The Queen’s stockbroker predicts gold at $12,000 an ounce. I hope he’s wrong.

Cazenove is a British stockbroker and investment bank, founded in 1823 by Philip Cazenove. Although the firm won’t confirm or deny its relations to the Royal Family, it is said by many that the company handles investments and wealth management for Queen Elizabeth II.

What has this got to do with gold?

Well, Robin Griffiths of Cazenove made some startling comments about gold prices in a recent radio interview. He shared his opinions on both gold and silver. Here, in part, is what he had to say about gold.

“The run-up to the peak in markets like gold is between now and 2015. I think it will all be over by 2015, a lot of it depends on how aggressively paper monies get printed from here on in. I think $3,000 is an absolute minimum target. I can believe in targets certainly above $5,000 and it’s theoretically possible to go to $12,000, that’s dollars an ounce for gold.

If Mr. Bernanke stays on his current agenda I think those higher numbers will be what you will see. We’re looking at the trashing of the dollar. As Marx pointed out, it’s the most assured way of destroying your economy.”

But let’s say Mr. Griffiths is not so far off the mark.

How do you feel about gold at $12,000 an ounce? Does that sound good?

Well, be careful what you wish for.

As Mr. Griffiths points out, gold prices at that level would depend on some very bad things having happened to Western economies. We won’t see gold at $12,000 unless something has gone very badly wrong.

Sure, your stash of gold will have leapt in value. But the value of your cash money, your savings and your home will have fallen through the floor.

Right now we are at a point where the dollar is losing some of its value, and the price of gold is rising. And right now, except for sticker shock at the gas pump, we are not feeling too much pain.

But if things got bad enough for an ounce of gold to be worth $12,000, we would be feeling a whole lot of pain.

My advice to you is to hope that gold doesn’t rise in price much more. If it does, that rise in value will be the flip side to some bad news that will hurt you in your pocket.

And that’s the thing about owning gold as a hedge, rather than investing in gold, gold ETFs and mining stocks.

You don’t own gold in the hope of making money with it.

You own gold to protect your wealth, and to take care of your family in the event that things do go badly wrong.

Let’s hope gold prices don’t have a reason to go much higher.

You can buy gold coins and gold bars online at GovMint.com.