Kinda similar to like under a gold standard you don't actually pay with gold. You can, but most people just use centralised "wrappers" around gold in the form of bank notes.
Well, it's not there's no physical gold, but there's still a shortage. So it's pretty easy to get spot price, even from a local shop. And if you have substantial amounts to sell, you may get spot price plus several percent.
Also, I've read that silver is hot now, given the likely surge in the silver/gold ratio.
