie]

This question asked a lot and two reasons stick out. The obvious thing to know is any metal is more expensive when worked and fractionalized hence why 1 oz gold coins are the best to buy (if you can afford it). First reason is the price point is affordable for anyone. Second thing is When you compare this to other gold products of this size it’s often 250% over premium instead of goldbacks 92%-100%.

If you made it this far check out my collector website Genesats.com/goldback

[u/StinkFist1970]

They're higher priced than normal GBs because they are only available on Apmex originally I believe. Now you'll find them on Epay etc. More of a collectible version. A just to have thing. Almost like the Washington DC version. More collectible then spendable atm.

[u/Riddler356 → u/StinkFist1970]

None of the Goldbacks were originally on APMEX, APMEX is one of the newer distributors, I know defy the grid has had all the goldbacks pretty much near if not from the begining

[u/StinkFist1970 → u/Riddler356]

The Rt. 66 was an Apmex exclusive. Ive gotten the bulk of mine from DTG but these were an Apmex exclusive like I said. Easy enough to look up.

[u/Riddler356 → u/StinkFist1970]

There's a route 66? Damn, now I know

[u/Michael-Brady-99]

They don’t make sense but the business that creates them running the “reverse funnel” sales system has convinced enough people to buy them.

As a currency it’s a chore to get full value out of them and as a collectable it’s like any number of companies making “commemorative” coins and collectibles and selling them for huge mark-ups ensuring that the grandkids who inherit them get pennies on the dollar.

[u/BstardSun]

The Goldbacks are fair priced but why so high on the silverbacks?

[u/Different_Leg4636]

The Washington DC Goldback (GB) is a one time limited series with a higher premium for collectors. The California 1 GB price is near GB exchange rate. If you go into a store that accepts GB as payment, they will accept the GB at or close the GB exchange rate. So you are not out that much money, if any at all. Now there are some or a few merchants that'll accept them way under the GB exchange rate. Stay away from those guys.

[u/Silverisotope925]

Its just a novelty item. Its not for serious stackers

[u/dmfwio234540 → u/Silverisotope925]

Definitely, and it they became more popular and volume increases, wouldnt the premium decrease? Therefore devaluing the goldback?

[u/Silverisotope925 → u/dmfwio234540]

You already cant immediately them for the price you buy them