Posts Tagged ‘silver’

Mercantilism is…

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Mercantilism is an economic theory that was popular in Europe during the 17th century.

The basic idea is that a country’s power and economic well-being come from having lots of precious metals around, like gold and silver. This leads to arguments against free trade and for protectionist trade policies. By gaining a trade surplus (i.e., exporting more than you’re importing), a country can collect more and more of these metals from other countries buying its goods.

While mercantilism is usually associated with European trade policies of the somewhat distant past, it still pops up in today’s world to describe a country that is acting in mercantilistic ways.

To Commoditize is…

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

To commoditize is to treat something like a commodity. When you commoditize, you take a set of similar products and treat them as indistinguishable. Imagine printer paper: you don’t care which brand you get; all that matters is getting the best price. Printer paper is a commoditized market. However, the laser printer market is not a commoditized market because the different brands and their respective features matter more to you.

Commoditization takes differentiated products and transforms them into a uniform commodity market.

Precious Metals are…

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Precious metals are metals that are rare and valuable. For example, gold, platinum, and silver are all precious metals.

Gold Medals – How Much Are They Really Worth?

Friday, February 26th, 2010

The 2010 Winter Olympics started this past week in Vancouver, and when considering these prestigious games, one must ask oneself the question: if I were to take up curling, would winning a gold medal make up for all those years of chronic boredom and embarrassment, you know, money-wise? Well…

  • Gold and silver have appreciated in value over the past ten years—a result of the current credit explosion and financial crisis—which has shaken investor confidence in currencies, making gold and silver a safer, more desirable bet.
  • At the turn of the century, on the other hand, pawning off gold and silver medals would not have been as wise as it would today, since the value of both commodities was exponentially smaller then.
  • 1980 was the golden year (pun intended) for hocking gold medals, but one in possession of an Olympic medal in these modern times would probably be best served by selling said medal on eBay (unless, of course, it’s a bronze).

Facts & Figures

  • Gold is currently valued at $1,100 per ounce, but gold medals are primarily made of silver, with about 6 grams of gold plating on top.
  • The medals handed out in Vancouver are substantially larger than medals awarded in years past—this year’s medals are about 100 millimeters in diameter, 6 millimeters thick, and weigh between 500-576 grams (a little over a pound). The medals from the last two Winter Olympics (held in Turin, Italy and Salt Lake City, UT, respectively) weighed less than 500 grams.
  • Vancouver’s gold medals are worth approximately $500, while silver medals are valued at a little over half of that.
  • In 1980, after adjusting for inflation, gold medals were worth around $1,000.00
  • Silver medals on eBay have been known to sell for $7,000.00