[cjdaly]

I think, like the dollar/taxes example, it is circular but self-fulfilling.

If you asked a central banker why they value gold, I suspect they would cite the "Rare but not too rare" and "Easily distinguishable from look-alikes" (in other words, hard to fake or counterfeit) points from the article.

And the average person, on learning an ounce of gold costs about $1780 (today), I think will perceive this as valuable - a small thing with such a high price. And if central banks dis-horde, the price goes down and the typical person sees it as less valuable.