(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Have you ever thought, “I’d give my eye teeth for some money?” Apparently, some people in the United Kingdom have gotten to that level of desperation.
According to an article in The Sun, people are selling gold dental work to pay bills.
Jon White said the gold company he works for is buying as much as £100,000 in gold a day as the price climbs, and many Brits are struggling economically.
“Some have resorted to removing gold crowns to raise cash to pay bills, which is distressing.”
He went on to explain that many people’s bills go up in April, and they are strapped for cash.
“Trading in their gold is a good option.”
Along with “a steady increase in gold teeth,” Gold Traders is buying wedding rings, gold chains, bracelets, and gold sovereign coins.
Other gold dealers have reported a significant increase in the number of people selling gold. The online marketplace Bullion Vault told the Telegraph that investors selling gold increased by 65 percent month-on-month in January.
“Shops have been drowning in customers selling back over the past 18 months to take profit as prices jump, whether in the UK, US or even Germany.”
The price of gold is up over 17 percent so far this year and has set multiple records along the way. That’s on top of a 26.5 percent gain in 2024.
The rising gold price isn’t just driving selling. Many investors in the UK are buying gold, hoping to cash in on a continued bull run. The Royal Mint has reported “intense demand” for the yellow metal.
A Lifeline
The uptick in Brits selling gold to pay bills underscores one of the benefits of holding the yellow metal – it can serve as a lifeline in a time of financial stress.
For instance, gold helped many Indians weather the economic storm caused by government shutdowns during the pandemic.
The government’s response to COVID-19 ravaged the Indian economy. As a result, many banks were reluctant to extend credit due to default worries. To make ends meet, many Indians used their stashes of gold to secure loans.
Using gold as collateral for loans has a long history in India. For generations, farming communities and rural households used gold as a means of financing, often pledging it as collateral to raise funds to plant the following year’s crops. Today, Indians in urban settings often use gold loans to meet expenditures for healthcare, business, education, and marriage.
In a nutshell, gold provides liquidity for people when they wouldn’t have it otherwise.
And unlike fiat currency, gold’s value does not depreciate over time. If you hold cash for an emergency, you’ll have less purchasing power when you need it. However, gold will maintain its value, and during bull runs, it can even increase.
Gold was also a major source of liquidity in 2016 when the Indian government launched a demonetization scheme. In November of that year, the Indian government declared that 1,000 and 500 rupee notes would no longer be valid. They gave the public just four hours’ notice. At the time, 1,000 and 500 rupee notes made up 86 percent of the currency in circulation. With a single pronouncement, the Indian government made virtually all of the cash in India valueless.
The bottom line is that gold is money. It has been money for 5,000 years and will continue to be money long after fiat currencies meet their demise. No matter where you are in the world, you will be able to find somebody willing to transact business in gold – even if you have to pull it out of your mouth.
Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.
