U.S. National Debt

The current U.S. national debt:
$34,542,838,497,262

Source

 

Gold Investment
If you were to travel back in time to an ancient city, the one thing that you can carry and be sure it will be of value is gold. From ancient cities to modern times the value of gold has transcended time and civilizations.
But why has gold been considered so valuable? Gold has several unique properties that made it stand out as the best materials for several applications:

Accessory
Even before gold was used as a currency, many empires went to great lengths to prospect for it across territories. It was often considered the finest piece of metal for making jewelry.
Gold is resistant to corrosion. It is unaffected by the elements. The ancient people saw it as a material for making intricate pieces. It was used for bracelets, anklets and other accessories often for the royal court.

Religious Artifacts
Gold was used to make objects of religious significance in ancient times. The Inca civilization is most notable in their use of the metal to make sculptures and masks for religious rites. The Inca believed gold was made from the tears of the sun god Inti.

Religious artifacts need to be made with precision and made to last. Gold is malleable making it easy to shape and mold. It can be alloyed with common metals to make it stronger something ancient Romans are known to have mastered.

Store of Value
It did not take long before man saw the value of gold as a store of value. It was first used as a coin in Asia Minor in the 8th Century BCE.

It is rare but it is also the most distributed metal in the world. Its unique density and the fact it could be melted and measured makes it a perfect metal to use as currency.
Gold continues to be one the most valued metal today, used for accessories, industrial applications and as a store of value.