

Six decades later, Mr. Bernstein, author of ''The Power of Gold,'' has a distaste for hoards of the metal. In his view, gold should be used to buy goods. Last week, he talked about his book in an interview, then provided the following e-mail responses to questions. FRED ANDREWS

Q. -- You say you turned with skepticism to the topic of gold, but then got hooked. Why the skepticism, and what hooked you?

A. -- The skepticism reflected my profound distaste for the gold bugs of the 1960's and 1970's, whose greed for accumulating gold -- the stateless currency -- was an expression of distrust of government and all it stands for. And then, from a longer perspective, what hooked me was the extraordinary influence of this crazy stuff on the history of the world, on all five continents.

Q. -- What's so bad about the gold standard? It protects the currency, doesn't it?

A. -- It protects the currency only if you follow the rules of pushing an economy into deflation if gold is flowing out. There is no choice, no flexibility, unless you can obtain credit to tide you over, but credit depends on rectitude as well. At the same time, gold is a guardian of the value of money only when gold is scarce. Worldwide inflation followed the South African discoveries at the end of the 19th century, right up to 1914.

Q. -- What is the point of all that bullion at Fort Knox?

A. -- Not much. They do not even value it at market prices: the official value is $42.22 an ounce, the price set in 1973. At $275 an ounce, it is worth only $72 billion, a penny in today's economy. It is nevertheless a hedge against the unknown, and against total international monetary chaos in particular. I doubt if any central bank or national treasury would have the gumption to sell off its entire gold stock.

Q. -- It appears that gold has been cherished by every society in history in which it has been present. Why?

A. -- No one knows for sure, but gold does have a kind of magic. It is scarce and extraordinarily difficult to mine. It never loses its luster and never decays. It glistens like sunshine. It is malleable, so that great works of art can be made with it, even by primitive peoples. It suggests eternity, which is why we use it for wedding rings. It is The Best, which is why we use it for first prizes. It implies purity, which is why we talk of the Golden Rule. It signifies boundless wealth, which is why there was a movie about ''The Solid Gold Cadillac.''

Photo: Peter L. Bernstein has six decades of experience in finance.