One very interesting thing right now in Gold is that both the Commercials and Non-Commercials are at roughly the same levels (net short and net long, respectively) as they were just prior to the crash (looking at July 2008 & current COT data). So, theoretically, there is an equivalent amount of fuel for a similar sell-off if liquidations force sales in comparable numbers again. Of course, the effect of the selling was over for gold by Nov '08, when safe-haven buyers took over.

So the question is a key one: will the speculative component of the current open interest in gold hold on or be forced out again if real selling comes back?

I think we're a lot closer to the idea of gold as protection against fiat currency devaluations, so maybe an even shallower selloff would result; one that could be hedged, as suggested elsewhere, with short GDX or, for the brave, short or double short SLV.