text: historically speaking?   why is gold valuable?   is it a cure for something or does it just look cool?   at this point, i would argue that it is valuable because it is a traditional holdover from 5000 years ago or more.  the neat thing about gold is that it has historically had the same basic purchasing power.  in ancient egypt several thousand years ago, a one ounce gold coin would buy a nice suit of clothes - same today.  also, for centuries, gold was the "common currency" around most of the world.  even if your coin had the image of the "wrong" emperor on it, it could be melted down and re-cast for similar value.  many central banks settled nations' debts in gold until "recently".  most went off the gold standard between wwii and the early 1970's.  investors still "flee to gold" when they feel there will be high inflation in the near future, gold is used in some tech products (crt computer monitors for example) and some central banks still maintain gold reserves - hence the majority of its value as an investment today.  hope this helps.