If gold is so useless, why are all the central banks and especially China, buying so much of it?
For the most part, countries that debased their currency eventually ceased to exist. So in that sense...
Arguably, France when back to a gold standard when Napoleon took over. It wasn't The French Republic anymore, but.
The UK returned to the gold standard in 1821 and again in 1925.
France again in 1928.
The problem is that being able to print all the money in the world is addictive:
Very addictive. Like all addictions it eventually destroys any addict without the will to go clean.