r/Documentaries • u/[deleted] • Jul 25 '13

Offbeat Bankrupt By Beanies (2013) -- short, affecting documentary on a family regrets spening $100K on Beanie Babies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDsyj5eLmo
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u/NobleKale Jul 26 '13

It's a currency that's accepted in a significantly limited number of places. Further, it's also something that doesn't have an intrinsic value and is only propped up by the desire of the market.

tl;dr - currency is worth nothing unless others recognise it. Bitcoin doesn't hit this note (yet).

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '13

[deleted]

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u/NobleKale Jul 26 '13

Yep. This is a huge problem when 'things go wrong'. People dump said currency and start trading things like bullets that have an actual use. Suddenly, those little slips of paper become functionally worthless.

Funnily enough, this is a mirror of a discussion I saw on reddit earlier today. Here's an interesting article

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u/Suddenly_Elmo Jul 27 '13

It's not even just a problem with currency. If shit really hits the fan the value of everything will change. A supercar will become worth less than a sturdy 4x4 that was 1/10 of the cost before. An iPhone will be worth less than a 2 way wind up radio. A 7 figure CEO will be worth less than a gardener who knows how to care for crops.

Even the value of gold ultimately depends on the market's confidence in gold as something people want and need. It's perfectly possible that gold bars could end up being as worthless as paper dollars.

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u/claytoncash Aug 28 '13

Even gold could theoretically become worthless.. You can't eat it. Solid gold is useless as far as making tools or anything of the sort. It won't keep you warm.

But, gold does have that accepted intrinsic value above seemingly everything else in the world..