Can't wait

Gold can get confiscated when times get tough. Can't wait for the next chapter Chris, a fantastic and well documented global insight to the coming storm.

However, if things get really bad (Orlov level 4-5 collapse), gold will revert from a prized industrial material, to trinkets for the rich. In that case, it may not buy much food and shelter.

And as you point out, even in collapse level 1 or 2, you should factor in the additional overhead of defending your gold. Gold mining stocks and even safe-deposit boxes can be appropriated by the state or oligarchs or warlords.

If it gets to the point of prying gold from your "cold, dead hands," I'm not sure it will be worth as much as a good shovel or a team of oxen and a plough!

I think we should bank on skills and intangible resources, rather than gold. I can make and operate a distillery, but taking that distillery from me via force without my knowledge will probably result in a bunch of scrap metal. While I'm operating it, I'll wager my whiskey will be worth more than your gold. :-)