commodity value is an important consideration in hedging against inflation. whereas fiat currencies can devalue, often catastrophically, currencies with considerable commodity value are known to better maintain their value; a government can print as many fiat bills as it wants with relative ease, the same is not true of mining precious metals. this leads some investors to purchase goods and debts with high commodity value, which are inherently safer than those with low, or no commodity value, minimizing risk by sacrificing potential return.