As long as the money is fungible, then what ends up happening is deflation, a specific quantity of money will be worth more over time, as the amount of "stuff" available expands faster than the money supply. Common things will get cheaper as improvements in productivity reduce the real cost of their production, rather than prices going up as is the case with fiat currencies that are recklessly printed by bankers, stealing the value of people's savings. This would encourage people to save, and also to limit consumption to that which each individual finds desirable. Whereas, a fiat currency encourages consumption as the money will be worth less tomorrow, so you're better off spending it now. People will buy the things that are necessary for them and are worth more to them than their sound money. It will also encourage the purchase of more durable goods, goods that will hold their value (in terms of usefulness). As far as gold goes, there is plenty of it in the ground and in the ocean, but producing it in any quantity requires a lot of effort and expenditure of energy. If some technology were to be developed that made gold cheap and abundant, it would be displaced as a currency to something else. The ability to make abundant quantities of gold would only be beneficial if you were the only one able to do it... a bit like the central banks and commercial banks and their money printing.