From Jan 1st 1971 to Dec 31st 2020, the US stock market grew by 10.91%/year CAGR if you include dividends which you should. 7.70%/year CAGR if you don’t include dividends. In that time frame, $1 has grown to $177.33.

I did the math to find out what the melt value of a $10 1913 gold coin would be today in 2021. Over that more than 100 year time frame, the CAGR of gold is 5%/year.

Since 10.91% is far higher than 5% or 7%, I’m inclined to believe that investing in productive companies is far better than investing in a hunk of yellow metal that just sits there.