Mate there are gold standards of all sort of varieties, but they...

Mate there are gold standards of all sort of varieties, but they have all one thing in common. They were all created to impose monetary discipline, BUT AT A PRICE.

One current de facto gold standard is the Euro., which according to some is even worth than the formal one.

http://au.businessinsider.com/paul-krugman-reddit-chat-2012-5

By the way. To go into a gold standard you don't need any gold or precious metals. Just pass a law saying that the money printing machine can only function at the same growth rate as that of gold extraction.