A new gold rush is brewing in Idaho.

This time, people aren't pulling it out of the ground as they did more than a century ago.

Instead, they are showing up at gold and silver dealers, handing over thousands of dollars from saving accounts, crippled stock portfolios and depleted 401(k)s to turn their cash into what they believe are recession- and inflation-proof gold coins and bars.

"There is a lot of safe-haven buying," said James Porter, manager of the Security Silver and Gold Exchange Inc. on West State Street in Boise.

People aren't just buying. They're selling, too.

"People are selling their wife's jewelry to make car payments," said Malcolm Renner, a partner in Idaho Gold and Silver on Fairview Avenue in Boise.

Gold has long been the place where people turn in shaky times, in part because of its historical importance as the basis of economies for thousands of years. "Gold has always sort of held the image of the truest form of money," said Paul Baiocchi, senior marketing strategist with Delta Global Advisors Inc. in Huntington Beach, Calif., who believes gold has a place in a balanced portfolio.

The rush to buy and sell gold in these tough economic times made for a good year for a number of Boise gold and silver dealers, owners say.

Idaho Gold and Silver's business is up 150 percent over the previous fall, Renner said.

Business picked up last spring as gold soared over $1,000 an ounce. Gold was at $874.50 on Friday.

Some investor groups predict that gold could hit as much as $1,500 in the future.

"We do tend to feel that if gold's price will not stabilize, it will continue to move higher over the long term," Baiocchi said.

But even gold advocates warn that investing in the precious metal should be part of an overall portfolio. "I do not think that anybody should be jumping in head over heels into the gold market in terms of their overall asset allocation," Baiocchi said.

Others say the investment is volatile and likely won't produce the kind of rich return some people think. "I think over the long haul, gold is a very poor investment," said Gary Ball of Lacey, Wash., a volunteer and educator with Better Investing, a nonprofit organization that offers education on how to invest.

There are ways to own gold other than going to the nearest store and buying a few ounces to stick in your safe deposit box. But for many buyers, it is owning the physical product that draws them, investment advisers and store owners say.

"A lot of it has to do with peace of mind," Baiocchi said. "People who are looking to own gold for the doom and gloom scenario ... are looking to have gold as the most tangible asset."

Local store owners are reluctant to say who their clients are - people who own gold usually don't like to advertise it, they say.

But some of the people who show up to purchase 1-ounce gold coins for nearly $1,000 see the country's economic problems as the beginning of a financial Armageddon in which currency becomes practically worthless as inflation roars out of control and only gold or other precious metals will hold their value, store owners say.

Many worry that the billions of dollars in government money pumped into the system over the past several months to avert a financial meltdown will ignite a hyperinflation once it makes its way into the economy. That could dwarf the spending power of people holding paper currency, they say.

So far that is not happening, Baiocchi said. "If lending is not taking place and money is not being multiplied, then all of a sudden the inflationary pressure that everyone is suspecting will not come to fruition."

But if that does happen , some don't believe anything will be safe.

"I'm thinking having some gold probably isn't going to help you anyway," Ball said.

Bill Roberts: 377-6408