I disagree- if *enemy* troops are in your front yard, lead suddenly becomes one of the most valuable substances in existence! Hm, have gold bullets ever been used? I imagine some rich nobleman with too much time/money on his hands tried. Probably doesn't work too well- I envision the explosion heating the gold to melting/near melting, so it flies out of the barrel in a "glob" rather than a solid bullet. It quickly hardens in w/e shape it ends up, and then probably loses a ton of velocity after a few feet. Reminds me of an old episode of Sharpe's Rifles.... where British riflemen (during Napoleonic Wars) used a little grasshopper gun to fire loads of gold coins into an approaching army of mercenaries. The intent was not to kill or hurt the troops... when they saw the gold glittering in the air and hitting the ground, discipline broke. They began scattering and grabbing all of the coins they could stuff into their pockets, before fleeing the field. A very expensive distraction, but effective in that show, at least. Bet you this could be really good riot control- fake dollar cannons!