Having physical PMs (less that 5-10%) in one's possession should not be considered speculative plays at all, nor even expect to keep up with inflation (because the PM market is rigged by the Central Banks).

Physical PMs are simply a hedge against the entire global financial system melting down for good. It may never happen. But if it did, then yes in the short term, there will be chaos. There will be riots. There will be shortages of food, supplies, other goods, etc. In the short term there will be FAR more to care or worry about than having gold or silver.

However, during such an event, the Fed and the governments of the world will try to quickly re-establish a new financial system, and any new fiat system they create will be reset against Gold and Silver once again. Meaning that the fiat price of Gold and Silver will be reset to 20X-30X or more of where it is today. So it would be wise to have some anyway.