Why Gold Always Feels Expensive (And Why That’s Actually a Good Thing)

I hear it all the time: “Gold is so expensive right now.”

And you know what? People have been saying that exact same thing for over a century.
When gold hit $35 an ounce in 1934, people thought it was expensive. When it crossed $100 in 1973, investors hesitated. At $400 in the early 2000s, folks waited for a pullback. And now, hovering over $4,000, the chorus continues: “It’s too high.”
But here’s the thing—gold isn’t getting more expensive. Your dollars are just worth less.

The Illusion of High Prices

Gold has maintained roughly the same purchasing power for thousands of years. An ounce of gold in ancient Rome could buy a fine toga, belt, and sandals—a complete gentleman’s outfit. Today, that same ounce will still buy you a quality suit, belt, and shoes.
The gold didn’t change. The value it represents didn’t change. What changed was everything around it.

A Walk Through History

Let me show you what I mean with some real examples:

• In 1920, gold was $20.67 per ounce. A gallon of gas costs about 30 cents. That means one ounce of gold bought you roughly 69 gallons of gas.
• In 1970, gold was $35 per ounce. Gas was 36 cents per gallon. One ounce bought you about 97 gallons.
• In 2000, gold was around $280 per ounce. Gas averaged $1.51 per gallon. One ounce bought you 185 gallons.
• Today, with gold over $4,000 and gas averaging $3.50, one ounce buys you about 1,143 gallons.

See the pattern? Gold’s purchasing power didn’t just hold steady—it actually increased relative to many everyday items.

The Real Story Behind the Numbers

Here’s another way to look at it. In 1971, the average American home cost about $25,000. Gold was $35 an ounce. You’d need roughly 714 ounces to buy that house.
Today, the average home runs around $420,000. With gold over $4,000, you’d need about 105 ounces.
Wait—you need fewer ounces of gold to buy a house today than you did fifty years ago? Exactly.
That’s because while home prices exploded in dollar terms, gold kept pace and then some. The house didn’t become more valuable in real terms. The dollars just became less valuable.

Why It Always Feels High

Gold feels expensive for a simple reason: it’s honest money.
When you look at gold priced in dollars, you’re really looking at how many increasingly worthless pieces of paper it takes to buy something of enduring value. As governments print more currency, as debt expands, as inflation chips away at purchasing power, it takes more and more dollars to buy the same ounce of gold.
But flip the perspective. Price everything in gold instead of dollars, and suddenly the world makes sense again. A loaf of bread, a car, a home—when measured in gold, their prices are far more stable over time.

The Entry Point Myth

People often tell me they’re waiting for gold to “come back down” before they buy. But come back down to what? To where it was last year? Five years ago? Twenty years ago?
If you’d waited in 1980 when gold hit $850, you would have watched it decline for two decades. But if you’d bought at that “expensive” peak and held until today, you’d still be up over 370%.
If you’d bought at $400 in 2005 when everyone said it was overpriced, you’d be up nearly 900% today.
The truth is, there’s never been a 20-year period in modern history where gold didn’t reward patient holders—regardless of their entry point.

What This Means for You

I’m not saying gold can’t have corrections. It absolutely can and does. Markets move in cycles, and gold is no exception.
But if you’re waiting for gold to feel “cheap,” you’re going to be waiting forever. Gold feels expensive because it is valuable. It’s supposed to feel that way.
The question isn’t whether gold is expensive. The question is: what’s happening to the value of your dollars while you wait?
Every decade, every generation faces the same decision. And every generation that chose gold over paper has been glad they did.
The Bottom Line
Gold over $4,000 feels expensive the same way it did at $35, $400, and $1,200. That feeling never goes away because gold is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do—holding its value while currencies decline.
The real risk isn’t buying gold when it feels high. The real risk is holding dollars when they’re guaranteed to lose purchasing power.
So yes, gold is expensive. It always has been. And that’s exactly why it works.

At CMI Gold & Silver, we’ve been helping families preserve their wealth with precious metals since 1973. If you’d like to discuss how gold fits into your financial picture, give us a call at 800-528-1380. We’re here to answer your questions, not to pressure you into a sale.

Join the conversation: What was the price of gold or silver when you started investing? 

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