With respect to the intrinsic value of gold, I was told a story about our Air Force pilots (that I cannot verify but have nonetheless repeated several times)
I was told that no US Air Force pilot flies into harm's way without several gold British Sovereigns in their survival kits. These coins were minted on multiple continents are apparently valued the world over. I guess the theory is that they are widely accepted the world over.
That's why I own gold - it has wide acceptance the world over. And as the commercial says, it's never been worthless.