"The only problem with gold's intrinsic value is that we can't eat it."
Very true.
It is actually what you'd call a "special use" commodity.
It does have the weakness you mentioned. If you find yourself in a situation where no one will accept it, you can't just go home and eat it yourself.
I had an interesting experience along those lines about 2 months ago.
As an experiment, I tried to make a certain purchase, by offering in exchange a newly minted, solid silver US coin.
Face value: $20 U.S.
Intrinsic value: whatever an ounce of pure silver is going for today.
My coin sat "on the table" for almost 2 weeks, before anyone would accept it. Fortunately I wasn't trying to buy food.
Fred