Getting paid in space

Fiat value and intrinsic value are completely
different.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_currency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money

Fiat currency has value because the government (or
other such issuing agency) says it has value, not
because it has an intrinsic value. If the government
system falls, the currency has no value other than the
paper (or more recently, linen or bytes) on which it
is printed.

As hetrevillion pointed out, Gold, Platinum, or other
such commodities have intrinsic value. That is, their
value is inherent in the composition of the substance.
Gold remains the most conductive pure metal whether
it is worth $35 or $350 in the fiat currency.

Since Gold has an intrinsic value, it is not a fiat
currency. And yes, Platinum could be used as a
currency.

For something to be used as money: it must have a low
transaction cost (a point in favour of paper money,
although the transaction cost for Gold is also very
small); it must be easily portable and storable (which
eliminates Hydrogen as a medium of exchange); it must
be durable (which is the one strike against Gold as
money, but use of Gold/Copper alloys circumvents
this); it must be divisible into small units without
destroying its value (hence algebra lessons are not
money); it must be fungible (that is, each unit of the
money must have the same value as another unit, which
eliminates diamonds as money); it must be of a
specific weight, measure, or size; it must be long
lasting, and not perishable or subject to decay (so
lamb stew and french fries are not money); it should
have a stable value (a plus for substances like Gold
and Platinum which have intrinsic value); and it
should be difficult to counterfeit (again, a plus for
Gold, which due to its density would be nearly
impossible to counterfeit - ridges around the edges of
gold coins also helps to prevent shaving).

The wikipedia article on money I linked above is a
very helpful starting place for this particular
debate.

Ed

--- hetrevillion wrote: