Investors continue to view gold as a substitute currency to preserve purchasing power and as insurance against potential monetary turmoil (e.g. inflation).
In a digital twist, tourists receive a card with a code number on it, and later, they can view the images online and decide if any of the prints are worth purchasing.
So, a better way of thinking about the volatility of gold and other commodity prices is to view it as a 40-year period of unprecedented volatility in the price or purchasing power of the dollar.