Fearing a complete financial meltdown, many people have turned to securing their resources in gold, which tends to retain or increase in value rather than to sink to fall like the value of U.S. currency. Sparked by this financial crisis, populist fear that the current administration would destroy the value of a dollar, and a recent rise in gold prices, people have begun trading cash for gold and old gold jewelry for cash like this was eighteen forty nine California (for people who aren't familiar, this is alluding to the famous California gold rush of 1849 in which hordes of prospectors rushed across the country to California due to largely exaggerated reports of plentiful gold supplies there. The San Francisco 49ers NFL team draws their name from this era). While the economy has grown by the largest margin in many years in 2009, and there are high hopes that more jobs and a subsequent drop in unemployment will follow close behind, these are still uncertain times, and many people still feel it's safest to turn to something like gold to preserve what wealth they have.

Current prices for one ounce of gold are varying between around eleven hundred dollars per ounce ($1,100/oz), but some predict the price of gold may rise as high as thirteen hundred dollars per ounce ($1,300/oz) at some point this year. If you are currently in possession of 1oz gold bars, they are certainly worth a lot of money, and may be worth more money in the future. However, some financial analysts are saying that now is the time to sell. They predict that with the economy showing slow signs of progress and recovery, the US dollar will gain value, and as it does so, gold will become less valuable. Is the buying boom over for gold? Should we all part with our 1oz gold bars? Only time will tell, but be sure to keep a close eye on the market for clues. Financial sources such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times Business Section can be helpful in knowing what to do with your 1oz gold bars.

**Reminder - please keep in mind that this is not site written by financial experts, and does not claim to have any expert knowledge of world markets or gold prices. Any information found on this site is strictly opinion and conjecture and the owners of this site are not responsible for decisions you make with your gold.

It it sometimes difficult to tell exactly how much value you have in gold, since a lot of gold jewelry isn't made of pure gold, or isn't made of real gold at all. There are a lot of services available that will accept old gold jewelry either in a store or by mail, will appraise the jewelry for you and pay you it's supposed market value in cash. Beware of scammers in this industry as there are a lot of predators out there right now looking to make a quick buck off of people's desperation to get a little cash, and it's all legal so you will have no recourse if you later discover that you didn't want to sell your gold at the price that was offered. This can be extremely difficult because the stock market is so complex and confusing to most lay people, making sound financial decisions based upon what someone else tells you something is worth on the open market isn't always easy or smart. Perhaps it is most wise at this juncture to simply hold on to your money and attempt to work hard and get out of despondency. If you have no job right now, there are many opportunities starting to become available at the very low end, such as fast food and retail, and sometimes it's best to just take whatever you can get. However, if you feel buying and selling gold is the best possible method of maintaining or creating wealth, more power to you.

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