Incorrect, when viewed against your second paragraph. Gold has little intrinsic value. just as do the abstracted paper or institution issued, faith backed world currencies of today.

Gold had the limited value of a pretty metal that made attractive jewelry and decorations. Gold's ONLY significant intrinsic value was as a currency, a medium of exchange. just as the only intrinsic value of modern currencies is as mediums of exchange.

The dollar has value because you have to exchange labor or real goods to get it, the same functional value of the gold coin or ingot. The difference is that the dollar is many orders of magnitude more efficient at this function, so much more efficient that you have to exchange your gold with dollars in order to realize the supposed value of that gold.

Executing this exchange is both comparatively expensive and risky. You need to pay a qualified assayer to certify the value of your coin or ingot, and then both parties to the exchange have to trust the expert that the valuation is correct against current gold prices, almost always measured in the superior dollar.