(FORTUNE Magazine) – Where were you in 1979? That was the year Iran seized 63 U.S. hostages and radiation seeped from the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. For the first time the price of gold eclipsed first $300 an ounce, and then $500. The Fed pushed its discount rate to an unheard-of 12%, and Lee Iacocca visited Washington to get a $1.5 billion loan for Chrysler. The Dow was in the 800s. Investments beckoned, as they always do. If you'd only spotted the ones above. They were among the best.

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