This past weekend, I attended the 33rd Annual Gold Show in New Orleans.

I was surprised, and also encouraged, that attendance at the Gold Show was very poor. Sure, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina hasn’t helped New Orleans’ image as a tourist destination. But even compared to two years ago, very few investors showed up.

This seems strange, considering that gold has been the best performing asset this decade by a wide margin. Basically, the only people in attendance were the hard core gold bugs – the same people who came to the conference when gold was selling for $250 an ounce. The halls seemed almost empty. The rooms where miners had displays had only a handful of investors checking them out.

By contrast, in 1980 when gold had just made its biggest top of the 20th century, attendance at the Gold Show was ten times higher. It was like going to a World Series game.

Gold: The Once and Fut... Nathan Lewis Best Price: $1.94 Buy New $21.11 (as of 04:35 UTC - Details)

Ironically, this low attendance is positive for gold, in that it implies that gold didn’t need a flood of new investors to make its recent gains. It also tells us that when the flood does arrive, it will push gold prices considerably higher than they are today.

All in all, the conference was very friendly and informative. I have no financial interest in the success of next year’s conference, but I honestly think serious investors would get a lot out of attending next year’s.

I should point out that most people at the Gold Show were sympathetic to libertarianism, as are most believers in hard currencies and precious metals. For instance, while signing books, I sat next to Congressman Ron Paul, who once campaigned for President on the Libertarian ticket. I share some of the libertarians’ interests, though not all. Nonetheless, Dr. Paul and his wife seemed like lovely people, and almost everyone I met seemed open to and respectful of other’s ideas.

OUR 3 MOST PROMISING GOLD INVESTMENTS

More than ever, gold must be considered an asset class unto itself. For forty years, gold has performed basically in line with the S&P 500 and outperformed a number of overseas markets, including London. In today’s volatile world, investors have little excuse for not owning gold.

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October 14, 2009

The Best of Stephen Leeb

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