What is "intrinsic value"

Intrinsic \In*trin"sic\ ([i^]n*tr[i^]n"s[i^]k), a. [L. intrinsecus inward, on the inside; intra within + secus otherwise, beside; akin to E. second: cf. F. intrins[`e]que. See Inter-, Second, and cf. Extrinsic.]

1. Inward; internal; hence, true; genuine; real; essential; inherent; not merely apparent or accidental; -- opposed to extrinsic; as, the intrinsic value of gold or silver; the intrinsic merit of an action; the intrinsic worth or goodness of a person.

   He was better qualified than they to estimate justly the intrinsic value of Grecian philosophy and refinement.
   --I. Taylor.

2. (Anat.) Included wholly within an organ or limb, as certain groups of muscles; -- opposed to extrinsic.

   Intrinsic energy of a body (Physics), the work it can do in virtue of its actual condition, without any supply of energy from without.

   Intrinsic equation of a curve (Geom.), the equation which expresses the relation which the length of a curve, measured from a given point of it, to a movable point, has to the angle which the tangent to the curve at the movable point makes with a fixed line.

   Intrinsic value. See the Note under Value, n.

   Syn: Inherent; innate; natural; real; genuine.

Intrinsic value may refer to:

In finance, intrinsic value refers to the value of a company, stock, currency or product determined through fundamental analysis without reference to its market value. It is also frequently called fundamental value. It is ordinarily calculated by summing the discounted future income generated by the asset to obtain the present value. It is worthy to note that this term may have different meanings for different assets.

In commodity money, intrinsic value can be partially or entirely due to the desirable features of the object as a medium of exchange and a store of value. Examples of such features include divisibility; easily and securely storable and transportable; scarcity; and difficulty to counterfeit. When objects come to be used as a medium of exchange they lower the high transaction costs associated with barter and other in-kind transactions.

In numismatics, intrinsic value is the value of the metal, typically a precious metal, in a coin. For example, if gold trades in commercial markets at a price of Federal money this effect can, at the margin, mitigate forces that are known to cause inflation. When copper prices skyrocketed due to over issuance of Federal Reserve Notes in the mid-to-late 1970s, there was a fear that the U.S. one-cent piece might succumb to this fate. In fact, this did happen, leading the Mint to change the composition of the cent in 1982 to allow convertibility between the two competing currencies: Federal Reserve Notes (issued for profit by a private corporation) and United States coins (pursuant to Title 31 Section 5111 of the US Code and under the authority of the Coinage Act of 1792 and the constitution).

Intrinsic Value

The market value of the constituent metal within a coin.

Legal or Face Value

The legally defined value of a coin relative to other units of currency.

Market Value

The price that a coin will fetch in the marketplace. For most coins in circulation this value is coincident with the face value.

Intrinsic value is an ethical and philosophic property. It is the ethical or philosophic value that an object has "in itself" or "for its own sake", as an intrinsic property. An object with intrinsic value may be regarded as an end or (in Kantian terminology) end-in-itself.

It is contrasted with instrumental value (or extrinsic value), the value of which depends on how much it generates intrinsic value. For an eudaemonist, happiness (human flourishing) has intrinsic value, while having a family may not have intrinsic value, yet be instrumental, since it generates happiness. Intrinsic value is a term employed in axiology, the study of quality or value.

The intrinsic value of an animal refers to the value it possesses in its own right, as an end-in-itself, as opposed to its instrumental value, its value to other animals (including human beings). The phrase (often used synonymously with inherent value) has been adopted by animal rights advocates. The Dutch Animal Health and Welfare Act referred to it in 1981: "Acknowledgment of the intrinsic value of animals means that animals have value in their own right and as a consequence their interests are no longer automatically subordinate to man's interests." This acknowledgement has stirred a debate on what it entails in the context of animal husbandry, animal breeding, vivisection, animal testing and biotechnology.