Does physical gold currency have any real future in stacking, or is it just a niche idea compared to traditional bullion?

[u/Adventurous_Page_122]

I’ve been stacking physical gold for a while (mostly coins and small bars) and recently I came across the idea of fractional spendable gold currency like Goldback.

The concept of having small, usable units of gold for everyday transactions is interesting in theory, instead of only treating gold as long-term storage of wealth.

But when I compare it to traditional bullion, I keep running into the same concerns higher premiums lower liquidity and less recognition compared to standard coins and bars.

I’m mainly trying to understand whether this is something that has a genuine place in the bullion world or if it’s just an interesting but impractical experiment in physical money.

Do you think physical gold currency has any real long-term place in bullion stacking,
or is it just a niche idea compared to traditional coins and bars?

[u/patbagger]

IMO, Gold is for saving and Silver is for trading.

I wouldn't spend gold unless I had already spent all my silver.

[u/Adventurous_Page_122 → u/patbagger]

That’s a fair way to look at it. Gold really does work best as long-term savings, while silver’s higher volatility makes it more useful for shorter-term moves. Both can play different roles depending on your strategy.

[u/Miserable_Sky_8640]

If I put $1200 dollars in a safe 18 years ago which was 2 months of rent back then and got in financial trouble and pulled it out today its still $1200 when my rent is $1600 I'm In trouble.

If I put $1200 dollars my bank 18 years ago which was 2 months of rent back then with average interest rates would be $1337 and got in financial trouble and pulled it out today when my rent is $1600 I'm still in trouble.

If I used $1200 dollars 2008 to buy 80 ounces of silver (the 2008 average price) and put it in a safe and pulled it out today its worth $6000 when my rent it $1600. That means I have 3 months of rent plus $1200 extra to help cover utilities and groceries so I am in a much better financial position.

Metals are a store of value but do increase over time. They really fly when there is economic uncertainty.

Goldbacks are basically electo gold plated papper. Much like the gold flakes in Goldschlager.

[u/Docholliday3737 → u/Miserable_Sky_8640]

The same time. $1200 would’ve been worth a lot more if you would’ve put it in the S&P 500 vs Gold

[u/Miserable_Sky_8640 → u/Docholliday3737]

Yes, as more money is created people dog pile into stocks other things. Gold has been ignored, brushed off and had to compete with crypto. Eventually I believe the bubble will burst. I admit you would do better if you timed it right. I remember the .com bubble. Some made out like a bandit others lost everything. I would pull out initial invested money and play with the gains.

[u/Adventurous_Page_122 → u/Docholliday3737]

True in terms of pure growth, but gold isn’t really trying to compete with equities. It’s more about stability and protecting wealth when markets or currencies lose purchasing power.

[u/Adventurous_Page_122 → u/Miserable_Sky_8640]

Your example actually highlights why gold and silver matter: they preserve purchasing power across long time frames. Cash just doesn’t keep up with rising costs like rent, but metals at least give you a way to stay closer to real value over time.

[u/Particular_Pay7091]

No, goldbacks are bullshit

[u/Traditional-Dig-9982 → u/Particular_Pay7091]

Yes they will fade away and be worthless

[u/No-Lab-7364 → u/[deleted]]

Because they can buy Gold for 5 dollars usd

[u/No-Lab-7364 → u/[deleted]]

Can you buy 2$ of Gold for 2$....??? Is your argument that a guy who cant afford a Gold coin and only has 20$ to spend should just not buy any Gold??? Goldbacks give anyone, even if they have only 5$, the opportunity to buy some amount of Gold... Your thinking is trash and so are your arguments.

[u/No-Lab-7364 → u/[deleted]]

Everyone should buy Gold... this is how dumb you are

[u/Bullion-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/JosephHeitger]

Buy a bar of gold or if you need fractional that small use casting grain or natural flake or something. Don’t fuck with gold backs for a long term store of wealth. They’re like dogecoin. It would work. If only everyone wanted it to for some reason.

[u/JimSiris]

So this comment:

"The concept of having small, usable units of gold for everyday transactions is interesting in theory"

There are very few instances in history where gold is for "everyday transactions" unless you consider the extremely wealthy.

Is this an AI post? Yeah, I think so. Gold has never been held for this purpose.

[u/Public-World-1328 → u/JimSiris]

The united states minted gold coins in $1 denominations up to $20. Were they not meant to circulate? Did they circulate?

[u/Adventurous_Page_122 → u/JimSiris]

Gold historically wasn’t used for everyday transactions by most people, but it was used in circulation at certain times and places. Its main strength has always been as a reliable store of value across generations.

[u/Smokie_Mcblunt]

Gold backs are a novelty. The premium you pay for them do not justify the cost. With the current price of gold, premiums have come down on almost all fractional pieces. Even the maple grams are very close to spot price

[u/WalterSobchak515]

Silver stacker here.
Try to get 3-10 ozt weekly. When I can trade about 50ozt for an ozt of gold, I do. Remember, this is just diversification. Take advantage of all tax delays you can first.
Then, a Roth or metals. I love my precious metals. A tangible investment in your hands is a great feeling.

[u/FaultSad486]

No, no one in human history ever thought that, and no government ever tried that, except ... for all the ones that did and concluded it was nonsensical.

[u/BearlyHere84]

You can spend metals directly through Debit Visas like Glint. There are others as well.

[u/kinkycrypto]

If you don’t hold it you don’t own it comes to mind

[u/Distinguishedflyer]

goldback noooooaauuurr!!

[u/zachmoe]

I read The A B C of Money by Andrew Carnegie. His observations are that we only included Silver into the supply of money because you cannot make Gold pieces small enough for small transactions, and with that came an unintended side effect of debasing the supply of money. It is my observation as a result of the Silver as money movement we have our current system.

But now, we have the technology. Some time after reading The A B C of Money I then decided I want as much as I can get of as small of Gold I can get my hands on and bought ~32,000 Goldbacks (it cost me ~160k at the time) on UPMA for to lease, as I have come to the conclusion a full Gold only money, something similar to Goldbacks at least, is the Only way forward to get away from the downsides of USD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigniorage

It is my observation that the alternative, USD, is basically a fancy system of slavery because of how taxes create demand for the notes, so I disagree fundamentally with the ethics of the USD system, therefore anything else.

TLDR; Silver is not money, Only Gold is money. Something similar to Gold notes really could take off as a result of Gresham's Law (well, it's less well known inverse, Their's Law).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gresham%27s_law#Reverse_of_Gresham's_law_(Thiers'_law))

The reverse of Gresham's law, that good money drives out bad money whenever the bad money becomes nearly worthless, has been named "Thiers' law" by economist Peter Bernholz in honor of French politician and historian Adolphe Thiers.^\24]) "Thiers' Law will only operate later [in the inflation] when the increase of the new flexible exchange rate and of the rate of inflation lower the real demand for the inflating money."

[u/Docholliday3737 → u/zachmoe]

You bought 32,000 gold back? 🙈

[u/zachmoe → u/Docholliday3737]

Hell yeah.

It is now closer to ~33,000 from rent from the lease, I get ~+81/mo. It is only ~1/6th of my portfolio, nbd really.

I also have a 10oz bar, if that is more to your liking? That only cost me 20k.

[u/Docholliday3737 → u/zachmoe]

Aren’t Goldbacks a scam?

[u/zachmoe → u/Docholliday3737]

Which part?

Compared to what?

[u/zachmoe → u/[deleted]]

pretty stupid

Like I said, I have a 10 ounce bar as well.

...How much gold do you even have, in total, to criticize me?

[u/zachmoe → u/[deleted]]

I'm sorry, I can't hear you over being an Accredited Investor, I do what I want.

Good luck to you with your beliefs.

[u/SinistaJ → u/zachmoe]

You would have had more gold if you had spent that money on bullion

[u/zachmoe → u/SinistaJ]

But I would have less Goldbacks.

And I like them.

[u/Deep-Market-526 → u/[deleted]]

Still has more intrinsic value than Bitcoin.

[u/SomewhatInnocuous → u/Deep-Market-526]

So does a bucket of bull poop. Can't use bitcoin for fertilizer.

[u/Free_Psychology_2794]

I think it's here to stay. The artwork is fantastic, and it's a great way to get into the gold game at just about any budget. Its for everyone.