Play2Win, what do you mean by "Gold has never come back to its January 1980 peak: $2,100 in 1980 dollars."
Its peak in 1980 dollars was $875 .... ?
Yes, gold did terribly during that period, ably assisted by CB selling (remember the BoE selling 400T at $255?). Similarly the US had a silver inventory of about 3bn oz (how on earth the Hunt Bros. thought they could corner the Ag market is beyond me) in 1980, which had also been completely sold off by about 2000 - see how silver has run since then!
Gold bottomed at $255 in 1999. That's when I first bought some; although that was partly a Y2K thing too (at least, that's the excuse I gave the wife).
Denial,
gold at $5,000 doesn't matter. It is relative performance that counts. If gold falls to $950, but property falls by 75%, gold wins. In a depression, it is not who makes the most: the emphasis is on losing the least.
As for shorting RIO, BHP etc., if they get that low, the chances are that the third parties won't be in a position to pay out, so it is a pointless risk.
