Am I? From 1861-1933 you could redeem paper currency for gold. I agree you can’t do that today, which was the original distinction I was making.

You are. You are conceptualizing currency as debt, as if currencies represented finite deposits of gold which implies the value of the currency. Even with the gold standard, governments still decide the value of the currency.

Doesn't seem like I'm confusing the two. Regardless of how the value was decided, you could still get gold in exchange for paper currency through the Treasury at the fixed rate. You can't do that today, because the money isn't backed by gold.