Looking at your graph, it appears that high inflation rates corresponded to times of war. 1812. War between the States. WWI (or more accurately, JP Morgans war). Then you had deflation after the wars. So things averaged out close to zero.
Compare that to today, where we have inflation during times of war. And then we have more inflation during times of peace!
We're not talking just numbers here. That kind of market environment was pure hell. People starved and died.
More people starved and died because technology (agricultural and medicinal) wasn't what it is today.
wild price fluctuations were only during times of crisis
From your chart, there were price flutctuations. But keep in mind our nation was rapidly expanding during the 1800s. Perhaps those fluctuations were simply a function of that, not unlike how a small growing business has more volatility than a large establised corporation. But the important thing, is that despite these fluctuations, if you held dollars over the long term, you maintained wealth. We had "honest money" back then.
Again, before the FRB prices were all over the place then and today's inflation looks well, boring
Inflation is running about 6-10% today, depending on who's numbers you believe. That isn't "boring", it's "criminal".
We need to feed our selves without asking others to pay our bills, and we can't afford to get it wrong
So if you had to choose between leaving 500 one-dollar bills, or one ounce of gold to your great-grandchildren for 100 years into the future, for them to "feed themselves", which would you choose?
I love it!
There are 103 different toxic carcinogens in second hand smoke (depending on who's numbers...), plus 5 billion illegal immigrants in Butte Montana alone and 350 communists in the State Department, and ...