I'm going to provide you with a little bit of historical gold trivia that I hope will reassure you that the fundamental reasons for owning gold bullion, as a safe-haven investment, are still valid .. .

In March of this year, the price of gold per ounce hit an all-time high of $1,030.80.

On August 15th, gold hit a nine-month low of $773.

That is a correction of 25%!

In just one month alone - from July 15th to August 19th - gold has fallen 20%.

Now, that is just downright scary! I know there is a lot of gold bullion investors out there that are probably wondering if the gold bull market is over. At this point, you're probably fed up and are thinking seriously of dumping whatever hard assets you have.

I want you to take a deep breath. Just relax. And keep reading.

It may be comforting to know that the last great gold bull market of the 1970's was also interrupted by similar corrections.

1. In November of 1978, gold had a 20% correction.

2. In October 1979, gold lost 13% in four days!

3. Gold had a horrendous correction in 1975, falling 50% from $200 per ounce to $100 in 1976.

At that time, everyone proclaimed that the bull market in gold was over. As gold investors well know, the price of gold continued its climb over the course of the next few years, not stopping until it hit $850 in 1980.

Okay, I know what you are thinking.

That was then. This is now.

Ah, but even in the current bull market, gold has had corrections similar to what we are experiencing now.

1. In the summer of 2006, gold fell 21%.

2. But by the end of 2007, gold had risen 45%.

The point I'm trying to make is that corrections, painful as they are, are normal in bull markets.

Now that we've taken a hard look at the statistics, we need to determine if the fundamentals for buying gold bullion are still intact.

Let's go back to March when gold had climbed over $1000 an ounce.

You were pretty excited, huh?

Now, ask yourself: what was causing the price of gold to rise?

1. Inflation was on the rise

2. The dollar had long-term problems

3. Banks were failing

4. Mortgage lenders were facing insolvency

5. Housing prices were falling

6. The economy was on the brink of recession

7. Oil faced a long-term supply shortage

Okay, now ask yourself: have any of the 7 elements listed above changed? Think about it. If the gold bull market were over, we would have:

1. Low inflation

2. Healthy banks

3. Stable housing prices

4. A new, major oil discovery

5. Increasing job creation

6. A falling unemployment rate

7. A fiscally responsible government

8. A strong dollar due to a balanced budget and a shrinking deficit

I don't see any of the above happening anytime soon. Do you?

In conclusion, I would say it is safe to assume that the fundamental reasons for owning gold bullion, as a safe-haven investment, are still valid. I would further venture to say that gold - at $800 per ounce - is the buying opportunity of a lifetime!