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 is only as valuable as people deem it to be. It’s a solid investment because it doesn’t suffer from things like inflation or short sellers. Gold is like a treasury bill in that you’re not going to make a bunch of money short term, but you can be relatively sure you won’t lose you investment long term. I heard something about a decade ago which still holds true: as long ago as the Roman empire, an ounce of gold was worth enough money to get you a top quality outfit including top quality sandals (shoes) and still leave enough for you to get a top quality meal. Will you get those things with gold in an apocalyptic situation? Nah, but assuming human civilization continues to survive, you can expect the value of gold relative to products and services to stay strong while currencies lose value.