Serious Question for Goldbugs/Silvertards

Sorry to be such a n00b, but I really don't understand how owning precious metals helps in the carsh. Please explain?

If you sell them, you have to wait until your local currency hits absolute rock bottom, otherwise you will trade them in for a bunch of paper that will become even more worthless if another devaluation hits.

OR

You exchange them for goods and services, (provided that the government allows you to) and hope that the people you are doing business with accept them as items of value.

The obvious problem with #1 is that unless you're an insider, you don't know how low the dollar will go. Maybe they will print new currency or have you turn in your cash and rubber-stamp it at 1% of its face value and hand it back to you, but how can you know when the right time to sell your metal is?

#2 has its own set of problems. Provided the government doesn't confiscate your hoard or declare it illegal to barter with, you have to get the people you're buying things from to accept it as currency. Who else besides goldbugs & silvertards considers precious metals to be valuable during a crisis? Every time I talk to people about wanting to buy gold and silver, they look at me like I've just announced that I'm buying property on the moon. If I buy gold and silver and then go to these same people later wanting to buy food, gas, and ammo, are they still going to consider my metal to be worthless?

Thanks for the info.