I know people out there who have invested a lot in gold under the belief that in the event of like complete societal collapse or hyperinflation, they could use it for purchasing.
I have the hunch it’s a scam, but I haven’t learned enough monetary theory, business, or economics to understand why.
gold has a lot of useful properties that are not simply “shiny and heavy” though. the same can be said for all other metals
And yet lots of it is hoarded by people who think that being shiny and heavy are qualities that are worth lots of money