Valcambi CombiBar - The Credit Card in Gold

Prestigious Gold Credit Cards have been around for decades. They are issued by financial services corporations like Visa and Mastercard for their most valued (and affluent) customers.

Now the Swiss refinerer Valcambi has come up with an innovative precious metal product that truly deserves to be named that way: the Valcambi Gold Combibar. Far from being a credit card, this credit card-sized bar actually consists of 50 gram (1,6075 oz) of 999,9 fine gold, handily breakable into pieces of 1 gram each.

Unlike its counterparts in plastic the Valcambi card, of course, allows for much more than to buy on credit. As with gold coins the Valcambi card has intrinsic value and actually IS money, worth about USD 2.000 at the current price of gold (1,250 USD/oz as of May 31, 2014). The card is handily breakable into pieces of 1 gram each without any loss of material. Each piece bears the Valcambi logo and has inscribed its weight and gold purity.

Despite the recent decline of the gold price (on June 4, 2014 gold hit a new low at USD 1.243/oz) long-term prospects for precious metals are as good as ever. As the printing presses of the major central banks are running full speed, the money supply is inflated and the value of the currency debased. Ultimately this means the loss of purchasing power, i.e. the same money or salary buying ever less goods and services. As every middle class citizen in America or Europe will tell you from experience even without financial background, the value of his money has been decling since the 1970s, that is since the US abandoned the gold standard.

These inflationary policies have been pursued for all the major currencies: the US dollar, the Euro and the Yen. Sovereign debt and the delay of a real economic recovery will prevent bankers (and politicians) from changing course soon. On the other hand low yields on government bonds, fragile real estate and equity markets are risky alternatives to preserve wealth.

By contrast precious metals have history on their side. Gold has been around as money for a long time. The book of Genesis recounts how Abraham was rich in silver and gold. As barter was too limited a means of exchange, soon precious metal coins came in to facilitate exchange and growth. Gold and silver in fact where money throughout the ancient Middle-East. and had universally been used as money for millennia.

In more recent times their performance against major currencies has also been impressive. Around the turn of the 1900s 1 US dollar bought 1,500 mg of gold while that value had sunk to 25 mg slightly over a century on. In the early 2000s Gold has been rallying for 12 consecutive years. Despite the latest correction, the long-term performance of gold has been impressive and prospects for the shiny yellow metal remain bright.

Paradoxically people are reluctant to invest in precious metals when the price tends downward (as in the current year 2014). Whenever they go to the mall they're looking for the lowest prices and the cheapest bargains, But when buying gold and silver products, paradoxically, people seem to prefer buying during bull markets when prices are moving upward. But that, of course, is also when a precious metal product is bought at a higher price.

Aside from preserving wealth and providing a hedge against inflation the Valcambi card is also a great way to teach others about money. Fitting handily into your wallet, you will be able to amaze people with this innovative product. Supplied in a blister along with a certificate of authenticity the beautiful Valcambi card carries logo, weight and serial number making it also a very special gift idea. For further information check it out below. And most of all: stay debt free and teach yourself about money to avoid becoming a victim of the system.