"Well measured in 72 currencies, gold is at ... or within a few percentage points ... of being at an all-time high for people in those countries," the CEO of Sharps Pixley said.

His list started with the Afghan afghani, ended with the Zambian kwacha and included the Australian dollar, Russian ruble and South African rand.

"Not on the list are the British pound, the Swiss franc, the Euro and Chinese yuan - but we are not far off in all of those currencies too," he said.

"Only in USD does gold lag - and not all of us live in the US."

The gold price is around US$1,290 an ounce on the spot market today, down about 3.7% over 12 months.

Analysts have tipped a rising US dollar gold price this year given plateauing US interest rates and geopolitical uncertainties including Brexit.

Norman said he remembered the same phenomenon - "a stealth rally in minor currencies" - ahead of the last major gold bull run in dollar terms in the late 1990s.

The bullion dealer said gold had seen an average year-on-year gain of about 10% compounded since 2000, which he believed meant it was a reliable yardstick to measure costs or wealth - and a useful thing to own.