The ultimate store of value
Archeologists were excavating the basement of an old theatre in Northern Italy last week when they made an important discovery.
They found what appeared to an old stone urn.
I imagine for an archeologists that's a pretty big find.
Then they looked inside.
Inside are at least 300 pure gold coins.
"We do not yet know in detail the historical and cultural significance of the find," said Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli in a press release. "But that area is proving to be a real treasure for our archeology. A discovery that fills me with pride."
The coins have engravings of Roman emperors Valentinian III, Leon I, Antonio, and Libio Severo, the last of whom died in 474 AD.
We'll never know the story of how someone's treasure was lost or how it got here but it's a reminder that for millennia, we've been using gold as a store of value.
Even the images amaze me. The color of the gold even covered in mud is striking. That combined with the connection to history is what ensures that gold will always have a place in the collective consciousness.
So while the chart doesn't look good today and that gold yields nothing, it's still up 358% since the start of the century compared to 95% for the S&P 500 and 56% for the MSCI world index.
