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The idea that gold has an inherent monetary value apart from what a state actually produces was discredited by the Physiocrats of the 18th Century. Our money, and presumably the money of any developed nation, is based on the value of production of goods and services, land, and the improvements thereupon.
Gold (and silver) are not wealth by themselves; the Spanish found this out the hard way earlier in the 17th century. The discovery of the rich Mexican silver mines brought fabulous wealth to Spain, allowing it to buy (yes, "buy") the best army and navy in Europe (like the Armada of 1588). The Spanish kings married the Hapsburgs, put themselves on the Imperial throne, and spent a century fighting religious wars with the rest of Europe, while the silver went to buy wheat to feed their people as they could not grow enough for themselves. When the silver mines started tanking, Spain could no longer buy enough food to feed their people AND their military commitments were way too expensive to pay for. They, like the Soviets and, increasingly, the US, were caught in the "guns vs. butter" problem because they failed to plan for the long term.
The abolition of the gold standard brought modern economies more closely in line with reality.
