Any commodity that is expensive automatically gets more talked about than an ordinary one.
As per human tendency, speculation and opinions about any commodity are directly proportional to the number of myths surrounding it.
Gold is one such material valued since the beginning of modern civilization, revered and also, in a way, feared.
It also seems to evoke extreme reactions for both who strongly advocate investing in it and those who are fully opposed to the idea.
Here are some of the common misconceptions about gold:

• Gold is an overrated commodity: Those in the dissenting camp are often heard voicing that gold really does not deserve the prices it commands or it is rather overvalued.
  The fact is that it is not really possible to overvalue or for that matter, undervalue gold since nobody knows the true worth of gold.
  What does remain consistent is that it has immense liquid potential which is probably the top reason for its immense popularity over the centuries.
  
• Gold stocks have more profit potential than the actual metal: Many people feel that buying and selling physical gold is not as profitable as doing this with gold stocks.
  This really does not hold much water, the fact is that the prices of stocks also fluctuate thus making them less profitable sometimes and more so at others.
  It depends on the prices you pay for the stocks and the overall pulse of the market.
  
• Investing in gold is just too risky: Basically, when people do not have the requisite knowledge to invest in gold, they end up perceiving it as a risky proposition but in actual, it is quite the opposite.
  Although gold prices are volatile, they are no more so when compared over the long term investment in any other commodity.
  In fact, unlike all other assets, even if there is a de-evaluation, gold prices can simply never quite fall to zero.
  
• Gold does not pay the same interest/ dividends as other investments: True, when sitting in a safe or bank vault, gold does not pay any standard interest unlike a fixed deposit.
  However, it has none of the associated risks any of the other investments are subjected to either.
  Added to this is the fact that the capital appreciation dividends of gold are significantly higher than of any other asset with practically a minuscule fraction of the risk.
  
• Gold has no monetary role in modern times: Most people, even those who own gold seem to believe that gold has no real monetary significance in world markets which is not true.
  Gold is trading as an alternative trading currency in healthy volumes and the central banks of the world hold an estimated figure of over 25000 tonnes in their reserves.
  
• Gold prices are related to oil prices: This is a widely held belief with very little merit.
  As a matter of fact, over the last couple of decades oil and gold prices have sometimes occupied opposite ends of the spectrum.
  Oil has a tendency in value in tandem with positive economic growth, while gold has shown a trend towards rising in response to the falling exchange rate of the US dollar in the recent past.