Records indicate that ancient civilizations including the Etruscan, Minoan, Assyrian, and Egyptians developed gold industries. Today, South Africa is the world's leading gold producer with about half of the world's resources. Throughout history gold has been the world's single, most important commodity. Rulers and investors alike have put more trust in gold than in any other currency. Gold resists devaluation.
Some investors buy gold and then watch the price of gold fluctuate.
If the price of gold goes down, these investors feel that they made a mistake. Such people are investing in gold for the wrong reason. During the 1980s, some American investors who bought gold were disappointed with its performance. They failed to understand that since the American economy suffered little inflation during the past decade, there was negligible erosion of purchasing power. The gold, however, still provided inflation protection.