Gold has always held value for its beauty, density
, and scarcity since it was discovered. It was always thought as valuable, but was not always used for money. It was used for other things first.
Gold was not used for money in the beginning, but it was used for ornamental purposes, religious worship, and gifts for royalty. In the religious worship gold was used to build idols and decorate sacred places. Gold was also used to decorate homes and individuals.
The location where gold would be found was generally by some type of water, usually a stream. Several civilizations and people wondered and created theories about how gold was made. The Greek culture believed that gold was made from a dense mixture of water and sunlight.
It was about 700 B.C. before gold was used for money. The merchants in Lydian formed coins out of the gold. The metal in the coins consisted of 63% gold and 27% silver.
The use of gold coins spread as an international way of buying goods. Many individuals would use it to buy spices from India or the silks in China. Gold coins went so far as to replace the system of bartering.
It makes sense to invest in gold because it will always have value. It is considered a safe investment. Individuals can invest in it for their retirement with a self directed IRA.
Gold is not the only investment option in a self directed IRA. There are several options, but gold is the safest one. It is almost a guarantee that gold will hold or increase its value.
The owner of the self directed IRA has complete control over the account and is not subjected to a bank or other financial companies' decisions. The owners over the account do have the help of a custodian. The custodian manages the account and can offer advice if the owner wants it.