It works particularly well as a social status gem, because it's at the same time malleable (ie. easy to work with), shiny-looking, and not easily corroded. It's

It works particularly well as a social status gem, because it's at the same time malleable (ie. easy to work with), shiny-looking, and not easily corroded. It's relatively easy to authenticate (compared to a bitcoin for example), and seriously hard to fake (unlike, say, a dollar). Anyway the point wasn't the merits of gold over currencies, just pointing out the fact that it has a real status as a useful commodity, in a way that purpose-built currency doesn't. That means, among other things, that demand for jwelery in India for example, or changes in electronics manufacturing processes are bound to affect its price. That makes it quite different from other currencies.