The oft-stated reason for owning PMs instead of more efficient hedges like TIPS, options, or a broadly diversified portfolio is that all these other hedges might fail in a societal/currency collapse scenario like Russia 1918, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Somalia, Yemen, Haiti, or the Weimar Republic.
In the event of a societal breakdown, rules about property ownership and crime usually cease to be enforced. Without a functioning government to punish rule breakers or award damages, ownership amounts to possession and the only consequence of crime is the potential for retaliation by survivors of the victim's clan or tribe. This is the way of life in slums around the world, including neighborhoods in the U.S. where the police cannot be trusted and justice is not effectively administered.
The dream of being the rich person in a collapsed society can be tested to ensure it is a workable plan. March into a slum and buy food, shelter, or clothing with a piece of gold in Rio de Janero, Baltimore, Caracas, Port Au Prince, south Chicago, or Harare.
Did you become a crime victim - i.e. robbed of your gold on the spot?
Was the transaction successful?
At the exchange rate offered, how long would the supplies you obtained last?