My aunt recently gifted me some silver, and it's made me rethink the essence of money. Holding this tangible metal evokes a sense of value that paper currency just can't replicate. Though I lack concrete evidence, I can't help but think people might be more motivated if their earnings were in uncorruptible forms like gold or silver, instead of easily manipulated fiat. I'm not a gold bug, and I acknowledge that shiny rocks can’t compete with bitcoin in a digital world, but there's an undeniable allure to rare metals that paper money lacks. It really does feel magical when I hold it. 
Discussion
Silver really lost the race against gold as money. Only gold was money, before bitcoin.
Yea it’s pretty crazy to think that same 5 ounces in gold would be about $10,000 instead of $100 dollars. I enjoyed learning about how one of the Chinese dynasties shot themselves in the foot by adopting a silver standard, instead of a gold one. As it applies to bitcoin, I think the difference between silver and gold is a great example of why store value is more important than medium of exchange. Luckily, bitcoin can serve as both especially as lightning and other layers are built out.
I also buy gold and silver. It's useful if there's no internet, and really is about as untraceable as a physical thing can be.