I'm Nicole Lapin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand.

It's time for some money rehab.

A couple of years back, a friend's grandmother died, and a new family mystery was born.

Now, Bubby, that's the Yiddish word for grandmother, was a 96-year-old Jewish woman.

She had lived through the Shoah, and she had seen currencies be created and destroyed.

So in the 80s, Bubby bought South African Krugerands, which is the most popular gold coin in the

world.

These coins were never designed for use as currency, rather they're an easy way to invest

in gold without having to buy a whole gold bar.

As coins, they're easy to transport, and unfortunately for my friend's family, easy to hide.

I say unfortunately because no one has ever been able to find Bubby's gold.

Now they're asking all sorts of questions, like, did somebody take it?

Did she hide it so well that they haven't found it yet?

Or did she sell it ages ago to pay for something she didn't want her family to know about?

So many questions.

I tell you this story because it highlights some of the benefits and drawbacks of gold.

As you've seen, gold is back in the news as a hedge against inflation.

And with the asset making headlines again, it's a good time to do our due diligence,

and examine whether or not gold is as useful as the financial world believes.

Let's start off with some basic gold pricing.

First of all, when we talk about an ounce of gold, we're talking about a Troy ounce,

which is about 28 grams heavier than a standard ounce.

...