"Silver spoon'" - cue followed, but I'll keep the joke to myself :-).

That graph of loss of purchasing power of dollar is tremendously telling of the modern economics. If we find it too difficult to look thorough the modern economic jargon, then I propose a test.

Keep a pure silver or a gold coin (not a very expensive one) on the table and next to it keep a hundred dollar bill. Look at them together and contemplate about which one you like more. Not which one you want more (because then your most urgent need would come in play and would spoil the test).

You have your answer. Your instincts and genetic memory are telling you the right thing. It is gold and silver that have earned their place in history to be called real money and not a piece of paper that makes a false promise.