Grrr... Austrian economics. The ultimate value of a currency has never been shiny metal, even when we were on the gold standard. The value of a currency is that it allows you to invest in companies in a particular country. That is, if you think there are a lot of companies in the US that are going to return high profits, you need to exchange your money for the USD.

This line is laughable: "It is easiest to define "real value" as the price in gold." Why is this any more valid than the price in silver, corn, wheat, dollars, yen, or cocoa puffs?