Gold futures punched through $4,600 an ounce this week, and the metal's 12-month gain now tops 60%.
That run has pushed bullion past its inflation-adjusted record set in 1980, a level that stood for over four decades.
Central banks have been buying gold at the fastest clip on record, led by China, India, and Turkey, according to World Gold Council data.
Meanwhile, investors are pouring into gold-backed ETFs after three years of steady outflows.
What's driving it is a mix of old fears and new ones.
Sticky inflation above the Fed's 2% target, a weakening dollar, and ballooning federal deficits have all made hard assets look safer than bonds.
Add geopolitical tension in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, and you get a classic flight-to-safety trade.
For everyday Americans, the impact shows up in a few places.
Gold jewelry costs more — a plain 14-karat chain that ran $400 two years ago can now top $700 at big-box retailers.
Pawn shops and cash-for-gold outfits are advertising heavily again, and some are paying below spot, so check the day's price before you sell.
Costco has quietly become one of the biggest gold sellers in the country, moving roughly $100 million in bars per month, according to analysts at Wells Fargo.
The warehouse giant caps purchases at two 1-ounce bars per member, and they typically sell out within hours of restocking.
If you're thinking about buying, understand what you're getting.
Physical gold carries dealer markups of 4% to 8% and is hard to unload quickly at full value.
Gold ETFs like GLD or IAU charge expense ratios under 0.5% and trade like stocks, but you don't hold the metal.
Mining stocks add leverage but also company risk.
The bull case is simple: deficits keep growing, central banks keep buying, and rates may fall further.
The bear case is just as real — gold pays no dividend, produces no earnings, and has historically gone through decade-long flat stretches.
Anyone who bought at the 2011 peak waited until 2020 to break even.
A common rule of thumb among advisors is keeping 5% to 10% of a portfolio in gold as a hedge, not a bet.
That means rebalancing when it rips higher, not chasing the rally after it's already run.
Our take: gold's surge says more about what investors fear than what they expect.
If you already own some, this is a reasonable moment to trim back to your target allocation.
Final Thoughts
If you're buying for the first time because the headline number looks exciting, remember that the same crowd piling in today was ignoring gold at $1,800 — and that's usually the tell.