Aurum Lens — Every Asset Priced in Gold

Key Ratios — Gold-Adjusted

Click any row in sub-tabs to see historical chart · all values in grams

Annual Performance in Gold — All Assets

Each cell = annual % return measured in grams of gold · green = beat gold · red = lost to gold

Major Currencies in Gold

mg of gold per 1 unit of currency · click row for chart

Currency	Code	mg gold / unit	YTD	1Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	20Y	Since '71	CAGR '71

Key insight: Every major fiat currency has lost purchasing power in gold terms since 1971. The Swiss Franc has fared best among majors; the Japanese Yen worst. Even the "strongest" currencies are in long-term structural decline — the predictable consequence of expanding money supplies against a near-fixed gold stock.

Equity Indices Priced in Gold

g gold per index point · total return · click row for chart

Index (TR)	Symbol	g gold today	g gold 1971	YTD	1Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	20Y	Since '71	CAGR '71

Total Return (TR) basis throughout — all indices shown with dividends reinvested for comparability. DAX has been a TR index natively since its 1988 launch; all others converted to their TR equivalents (DJITR, SPXTR, XNDX, FTSE All-Share TR, SPI). Note: the DAX PR (price-only) equivalent would show ~40% lower performance since 1971.

Key insight: On a total return basis the picture is nuanced. The Dow TR started at ~693 g in 1971 and stands at ~764 g today — roughly flat in gold terms over 54 years, with dividends just about compensating for monetary debasement. The S&P 500 TR is similar at −5%. The DAX TR (natively total return) has actually gained +30% in gold terms since 1971 — the standout among major indices. The SPI Switzerland TR is up +148% since its 1987 launch. The FTSE All-Share TR is down −94% in gold terms — a stark indictment of UK monetary policy. Most striking: the Nikkei 225 TR is down −19% in gold terms since 1971, despite the Nikkei 225 price index rising massively in JPY — the yen's collapse against gold erases the nominal gain entirely.

Commodities Priced in Gold

g gold per unit · click row for chart

Commodity	Symbol	Unit	g gold today	g gold 1971	YTD	1Y	5Y	10Y	20Y	Since '71	CAGR '71

Key insight: Almost all commodities are dramatically cheaper in gold terms than in 1971 despite appearing expensive in dollar terms. Oil at ~$78/barrel looks costly in USD — but at ~0.483 g gold per barrel vs 1.867 g in 1971, it is 74% cheaper in real terms. These efficiency gains are completely hidden by currency-denominated charts.

Debt & Bond Indices

nominal yield vs real gold return · click row for chart

Instrument	Symbol	Nom. Yield	YTD vs ♦	1Y vs ♦	3Y vs ♦	5Y vs ♦	10Y vs ♦	20Y vs ♦	Since '71	CAGR '71

Key insight: Every government bond has delivered deeply negative real returns measured in gold since 1971. A US 10Y Treasury at $1,000 in 1971 represented 888 g of gold at $1.125/g. Repaid today at face value, that $1,000 buys just 6.2 g — a loss of 99.3% in gold terms. The "risk-free" rate describes risk-free return of nominal units only.

Crypto Assets in Gold

g gold per 1 unit · click row for chart

Asset	Symbol	g gold today	Inception	YTD	1Y	3Y	5Y	Since Launch	CAGR

Key insight: Bitcoin remains the only asset that has materially outperformed gold since inception — but measured in gold, BTC has shed ~38% over the past year. Ethereum and Solana are the most volatile, with SOL showing spectacular 3Y gains in gold terms but -58% over 1Y. XRP, despite its longevity since 2013, has significantly underperformed gold over most long-term windows. BNB has been the most stable of the altcoins in gold terms. The critical open question remains whether crypto's scarcity premium can persist against gold's 5,000-year institutional trust advantage.

Economic Indicators in Gold

GDP, wages, money supply, debt, housing — measured in grams

Why measure in gold?

Since August 15, 1971 — when President Nixon ended dollar convertibility to gold — all major currencies have been fiat: backed by nothing but sovereign credibility. In 54 years, the US dollar has lost approximately 99.3% of its gold purchasing power. A measurement in dollars is a measurement made with a shrinking ruler that reports its own length as constant.

Gold adds roughly 1.5–2% to its above-ground stock each year through mining — a remarkably stable figure across centuries. This makes a gram of gold a near-constant unit of account. Priced in grams, the Dow Jones has lost two-thirds of its 1971 value. Oil is 74% cheaper. Government bonds have been deeply destructive of real wealth. These truths are hidden entirely by fiat-denominated reporting.

This tool does not advocate owning gold. It advocates seeing clearly — separating genuine value creation from monetary re-pricing.

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With gratitude to Charles Vollum

The concept and practice of pricing assets in gold owes a great debt to Charles Vollum of pricedingold.com, who has spent decades tracking and publishing gold-denominated prices across all asset classes. His work unlocked a fundamentally different — and more honest — way of understanding what prices actually mean, stripping away the monetary veil that fiat currencies impose on every nominal figure. We stand on his shoulders.

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About the author

Julian Gretzinger is an investor with a long-standing interest in monetary history and the mechanics of real wealth. He believes most financial charts are technically accurate but quietly misleading — measuring returns in a unit that itself declines. Aurum Lens is his attempt to fix the ruler.

He writes regularly on markets, money, and economic history at substack.com/@juliangretzinger — worth a read if this lens resonates with you.

Every asset, priced in gold

Why measure in gold?

With gratitude to Charles Vollum

About the author