Retail market for gold

You may not have thought that we were missing gold-dispensing vending machines, but we're about to find out, the NY Times reports.

"If gold is the ultimate sanctuary for small investors who have taken furious flight to quality, then Thomas Geissler may have invented the ultimate vending machine.
"After creating an online platform for trading precious metals this year, his small company has hit on a frontier beyond the Internet: the seemingly endless line of devices at airports and train stations that spit out cigarettes, condoms, toothpaste and candy bars in exchange for a little cash. But his machines will allow customers to buy small chunks of gold."

Of course, there are some special market design problems to address:
"The machines will be tested with explosives to make sure they are resistant to theft, Mr. Geissler said."

HT: Scott Kominers and Andrea Hawksley