And pay capital "gains" tax on the value (in dollars) that said gold "appreciated".
Yeah, that’s true.
You really think the government is going to be running smoothly in that situation. You could probably make a deal to simply keep paying your mortgage at a reduced rate. The banks will be sinking. The IRS would be so short staffed it would never be able to keep up.
If we get to the point I described, the game is over.