Fiat Currency is the currency that a country creates (out of thin air) and designates it (and only it) legal tender for all goods and services in that country. Gold is not currency in any country that has a functional strong central government. Governments can choose to have some gold reserves (and this usually a small fraction of the fiat currency its issued, and a small fraction of its debt), to sustain the illusion that currency is backed by something other than the credit worthiness of the central government. Even if hyperinflation breaks out, most governments would declare gold to not be currency, but merely a "precious metal" that can be traded like any other precious commodity and that would be subject to taxation. President FD Roosevelt forced all private gold holders to surrender their gold in 1933, albeit for $21/oz, and then devalued the US$ and set the price of gold at $35/oz which remained the price till after 1971.
No governments that depend on fiat currency will allow gold to challenge that privilege. Not the China, not Russia, not India, not the Europeans, not Australia, not Japan and certainly not the largest debtor in the known universe, the IOUSA !
The gold market is relatively small compared to the financial sectors, less than 2% and silver even smaller. This means it's tolerated by most governments, and because governments turn a blind eye to precious metals market manipulation, the price will never get inflated to such an extent that the fiat currency will be challenged. Trading gold companies can be very profitable, but holding large quantities of gold is so last century.
If the world becomes one big Syria, maybe you'll be able to trade your gold teeth for a loaf of bread or a Kalashnikov rifle ..... goodbye cruel world.
I voted today, against the Coalition, not for the Labor party and especially not the Greens. Any party that is not pronuclear power, is not serious about stopping CO2 emissions. See Michael Shellenberger (environmentalist that writes for Forbes magazine)
https://quillette.com/author/michael-shellenberger/ and his You Tube presentation. Facts must trump opinion !
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