A veteran precious metals expert, Barry Stuppler of Woodland Hills, California, President of the American Numismatic Association, cautions there are many false and misleading statements repeatedly made about gold as part of a diversified portfolio. He believes we’ll see hyperinflation and gold at $2,011 an ounce by the end of 2011.

Woodland Hills, CA  — False and misleading statements about gold as part of a diversified portfolio are frequently repeated in the news media, according to Barry Stuppler, president of the non-profit, 32,000-member American Numismatic Association.

“Some of the hackneyed arguments against gold come from financial analysts who work for brokerage houses that have a vested interest in steering money toward equities they sell and away from physical gold ownership. Some news organizations are giving out the same incorrect or misleading comments,” said Stuppler, who is also president of Barry Stuppler & Company, Inc. of Woodland Hills, California, a rare coin and precious metals dealership.

Here are frequently encountered arguments against investing in gold and Stuppler’s responses based on his over 30 years of professional experience in the gold and silver markets.

Argument: Since 1975, when Americans again were legally allowed to own such things as gold bullion coins, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has generated a greater return on investment than gold.

Response: “This is an apples-to-oranges comparison. The composition of a one-ounce gold coin doesn’t change; it remains one ounce of gold. But the composition of the Dow has changed 24 times since 1975, with 24 out of 30 companies having declined in profitability or gone out of business, being replaced by other publicly traded firms. The price of gold has increased over 500 percent since 1975. Any comparison to the frequently re-juggled components of the Dow is invalid. (more…)