Yeah, that's the one thing I never quite got from the "I protect myself against the complete financial meltdown of the world economies by buying gold and silver" crowd (who are often backed by statements like: "gold has been a store of value for 5000+ years, it's safe")... if shit really hit the fan, what you'd want to have stock piled is practical things.. like barrels of gasoline, non-perishable foods, and pretty much anything that our just-in-time supply chain based society would quickly run dry on should our current financial system and infrastructure as we know it grind to a halt.
Oh, and you'd also make damn well sure no one else knows you have such stockpiles. Scarcity tends to create criminals, and there are many people out there with the "better you than me" mentality.
Or, put another way: "Society broke down and all you have is gold? That's great! I have a loaf of bread I'm looking to sell, and your children are starving; my price is 10oz of gold."
And your neighbor rarely is it.
