Does gold have some sort of magical properties to retain its value?

[Zappykins]

Gold has many important industrial uses outside of jewelry. It doesn't tarnish or corrode, and the best thing for dental fillings, etc. It was the heat shield on the lunar lander, etc.

That being said, it's not usually a very good investment. It only become valuable when the price changes, where a mutual fund or spider will generally give significantly better returns.

And for the record, silver historically has been more expensive than gold.