If a man and his wife purchased a $100,000 life insurance policy on the life of their newborn son in 1929 and their child died this year at the age of 85, his beneficiary would receive $100,000 which would have a present value of only $2,000.
If the parents had purchased one ounce of gold per year for 85 years instead of paying insurance premiums, their son's heirs would have 85 ounces of gold with a present value of over $100,000.
By purchasing gold instead of paying insurance premiums, the beneficiaries would've received benefits that were 50 times greater.