If you take the contrarian investing view seriously, falling prices are good news. It’s always better to load up on a hated asset than chase it higher — the lower the better.

In light of the decline in the gold price, such an opportunity might be right around the corner. Rumblings in Europe about “war gaming” a Greek exit from the euro has caused investors to plow into the U.S. dollar. Interestingly, they seem bent on taking some of that safe money stash out of gold along the way.

Where is the money going? In part, to U.S. debt. U.S. 10-year Treasurys are yielding 1.79 but the Wall Street Journal is speculating that the bond might push to 1.50.

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As cash pours into the safe havens, it would appear that gold is no longer top of the list. Much of the pressure is coming from so-called “paper” gold sell-offs, which is not surprising since ETFs are easiest to sell.

For gold bulls, the fall in the metal’s price might seem to need explaining. Rather than explain, however, they are buying.

John Paulson, of the hedge fund Paulson & Co., recently told investors that he felt good about falling gold. “Gold equity prices are currently trading at very depressed levels, with the sector now on a valuation not seen since the fall of Lehman,” Paulson wrote in a letter to his fund holders.

“The gold mining companies, however, continue to grow their earnings with the higher gold price, and we believe that it is only a matter of time before the sector re-values.”

Similarly, investing icon George Soros piled back into gold even before the recent declines. Soros Fund Management reportedly more than tripled its investment in the largest exchange-traded fund, iShares Gold Trust (IAU), Securities and Exchange Commission filings showed.

That is to say, as retail investors fled, the “smart money” bought in. In recent news, investment bank Goldman Sachs reiterated its support for gold. “We believe that the case for higher gold prices remains in place,” Jeffrey Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, told the Financial Times.

Meanwhile, despite the ETF sell-off, Americans tell pollsters that they believe gold is the right place to be long term — far ahead of real estate, savings accounts and CDs and bonds.

"Investing in gold has gained in popularity in recent years as low interest rates have made traditional savings instruments less attractive, and instability in the stock and real estate markets has undermined the mass appeal of those options," Gallup reports

Mining experts, too, see higher gold ahead. Sean Boyd, CEO of mining giant Agnico Eagle, told King World News that gold should exceed $3,000 an ounce within two years.

“If you look at the U.S. dollar, that story is on page 3 or 4. It will be a front page story soon. The debt ceiling has to be raised and we really haven’t fixed a lot of the issues, whether it’s in the US or in Europe,” he told King World. “All of the things that are happening now, when you look at it, just points to a stronger gold price longer-term.”

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