Gold is likely to have been a beneficiary.18 Whether or not this shield against political risk can work in practice, when needed, depends on several factors, such as physical location and access to markets for transactions.
Moreover, if a country must sell gold, it will probably happen during a situation of global distress, and the amplified impact on price that is typical of such situations might even make the move self-defeating.19 More generally, gold has its drawbacks: it is, as I said, costly to store, transport, and secure; it doesn’t bear interest (though it can, to an extent, be lent out in the form of term deposits); and it is difficult to sell.