It is tough to look at the world outside of the lifespans of people who influence you. That gives us roughly 150 years of perspective (Grandparents’ birth to your death). In the overall scheme of humanity, this is a minuscule amount of time.
Things like climate change, precious metals, and the repetition of societal governments become clearer when the center of the universe is not based around you. Humanity makes stupid decisions when it concentrates perspective on a handful of generations. Remember that time we thought earth was the center of the universe, and we burned heretics who said different?
Anyway, precious metals have held value longer than anything else over human history. If you collect coins, metal bars, and jewelry with the primary intent of it being heirlooms, you will probably get the added benefit of a successor being better-off in the future. If you solely buy metal to hedge against a dollar, then do a small amount and be sure to diversify a lot further than metal.