Ammo as currency

[Guest H0TSH0T]

i just received 2000 .40 rounds cased in copper, 214$ to my front door, i bet that investment is worth its weight in gold.

[Wingshooter]

Sigh. Birthers... giving us Conservatives a bad name...

The latest I heard was Tatz was in deep for filing false info, witness tampering, and st00ping a married man. But, I do not expect much from a "lawyer" that got her degree online (only in California...)

But enough of the off topic freeper/birther uselessness...

When you do barter - I clarify, never give anything to someone else who could use it to attack you and take the rest of your stuff.

And when you barter never show too much of what you have and where you live. Again, in a SHTF situation, YOU are the law, no one else... so protect yourself, or expect someone to make a play for your stuff and location...

The birther issue... Why can't he just show the certificate?! It is a requirement to have one, and maybe he does. When you get hired in a profession, you have to show that you are eligible. I can't believe that every president doesn't have to show it as a general rule.

.... thread hijack over.

My goal is to prepare as much as possible to minimize bartering. With adequate food, water, medical supplies, ammo (and TP ) stored up, hopefully I would be able to maintain more of a defensive position. I don't want other people outside of my family to know that I have anything useful.

My plan is to have emergency food storage for the short term with the means to gather food on a long term basis (gardening/hunting/fishing). I have the same plan for water. Short term storage and filtering products for a long term crisis.

I would probably just use whatever I have (or could spare) as bartering tools if it ever comes to that. I am sure that ammo would work quite well as currency if currency as we know it is gone.

Edited October 28, 2009 by Batman

[Guest Wills99z]

.22 ammo is a good investment for barter as no one reloads it and practically everyone uses it. It’s cheap and plentiful right now so a couple thousand rounds in the corner of your closet is a good investment. Ammo will be the currency of the future if the dollar goes invest in common calibers and reloading supplies

As for PM’s they are good for preservation of wealth depending on your stance on where the dollar is headed. Personally I think gold is headed up into the 2000 – 3000 range as the dollar continues to decay. You can’t run a yearly budget deficit of several trillion of dollars without ill effects on our currency. All it will take is a flinch in the wrong direction like the dollar index dipping below 70 or a few failed treasury auctions, confidence will be lost and that's all it will take. That said in a true SHTF situation PM’s will be worthless, tangible everyday good will be of great value ,beans and bullets as they say.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Wills99z

[Wyldk2]

Preservation of Wealth? What is wealth? All I'm doing is covering my bases. Silver and gold have been used as currencies the longest of anything out there. Ammo is fine, but you have to have a gun to shoot it, and some people still don't have a gun or believe in them. I guess they are the ones that believe only the Police and military need guns.

Some saying if the dollar dwindles, then PM's will have no value, i have to disagree on that. Beans and bullets? surely you're not thinking the world( least america) will turn into some kinda mad max world. What happens when you run out of beans and bullets? what are you going to do then? Eat grass and dirt? Trade anything of value or usefullness for something to eat? I'd have a little bit of silver, gold and ammo, food and survival supplies, and of course the TP, but TP don't hold up to water if we have a storm or situation like Katrina.

[Guest Wills99z]

I think PM’s will have a value as long as some type of society still exists. In a true survival situation however they have little value or usefulness. I was using beans and bullets more as a metaphor than literally. What I mean was just what you stated everyday items like food, ammo, water filtration devices, hygiene products, survival supplies, and yes TP J has more value in a true SHTF world than PM’s ever will.

Now for any situation other than TEOTWAWKI yes gold and silver will have trading value and I do think currently it is a prudent move to put some of your monetary wealth into PM they are a great hedge for the dollar and much safer than any domestic investments priced in dollars i.e. mutual funds, stocks, bonds, ect.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Wills99z

[Guest Wills99z]

Oh yea Mad Max world, I don't think were going there I was just posting my opinion in keeping with the title of the thread "Ammo as currency" if it got to the stage where we are using ammo as currency I feel my points would be valid, actual goods over PM’s

Edited October 30, 2009 by Wills99z

[Guest H0TSH0T]

i would say invest in something light and worth far more than gold, and traded everywhere in the world. 6.98mmx6.98mmx4.32mm princes cut, 2.3 carats, color F, grade VSI, not appraised yet, not laser etched or numbered. my diamond estimator says,....

For The Criteria: Shape: Princess - Color: F - Clarity: VS1 - Carat: 2.21 Average Price: 21903.75, Average Carat Price: 9911.20 (from 2 Matching Stones)

Edited October 30, 2009 by H0TSH0T

[Guest Wills99z]

My Wife would love that

[Guest SUNTZU]

i would say invest in something light and worth far more than gold, and traded everywhere in the world.

Those are delicious. I ate them once while backpacking and a raccoon stole my food pouch. They are perfect for shooting out of a slingshot, as well, since they fly straight and true. They better for how much they cost.

[strickj]

i would say invest in something light and worth far more than gold, and traded everywhere in the world.

So,you're saying invest in dime baggies?

[inspecting1]

I wonder how much gold and silver changed hands during and after Hurrican Katrina?

I think we would need to know what you mean by changed hands

[Guest SUNTZU]

As in, "Hey, I'm thirsty, let me shave off a piece of gold for that water bottle." Not looting.

[Wyldk2]

Oh yea Mad Max world, I don't think were going there I was just posting my opinion in keeping with the title of the thread "Ammo as currency" if it got to the stage where we are using ammo as currency I feel my points would be valid, actual goods over PM’s

No prob, I understand.

If anyone has ever watched the tv series "Jericho", that is more like i was insinuating might happen. If something ever did happen. We'd have to barter with whatever we had of value, whether or not it is silver, gold, water, ammo or anything else out there. Everything out there has a price and a buyer. Watch Waterworld? Everytime i see that movie( i guess if i'm bored and nothing else is on), i hope it don't get to that point where i'd have to recycle my Pee.

[Spiffy]

I have several thoughts on this.

1) I have bought gold and silver and pre 65 coins.......... no one is really going to sell in bulk to you so the gold and silver if they make change is going to be worthless bills. And to most people that dime is still a dime even if it is real silver content.

2) Never trade something that can be used against you. They figure you have more and will come and take it now that they have ammo.

It comes down to trust and in a real SHTF civil unrest event you cant really trust anyone outside of those you trust with your life today.

[Guest SUNTZU]

Edited December 1, 2009 by SUNTZU

[JW3Percent]

Read the book "Alas Babylon". It is a fictitious story about the east coast getting hit by Russians with several nuclear missiles; and the survival of the folks left behind. it is a wonderful book with tons of useful information. Plus it's a relatively short book so you can devour it in a day or two.

I can assure you that gold/silver/gems/etc will NOT be used if the SHTF. especially if it is nuclear because Gold will be extremely radioactive if that happens.

My short list - not in order (based on the aforementioned book)

* Water

* Food

* Fuel

* Alcohol (booze - seriously)

* Weapons (guns, knives, ammo, bows, etc)

* Salt, Sugar, Honey (remember honey never goes bad)

the book has much more.

Edited December 13, 2009 by Slipstream

[Guest Dean Wormer]

Diversification, one should have a few weeks/month or two of food and water... year or twos worth of ammo, cigarettes, and booze (whether you drink or not, people will still want booze especially in bad times), some cold hard cash, and a reasonably diverse financial portfolio.

On the ammo front, I'd stock on .22lr before any other caliber. Its very easy to get a couple years supply of it, and its what you would probably use 99% of the time in a SHTF situation. $400 will easily buy you a nice assortment of .22lr, probably 10,000rds, that'll last you 2 years easy. $1000 will buy you 25,000 rounds... thats got to be a decade's supply if you were stingy and only used it when necessary. Small game/pest control, training/practice, and hell even half-decent self defense you can do with .22 if you had to.

Now is not the time to be buying any precious metal, the bust will come. Remember the housing/internet bubble-bust?? Sooner or later... if you have any, now is the time to SELL it (to a reputable dealer, not anyone you see on TV/ hear on radio).

[Guest Republican]

Ammo is utilized as currency now. I see people trade it for stuff all the time man. I forecast that ammo will only increase in value for at least the next three years. If you know what I mean.

[Guest Tiki Jane]

Jim Rawles, over at Survival Blog dot com, had an interesting last Friday Feb 19th. He was responding to a letter about silver and coins in a post collapse world.

He offered a possible breakdown of currency using not only the pre 1965 silver dimes and quarters, etc, but also using nickles which have a known value as well. Rawles is a big believer in collecting nickles.

It was certainly food for thought. Scroll down towards the end for his addition to the poster's info.

Here's the link: Letter Re: Making Change in a New Precious Metals Economy - SurvivalBlog.com

Edited February 23, 2010 by Tiki Jane
additional info

[railfancwb]

For silver investments, worn common date United States silver coins...dimes and quarters primarily...may be the best choice. 'most everyone knows them so fakes are not a big issue. With $17/oz silver, a dime is worth $1.50 - $2.00 so smaller things can be bought. Collectible coins and bullion bars will lose most or all of their premium and in fact might sell at a significant discount due to lack of recognition by others. US silver coins also limit your possible loss, as they are always worth face value.