What do others see in gold?

The battle of $1,200 gold seems to be going on. What is it about round numbers that rivets our attention?

It should not matter whether gold closes today at $1,200 or $1,199, but you can bet that it will matter.

Huge inferences will be made about its future path. Wait and see.

I was lingering over the www.Kitco.com website this morning. It seemed like the thing to do.

I studied a chart that shows the price of gold expressed in other world currencies.

A British investor’s gold is worth 734.71 pounds sterling. This figure has no appeal to round-number buffs.

The euro zone price of gold is 876.73 euros, also a number that inspires no thoughts of importance.

Gold buyers in India are much closer to a round number. The price expressed there comes to 74,272.25 rupees.

Chinese buyers are probably the most important ones on the planet currently. Their price is 7,284.91 yuan, which looks like nothing but a routine number.

Japanese investors will see gold close to a round number. It is 124,861.97 yen.

Australians see gold’s value as $1,343.62.

What does all this mean? Perhaps only that it is good information for a slow pre-holiday business day.

We Americans sometimes forget that factors influencing the price of precious metals extend far beyond what goes on in the United States.

Check out the website and draw your own conclusions.

I will return to the office to write my next blog on Thursday.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper is winner of the 2013 Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."