• Bonehead@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      Yes, but beyond its scarcity, what other purpose does it have? Lots of things are rare and can’t be replicated, but their value comes from the need to use them for some purpose such the ability to build other things that you wouldn’t be able to build otherwise. Latinum has never been shown as anything more than a currency with nothing behind it to give it value.

      • teft@startrek.website
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        11 months ago

        What value does gold have other than it doesn’t rust and it looks pretty?

        It’s the same thing essentially. Latinum looks pretty and can’t be replicated therefore it’s a good currency.

        • Bonehead@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          7
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          11 months ago

          Gold is used in a variety of applications. You’re likely holding a device filled with gold right now. Even before the computer revolution, is was still used in medical applications. There are tons of uses for gold that don’t involve currency.

          • teft@startrek.website
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            7
            ·
            edit-2
            11 months ago

            Yes it does have applications nowadays but when gold was used as a monetary store we didn’t have electronics. Gold was mainly used because it is shiny, easily workable, rare, and never corroded.

            • Bonehead@kbin.social
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              4
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              11 months ago

              It was shiny, easily workable, and didn’t turn your skin green. As a jewelry metal, it was much more valuable than as a currency. It had uses other than just money…

          • Troy@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            11 months ago

            The microgram of gold in my phone pales in comparison to the gold used in jewellery or hoarded.

        • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          You missed a big advantage of gold: for most of human history, gold was the densest material known to man by a wide margin, making it very easy to verify that a piece of purported gold is real.