January 2nd of the year 2000 would have been a great day to buy gold! At $288 per ounce, people that were watching the gold markets back in mid-1976, when one ounce of gold was selling for around $105, must have been kicking themselves for not having cashed in their savings account or college fund and bought gold coins or bullion. For those who did, August of 2011 was a happy month, as they turned their relatively meager investment into a $1917 per ounce cash portfolio!