Gold. It sparkles, it draws you in, and it tells stories of empires that are long gone. But let’s get down to business. Is it really a good idea to put your money into gold quarter coin right now? Even though there is a lot of talk about cryptocurrencies, gold is still very popular.

Picture yourself at a dining table where people are laughing and arguing like crazy. Someone throws down a challenge: “Which would you choose right now, stocks or gold?” That inquiry isn’t as boring as it sounds. For hundreds of years, gold has been dependable, silently humming along through boom, bust, and recession.

Gold is one item that is real. You can feel its gratifying weight in your hand, and you know it won’t go away with one bad tweet. This isn’t true for many digital assets or fiat currencies, which can drop a lot when a central bank makes a mistake. Gold doesn’t exist because someone promised it would. That’s all the comfort some people need.

Let’s put the focus on diversification. Not only does grandma say to put your eggs in more than one basket. Hedging with gold makes a volatile market less painful, according to financial experts. What you commonly hear is that equities fall down, but gold usually stays strong or at least doesn’t go down with them. That alone gets a lot of investors’ attention.

Will gold make you a millionaire in a day? Not likely. But it does a good job of keeping value. Inflation eats away at cash like termites eat through wood, but gold is harder to consume. It’s the strong old wardrobe that still looks fine when everything else is worn out.

Here’s another turn. When there is geopolitical tension, which is a phrase that comes up too often in the evening news, gold prices tend to move up. Markets get all worked up when things are uncertain, but gold usually just shrugs and goes up. That’s why people reach for gold when the seas appear wild, much like sailors grab for a lifeboat.

What is the best way to invest? Coins, bars, or maybe ETFs? Buying real gold, such coins or bars, is appealing, but it raises some tough questions: Where should I put it? How to keep it safe? Some people choose exchange-traded funds to avoid those problems, but everyone has their own taste.

Listen up: Don’t allow smooth-talking salespeople mislead you into buying collector coins or fake certifications. Research is your protection. Prices go up and down, and there’s no assurance of success right away. But waiting has always paid off more than being in a hurry.

When you invest in gold, you shouldn’t only believe in it or try to find the next great thing. It’s about having an ace up your sleeve. A tiny bit of old metal might be the answer to all the surprises in the world.