All money is fiat money. I have no more inherent reason to accept an ounce of gold for my sandwich than a $20 bill. The only value the gold has for me is the ex

All money is fiat money. I have no more inherent reason to accept an ounce of gold for my sandwich than a $20 bill. The only value the gold has for me is the expected value others place upon it, which is also the only value I have for a $20 bill. Gold is only useful if we think it is useful. As an industrial metal, it would have nowhere near the present value. Historically discoveries of gold caused the value of currencies to fluctuate dramatically. People have rose-colored glasses with gold and silver backed currencies, but they were a factor in the Great Depression and directly responsible for several severe recessions and panics. The gold standard of Bretton Woods also never had enough gold to back it up. It was a fiction the world kindly played along with the US on.