The dollar has been an accident waiting to happen since 1913.

the thing is that a fiat monetary system can work as long as the powers that be aren't too greedy. as long as interest rates are positive, savers are compensated for their loss of purchasing power. if you could obtain a real rate of return of 5%, no one would want to hold gold or silver.

but when they reduce interest rates to next to nothing, and punish savers with a real return of negative-5% or worse, it's no wonder people want to own physical silver and gold. the banks get to borrow money short term at next to nothing, and buy higher yielding bonds, "earning" a risk free return, at least in the short term.

then when the strategy of borrowing short and lending long blows up the bank, they go to the government for a bailout, and once again the taxpayers have to pay for it. i wouldn't mind if gold and silver were allowed to function as a traditional inflation hedge, but now those markets are manipulated as well. i think it was jefferson who said banks are more dangerous than standing armies.