Editor's note: P.J. O'Rourke needs little introduction... Well-known as one of America's favorite conservative political satirists, P.J. has been mocking bad politics and worse economics for 45 years.

P.J. got his start in the "underground" newspapers of the 1960s. In the '70s, he worked as the managing editor, then editor-in-chief, of the National Lampoon. He worked as a foreign correspondent for Rolling Stone and the Atlantic Monthly, covering combat, rebellion, rioting, and general unpleasantness from the civil war in Lebanon through the Iraq War.

Nearly four years ago, he became a contributing editor to Stansberry Research, and it's one of the professional relationships we're most proud of. Among the many hats he wears these days, P.J. is the editor-in-chief of the online political magazine American Consequences.

In today's Masters Series, we're republishing a January 2016 essay from P.J. on one of our favorite topics – gold. In it, P.J. relates an exchange he had while in Dubai, covering the first Persian Gulf War. And it underscores why we call gold "real money" and the ultimate "store of value."

Lesson From a Gold Souq

By P.J. O'Rourke

Is it better to make a fancy investment or a plain one?

By "fancy," I mean an investment that grabs your eye because it's brilliant, shiny, bright, new, beautiful, and elaborate.

By "plain," I mean an investment that just is what it is.

"Fancy" and "plain" aren't investment terms you're likely to find in Barron's or on CNBC. And those guys probably have 100 different ways to talk around that question...

But I'm just a former foreign correspondent... not an investment maven. And I got a simple lesson in fancy and plain investments the first time I visited a Middle Eastern gold souq.

In the cities of the Middle East, merchants selling a particular commodity will all gather in a single marketplace – in Arabic, a souq. A city has a gold souq, a fruit and vegetable souq, a carpet souq, a clothing souq, and so on.

In August 1990, I was in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, covering the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. After I had interviewed as many Kuwaiti refugees as I could find, there wasn't much else to do. So I visited the gold souq.

Dubai was not yet the vast, towering metropolis it would become. But it already glittered with oil wealth... especially in the little shops along the narrow, awning-covered streets where the old gold souq was located. (There's a skyscraper there today.)

Even the smallest shops appeared to have a million dollars' worth of gold jewelry on display. I had never seen so much gold. And I had never realized how powerfully attractive gold is.

All the gold for sale was 24 karat – 99.99% pure. The merchants of Dubai deal in nothing else. Pure gold has a fiery look. It seems to glow from within. The array of bracelets, pendants, rings, chains, medallions, and brooches was like a sunset on a shelf.

I felt as if I suddenly understood gold. But what I didn't understand was the gold-souq prices.

One wonderful filigree necklace was made with delicate threads of gold worked into a sort of heavenly angel's lace collar. This was for sale at a bargain price. Next to it was an unadorned amulet selling for much, much more.

I saw the same thing repeatedly. A pair of earrings displaying exquisite craftsmanship – cheap. Smooth gold hoops – pricey. A locket too pretty for Tiffany – a pittance. Another you might find in Walmart – a bundle.

I looked around until I found a shop owner who spoke good English. But for a while, it was as if I couldn't make him understand my question about why one fabulous piece of jewelry was inexpensive, while another ugly one cost so much.

"Oh!" he said at last, "the price. It is the London gold market. We check on the financial wire service. Then we use this scale."

"But this is plain," I said, pointing to a large, clunky bangle. "While this," I said, pointing to a delicate armlet whose creation must have required the best efforts of a skilled goldsmith, "is fancy."

"Fancy?" said the gold merchant. "Price is weight. Fancy is free of charge."

Regards,

P.J. O'Rourke

Editor's note: Today, it is critical that anyone with even a little bit of capital start thinking about owning gold...

With fears of a global recession rising... and interest rates careening toward zero (and below)... investors are already starting to turn to the one asset they can use to protect the value of their wealth – gold. In the last few months, gold has jumped to $1,500 an ounce. And we believe the bull market has only just begun.

So the timing couldn't be better for the 2019 Gold Rush event on Wednesday, August 21. That's when legendary gold stock analyst John Doody will talk with our own True Wealth editor Steve Sjuggerud and journalist Daniela Cambone about the trends underway in gold, right now, could make you multiple times your money in the weeks ahead. And he'll share an investment he says could soar 500% in the weeks ahead.

You'll even get the chance to walk away with more than $20,000 worth of gold coins, just for tuning in. To learn more about the 2019 Gold Rush... click here.