Well I suppose what we are really talking about is just how useful is the material to the survivors? Like Copeab mentioned, lead is going to be more in demand than say gold but the important question is why and the answer is although you can make bullets out of gold like you can with lead (or indeed any suitable metal), lead is easier to work with and is found in greater abundance.
Lead is used as sheeting for rooftops and gutters, it can be formed into pipes, bowls and other implements whereas gold is much less useful for such things (sure there's the lead poisoning bit but you get my meaning) You'd probably want to keep the gold for soldering or electrical repairs like Targan mentioned.
I think the same thing applies to the gemstones, if I'm going to trade 20 rounds of .44Magnum, a thick wool jumper and two MREs with you, I want something useful in return and I mean immediately useful like rifle ammunition or directions to the closest trading town or alcohol for my generator. To paraphrase Copeab again, I can't eat a handful of rubies, assuming I'm even skilled enough to recognize them as rubies.
These items i.e. precious stones/metals are really only coveted because someone likes the look of them, they're pretty and because they're in demand for such vanity purposes, they become valuable. Gold is good for backing up currency but only because people believe gold is valuable. It's only valuable because it is relatively rare and people want to own it. I think for most people in the immediate aftermath, gold coins/ingots etc. may possibly retain the belief in their value but I don't think many people will see gemstones in the same manner, they'll just be pretty stones.
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