What would happen, to the world economy, if all stored physical gold, and most other precious metals, were suddenly reported to have vanished with no trace, while some still exist on paper?
If most of the expensive metals were raptured, instead of people. In the long term and short term… how would the world economy cope without physically stored metal investment commodities?
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They would find another resource that that approximated the beauty, nobility, and malleability of gold.
It would not be the same.
But if you can not have plan A, you have to take plan B.
Aside from the physical impossibility of the posited scenario…
As a thought experiment, let’s turn it on its head: Let’s imagine the (also nearly unimaginable*) discovery of quantities of gold and other precious metals scattered around the globe that dwarf what has already been refined and carefully stored because of its scarcity and perceived value. In other words, what would happen if the valuable suddenly became valueless?
After all, it amounts to the same thing, right? Except in the case you posited the thing of value has disappeared, leaving no value, the opposite is to be covered up with the stuff which now has no value because of its commonplace nature.
And what @josie has predicted is what would happen. There would be a period of upheaval as balance sheets were adjusted, because many people and institutions have relied upon precious metals as a store of value, which would no longer exist. And after that upheaval, life would go on and new stores of value and means of exchange would be developed.
*EDIT: Not “unimaginary”. Duh.
Well for one thing the holes in my wife’s ears would begin to heal up. I’m not sure about those that have holes elswhere, nose, eybrows, tongues, navels, and other places where holes should not be. I remember on exotic dancer that had…... well that’s another story for another time. Suffice it to say it would wreak havoc on the body piercing industry.
we would find another vauluable resource to aspire to keeping.
Saw a documentary recently..Canada’s vault of gold is all gone.
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