I've just read the Francisco D'Anconia passage from the "Atlas Shrugged", just to inform myself of what everybody is speaking about when referring to this. My reading is that one of the strong features of the speech is to say that money was only virtuous when it was attached to the value of gold.

The question I have is: why gold?

Gold fluctuates in value just like any other commoditiy in the market, yet is main "usefullness" is in jewelry, with uses in electronics, although in minor quantities. Why is there so much literature speaking of gold's intrinsic value?

I understand that gold is a noble metal, and doesn't corrod, but so are ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, osmium, iridium, and platinum. So why on earth would gold be a better marker of value than any other of these?