Gold is a precious metal that wears many hats. Gold is a favorite when it comes to jewelry. Fabricated demand for gold is consistently one of the primary sources of demand each year. Gold's resistance to heat, density, and ability to conduct electricity create a myriad of industrial applications. At the same time, gold is the oldest means of exchange in the world. Long before there were dollars, euros, pounds, yuan, rubles, and the other government-issues currencies, gold was hard money. Today, central banks around the globe continue to hold the yellow metal as a