Silver as Method of Exchange?

[AK Caster]

I am not much of a prepper. But if I were going to put stuff away for when the SHTF it would be Glock 9mm's and/or boxes of factory 9mm ammo.

[labradigger1]

I'm not a prepped but I do occasionally trade some of my items for silver US coins. I have even done it here in the S&S section.

I just like silver coins.

[exile]

"The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him." Nahum 1:7 (N.A.S.B.)

John 6:40

exile

[funnyjim014]

In the SHTF collapse ammo in the common calibers, firearms, alcohol, tobacco, food water- in that order will be the new currency. Money, gold, silver all will be worthless

[Dan Cash]

I am curious what would make you think a silver coin might help you in a collapse, SHTF scenario? Serious question, i never think about things like this? I was born and raised hunting and fishing, and have successfully done so my entire life, i would rate my survival skills high (if i cared to survive) i am physically fit (logger/timber faller) i just cant imagine what a coin would do for me if i had to head for the hills and survive? We must be thinking totally different?

Those of you who think that heading for the hills to survive is a solution, you need to think again. There is not enough game to sustain you and there are a lot of folks there ahead of you right now who may not take kindly to your coming. That silver or other items of exchange could help negotiate the transfer of one of those beeves roaming the range. Other acquisition methods of said beef could prove terminally unsatisfactory.

[NoAngel]

Precious metal and stones or anything of the like are ONLY good if the system will recover.
A total collapse will render all you gold and silver worthless. You can't eat it, shoot it or dress a wound with it so itll be junk.

If our way of life could recover, your investment would pay off well but if it doesn't you'd be better off stocking high quality tools and the means to produce food, alcohol and medical necessities.
In a total collapse you could use $100k worth of gold bars tied to a rope to anchor your boat while you're crappie fishing cause that's about it'll be worth.

[quilbilly]

It has been my observation over the last six decades that an ounce of silver will generally buy about half a tank of gas (in a small car of course) whether it was when gas was 25 cents or $2.90 per gallon. It is far more liquid an asset than gold. Between saving one ounce silver bars or rounds and one pound ingots of boolit alloy lead, you should be good to go when the SHTF.

[PerpetualStudent]

I know people planning to use silver as "it" starts before "it" get's really bad. Mainly to buy gas when we've lost faith in electric 1's and 0's as well as cash.

I suppose that if I was a gas merchant and I'm watching things crumbling, but I think it will be rebuilt, I'd rather have silver than cash. And I'd rather have something than nothing for the gas that I know I can't store.

The thing to me is, I can't imagine swapping any of my stuff for silver in that situation. If I'm watching things crumble I want things to help me and mine now, I'm not worrying about my retirement savings once we've rebuilt. It all boils down to which version of SHTF you subscribe to I guess. For me, I'd rather tools and lead than silver.

[birch]

Interesting stuff.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Anybody worried, or even mildly concerned about collapse should read, "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank, 1959. It's a novel of how a small community in Florida survives the aftermath of WWIII. Silver may be a hedge against inflation, but a stock of supplies, ammo, fish hooks, hand tools, non-power machines, good old fashion paper books on everything from medicine to farming, and self reliance is what would get you through...with some tiny community bonding.

[koehn,jim]

I have gold silver and silver and both are good insurance, but lead is better if it hits the fan. Start looking at your change, there re still high silver content coins in circulation. When you find one sock it away, and it only cost you face value. First though buy supplies that if stored properly don't go bad. Primers and powder will always be in demand, and wont get cheaper.

[NoAngel]

I have gold silver and silver and both are good insurance, but lead is better if it hits the fan. Start looking at your change, there re still high silver content coins in circulation. When you find one sock it away, and it only cost you face value. First though buy supplies that if stored properly don't go bad. Primers and powder will always be in demand, and wont get cheaper.

This brings up another good point. Stockpiling powder and primers for when things get REALLY bad is nonsensical. Makes perfect sense now for those of us worried about panic buying and shortages but for WWIII type scenarios, it makes NO sense. If things really collapse around here, do you really think you'll have time to sit down and start pulling a handle?
For that line of thinking, you're better off storing primers individually along side precisely metered portions of powder, sealed in little brass tubes of varying geometry depending upon your tastes and needs.

[hardcase54]

"Alas Babylon" is my favorite book. I can't count the times I've read it.

[StolzerandSons]

Gold, Silver, Quality Land and a few other solid real world items are good items to add to your portfolio because they are basically insurance against currency instability(I'll give a good example in a moment) BUT they aren't what I would put on the top of my list of things I'd want in the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI scenarios. I'm not really big on the "prepper" thing but I am a realist when it comes to being prepared. For instance I live in Tornado Alley so for at least a portion of every year we have to be prepared to deal with the aftermath of a tornando relocating our house and my shop...that means we "prep" for a few scenarios that are relevant to the most likely outcome if a tornado comes through our area. These scenarios will be different for everyone based on where they live and what types of disasters can happen to them. If you prepare for the real then you are usually covered for the imagined as well.

I'm just going to use Gold in my example because it's simple to verify my information and it is something that I actually keep in my portfolio, here goes...in 1917 you could buy a new Model T Ford for about $450.00(depending on location and a few other factors). In 1917 Gold was $20.67/ounce. So $450 divided by $20.67 is 21.77 ounces of Gold. In 2017, a Ford F-150(basically the modern model T) has an MSRP of $26,730.00 and Gold is currently $1204.70. That works out to 22.18 ounces of Gold. So basically 22 ounces of gold in 1917 would buy you a new Ford truck and 100 years later 22 ounces of Gold will still buy you a new Ford truck...Insurance not an investment.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

If there is a nation wide crisis or maybe even state wide, you will be lucky to get out of your driveway. As far going to the woods to live, forget that also. Animals who live there often starve to death for a number of reasons such as drought or over population. California has mostly pine forest and nothing lives there anyway. Pine trees kill all vegetation that tries to grow there, even grass. Many of us need medicine everyday. Where would you get that in the woods? Before moving into this senior community my wife and I lived on 2-1/2 acres. A Mormon moved in next door and brought four large storage vans with him. They were filled with all manner of packaged food and a large population of large black rats which promptly spread all over the neighborhood. Our dog often killed them and deposited them at our back door. A gift I guess. Most of his canned food had spoiled, some of it had even turned black in the jars. He moved away after a few years and left most of the old food behind. My brother once said to me, "if a nuclear war comes, I hope the first missile hits in my back yard". Get it over with and avoid the trouble that follows.

[762 shooter]

I would think more than twice about trading ammo for anything.

I will give it to those I trust and I will defend it to the death from ones that I don't.

Anyway if you don't have water it's a moot point.

762

[Jeff Michel]

As the Pat Frank novel has been point out a couple times, this may dovetail.... Most of the posts are under the assumption that there will be something available to purchase. In the case of a complete infrastructure failure, any available consumer goods will be snapped up immediately. Anyone that has been through panic buying due to upcoming bad weather knows how scarce food gets just before a snow storm. After the stuff has been bought, where the replacement stuff coming from? Who will delivery food to a store if money is without value? I think the the best methodology for disaster preparedness is to stock up on shelf stable foods and bottled water and rotate both into your regular diet to keep your stock pile relatively fresh. Hunting for your groceries may work for a while but remember you will be competing with a bunch of other people with the same notion. Money and by extension, precious metals are nothing more than a medium of exchange. As pointed out earlier, so is a can of spam. If I haven't eaten anything in a week and had to choose between a silver ounce bar and a pack of Ramen noodles, the decision would not take up much of my day. You can always trade extra food for something else you need to survive.

[RogerDat]

Toilet paper is the new currency.

Made me laugh. But it is true. To my mind best "investment" for tough times is stuff you will actually use or that has minimal cost today but high value in a disrupted economy.

Lead, primers, powder, canned goods, dried beans (Mmm wife's bean soup!), and yes toilet paper and how-to books. I like reading about stuff, and I use toilet paper, and dog food and first aid kit, or things that you can find a use for anytime.

I know we all go to the internet today but no internet means you don't have that information on first-aid, gardening, or how to make booze in a pressure cooker pot still. Yes pressure cooker from a garage sale or thrift store might be a cheap (and fun) purchase. Since they already have a vent in the top you can thread in the condenser coil so they make a good still with little work.

Thing to remember is a tornado or ice storm or hurricane or flood are real world events that do happen and being prepared for those known events leaves you with more options, and time to think and consider those options in a more unsettled situation than not being prepared. If I lived in forest fire area I would have a bug out bag, and having a few essentials in the car for winter travel leaves you in better shape if for some reason you had to make your way home on foot or weather prevented you from returning home.

I would toss in pandemic, how long could you just stay home? Waiting for a flue or other virus with a high mortality rate to burn it self out takes time. When the Spanish flu came through around 1918 if you could have bunkered down for 60 or 90 days at home you might have been better off. But that much food is a might full pantry and a lot of money to invest. Still food will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no food. Even silver money. Don't forget in every siege the price for goods goes through the roof, so I agree with those that say in a situation of civil breakdown goods are more valuable than precious metal, except maybe as bribes. But then booze works as a bribe too and I can drink that. Just not as portable so if one was trying to travel and bribe...

I have three rolls of Charmin ultra soft and all you have to do is look the other way as I go through the gate and down the road. How about I throw in a half bottle of vodka? Ok bye, ya'll take care now.

[PerpetualStudent]

It's been a while since I read 2 kings, but this thread did remind me of one siege where they were starving, eventually cannibalism shows up, but they mention that a donkey's head went for much silver
https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/e...Kings%206%3A25

[country gent]

I talked to several european immigrants in shops Ive worked. They went thru WW2 and all said the same thing about what was best. Money, precious metals were very low on the lists as were art and other collectables. Forearms and ammo wernt as low but tops on all of their lists were shelter and food stuffs. All said the same thing Food was better for trade and bartering than anything else whether vegtables, meat or live animals. Firearms ammo was just to protect. But Food could be eaten or used for trade either or. Canned goods or dehydrated foods may just be the ticket.