Do you think that it is prudent to invest in some gold, John? 

Problem I see with gold is two fold. Safely storing it, and exchanging it for goods and services.

I could share a few horror stories about folks storing precious metal coin and paper currency in their own homes, and having it stolen by relatives and neighbors.( I knew a guy who kept $50,000 in his dresser drawer. One day his wife asked for some grocery money. He told her he didn't have any. She then went and put some clothes away from doing a batch of laundry. She found the $50K, took it and walked out the door, never to return!)

Then, what do you do if you have something like a gold Kuggerand worth $1300 and you need $175 worth of groceries or fuel? Will they have enough change?  Or do you just take it to a bank and exchange for cash? Would a bank even accept and redeem it?

Lots of things to consider.