Coinage for SHTF

[Oh Shoot]

Au Contriare, the leeches descendent of Judas are highly allergic to silver.....wait...are we really going there?

Got to, man.

I grew up on bad Hollywood -- silver bullets are for werewolves. Crosses ward off vampires, but they don't have to be silver. Killer stakes have to be wood, From Dusk Till Dawn notwithstanding. Sunlight always works.

Has Anne Rice and Seph Meyer et alia been revising the actual truth or something?

- OS

[Caster]

Actually the Judas thing goes waayyy back. When in doubt I find decapitation works universally. Even if not permanently, separating the two will usually lighten the tension of the moment enough to allow you some thinking/breathing room to plan your next move.

[mcurrier]

Doesn't do squat on vampires.

- OS

I knew I should have posted supporting info when saying that.

http://www.zerotime.com/night/destroy.htm

http://kenyluger.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-kill-a-vampire

Now, back to original topic...

[Oh Shoot]

I knew I should have posted supporting info when saying that.

http://www.zerotime....ght/destroy.htm

http://kenyluger.hub...-kill-a-vampire

Now, back to original topic...

Revisionist claptrap, I say!

Snipes went to prison because he messed with tradition with the Blade flicks, too!

[ted]

Whiskey will be worth more I think what cha say fellas

[Caster]

Whiskey will be worth more I think what cha say fellas

Not whiskey. Vodka and even more so, pure grain alcohols. Reason being, they are multi purpose. Not to say a 20 year old bottle of scotch will be worthless.

[Guest 270win]

I think back to now deceased family who lived in very rural areas. Most would swap say eggs for sugar. You do some work you get a meal. People might pay the doctor with farm products. Money is just an IOU instead of swapping.

[Smith]

I did a wedding for an old farmer in Arkansas and he paid me in some of the most delicious farm raised, home cooked chiken tenders I've ever had! I like the barter system myself

[Ebow1]

People will undoubtedly lust after gold but simply because it is rare and shiny. The only useful purpose gold serves is the conduction of electricity, as it is excellent for this. These things being said gold is completely useless in a disaster situation, except to barter to any lucky morons who have managed to survive for items and materials that can actually serve a purpose. As for the other topic, vampires can only be killed by decapitation. The wooden stake was simply to keep them on the ground to make the job easier.

[Oh Shoot]

I did a wedding for an old farmer in Arkansas and he paid me in some of the most delicious farm raised, home cooked chiken tenders I've ever had! I like the barter system myself

A farmer who made chicken tenders, really?

[Smith]

A farmer who made chicken tenders, really?

Yep.

[Oh Shoot]

A farmer who made chicken tenders, really?

Yep.

Oh, you mean boneless pieces of chicken I guess...

Saw "tenders" and thought "nuggets", nm.

Edited March 21, 2012 by OhShoot

[Smith]

Oh, you mean boneless pieces of chicken I guess...

Saw "tenders" and thought "nuggets", nm.

Haha, nah not nuggets. Strips of chicken breast breaded and fried.

[RobertNashville]

In a SHTF world, ANYTHING yo have that someone else might want can be a basis of exchange; assuming you have enough of it to offer it in trade - extra food, ammunition, a firearm, a skill, etc. Given that, much of what we buy for that kind of emergency situation can become coinage which is why, if you can afford it, I think buying "extra" of those things is a good idea.

Specificlaly with regards to coinage; I would say that anything that has a provable and identifiable metal content can be a good source of coinage but being able to establish the metal and how much is there is going to be key in establishing a value. Any U.S. minted coin from the correct time frame works well for that (commonly called junk silver/coinage). Personally, I happen to like 1oz bullion silver coins (mostly U.S. Eagles and Canadian Maple Leafs) because there really can be no legitimate question about how much silver is there and while not quite as convenient as a bag of old quarters, one oz coins are still small enough to deal with. That said, my primary reason for having the the bullion coins as well as some paper dollars on hand is more for a "temporary" emergency rather than an all out SHTF situation..if something happens and I can't get to an ATM (or they aren't working) or people won't (or can't) take a debit card then what cash/coin I have on hand is going to be extremely important.

Edited March 22, 2012 by RobertNashville

[Guest Lester Weevils]

In a SHTF world, ANYTHING yo have that someone else might want can be a basis of exchange; assuming you have enough of it to offer it in trade - extra food, ammunition, a firearm, a skill, etc. Given that, much of what we buy for that kind of emergency situation can become coinage which is why, if you can afford it, I think buying "extra" of those things is a good idea.

Specificlaly with regards to coinage; I would say that anything that has a provable and identifiable metal content can be a good source of coinage but being able to establish the metal and how much is there is going to be key in establishing a value. Any U.S. minted coin from the correct time frame works well for that (commonly called junk silver/coinage). Personally, I happen to like 1oz bullion silver coins (mostly U.S. Eagles and Canadian Maple Leafs) because there really can be no legitimate question about how much silver is there and while not quite as convenient as a bag of old quarters, one oz coins are still small enough to deal with. That said, my primary reason for having the the bullion coins as well as some paper dollars on hand is more for a "temporary" emergency rather than an all out SHTF situation..if something happens and I can't get to an ATM (or they aren't working) or people won't (or can't) take a debit card then what cash/coin I have on hand is going to be extremely important.

Hi Robert

Those are great points and I agree. I keep some bar metals of various weights down to 1 or 2 oz, a few silver eagles, and assorted old pre-1965 90 percent silver usa coins.

In a desperate situation of course the price of a can of beans is whatever the seller is willing to barter for. However I have concerns re the practicality of trading old silver coins, silver eagles, or even gold eagles in a desperate barter situation, especially the first weeks or months after a crash-- The coins have a marked denomination much smaller than their value. Fer example if I'm trying to buy a can of beans from Bubba and I offer him a pre-1965 usa half dollar. Could explain to Bubba til blue in the face, "This coin might look like it is only worth four bits but it is actually worth $11.32. Since you paid less than a buck for the beans before walmart sold out then that is more than ten bucks profit." Even if Bubba is a completely honest feller who is not out to skin me on the deal-- If Bubba ain't been paying attention to the value of silver-- If he doesn't already know the value of that old half-dollar-- Then he'll demand at least two of my old half-dollars just so he can barely break even on the buck he has invested in his can of beans. He'd be looking for the same price even if I was paying in 2012-minted half-dollars.

Same deal with silver eagles. If Bubba doesn't know that a silver eagle is worth at least $31 then he's gonna think I'm selling magic beans. "Lester, it plainly says it's worth a dollar, not thirty-one bucks!" Same problem even with gold eagles. There may be MANY honest good-natured people who are ignorant enough to think that a gold eagle is only worth the $50 stamped on the coin, rather than north of $1600.

Foreign coins seem even more risky, unless the seller knows their true value. Private-minted 1oz Sunshine rounds or whatever, might look like counterfeit monopoly money to some folks.

That is why POSSIBLY legit-looking bars MIGHT be more easily tradable. Hopefully most people are at least aware that silver and gold are valuable. If I can just convince Bubba that it really is a 10 oz silver bar, plainly printed 99.999 pure, and I can show the feller an old pre-crash valuation on silver, then it might be easier to convince some folks that the bar really is worth at in the ballpark of $310.

After a crash, I expect that it will take awhile for the average guy's valuation of money to adjust. Perhaps weeks or months to adjust. People are too conditioned to what a dollar will buy. Will take awhile to re-adjust thinking. The older I get, it gets harder to adapt. I keep thinking that a dollar is worth more than it really is because in the good old days it used to actually be worth something. The "normalcy bias" http://en.wikipedia....i/Normalcy_bias .

I don't expect that paper Benjamins and post-1965 usa coins will become immediately useless in trade. Am keeping some cash and modern coin, hoping to use that at first until it is either all spent, or until people get wise and quit taking the stuff on trade. For some weeks or months after a crash, I'm betting that many folks will more readily trade for three Benjamins rather than a 10 oz silver bar. Possibly even trade for one Benjamin rather than a 10 oz silver bar. Therefore, keep the metal in reserve for use after people finally conclude that Benjamins are worthless.

[mcurrier]

In a SHTF world, ANYTHING yo have that someone else might want can be a basis of exchange; assuming you have enough of it to offer it in trade - extra food, ammunition, a firearm, a skill, etc. Given that, much of what we buy for that kind of emergency situation can become coinage which is why, if you can afford it, I think buying "extra" of those things is a good idea.

Toilet paper will be like gold. I have plenty of it too. Look me up after SHTF. (no pun intended) I'll be the guy with the comfortable walk.

[RobertNashville]

Toilet paper will be like gold. I have plenty of it too. Look me up after SHTF. (no pun intended) I'll be the guy with the comfortable walk.

True...then again, at least TP has as pretty easy to locate replacement (leaves, grass, etc.)...certainly not as pleasant to use but they can get the job done.

It's the things that can't be easily replaced or substituted for that keeps me awake some nights!

[RobertNashville]

...

Good points.

I know that some people won't understand the true value of silver or think that the $1 on the silver eagle is what it should be worth. But, I think there will be enough people around who understand that it's the silver, not the $ figure on the coin that supports the valu - I guess if someone just doesn't or won't understand I would just have to find someone else to bargin with!

Anyway, my silver is, as I mentioned, just part of an overall "cash" plan for a situation where I can't use a debit card/can't get money out of the bank, etc.,,I know that in a SHTF time, paper money will be worthless other than perhaps helping to start a fire.

Or maybe as a substitute for TP!!!

[jgradyc]

I would not invest in coins or gold/silver for this situation. PM, gems, and rare coins are best considered as ways to transport wealth from one unstable country to another. That's okay for Europe where you can walk to the next country in a few days, but it doesn't work in the United States.

In a true crisis, coins/PM would have some barter value, but the return on investment would be really low. Coins in bulk are also pretty heavy. Better barter items in weight to value would be ibuprofen and aspirin. Next would be bleach (for water purification), rubbing alcohol, and insect repellant. Next, ammo. Next, non perishable foods.

[LI0NSFAN]

Think of the stuff people in prison barter for, That is as close to a "barter" socity that we have currently. I would put food first but that is taken care of for them.

Cigerettes- when the supply line is cut off those people will have to get the fix some way, I guess the patches would work

I have traded 2AA batteries at a camp site for a hot meal, the hand held radio died. Batteries will probably be a hot item for the people that are use to the creature comforts. They have to have a way to power there flashlights, MP3 players, cell phones( provided cell service is still around)

Other things people will be deperate for is the basics so things that can help them with that would be more valuable that gold. If I had 2 guys infront of me that were trying to bater with me and one guy had gold/silver and the other guy had Fishing line with a hook taped to the spool, the guy with the fishing line would get my buisness all day. I had a friend that prints a label with 10 survival uses for fishing line slaps it on a spool and hands it out to the yuppies at the RV sites. 3 years after handing one out he got a letter from a guy that used that spool to survive for 2weeks after he fell down a ravine while hiking. Fishing line is not Paracord but it can save your life if used right, and takes up little space in a bag.

The shelf life on the batteries and Cigs is limited but I will be stocking up on fishing line. For survival purpose the cheap stuff should be fine.

Edited April 19, 2012 by climberscott_1999

[Guest USMC 2013]

Where gold and silver come valuable is in a situation that we have a serious financial crisis, not TEOTWAWKI scenario. Think of Mexico, or Russia, when they had their currencies revalued. People that prep will be better off and people that have stored some of their $ in gold and silver will be the best off when the dust settles.

The only way gold and silver becomes worthless in a SHTF scenario is if society never rebuilds. At the point we're talking about the end of mankind and the last person living will be the loniest person on Earth.

Joe

[TGO David]

When/if society collapses, paper and metal currency won't likely be worth anything. Food will be king second only to the ability to provide food.

[Caster]

When/if society collapses, paper and metal currency won't likely be worth anything. Food will be king second only to the ability to provide food.

Yes, this is true. My original post was about some of the copper bullion and coins I have been seeing. Gold won't be worth squat, but as larger groups clan together and start makeshift factories [Think New Bern from Jericho] they will need raw materials. Verified metals will be valuable to machinists or blacksmiths who have the ability to work with them.

[TGO David]

Yes, this is true. My original post was about some of the copper bullion and coins I have been seeing. Gold won't be worth squat, but as larger groups clan together and start makeshift factories [Think New Bern from Jericho] they will need raw materials. Verified metals will be valuable to machinists or blacksmiths who have the ability to work with them.

That could take years to occur after a collapse of society, especially if the collapse is brought on by an EMP attack. Food and the ability to provide food (hunting, trapping, the equipment for both) will be the most valuable commodities. That and perhaps medicines but even those supplies will quickly run out.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Along the lines of hoarding copper-- Not necessarily for investement or shtf-- The infrequently traded rare metals hold a nerdy attraction. Maybe more a collector thang, though rare metals might be unlikely to lose value (because they are genuinely rare). Then again, one day you might be building a birdhouse in the basement and suddenly discover you need some ruthenium, osmium, or germanium in the worst way! It would really suck if you couldn't finish the birdhouse because you are all out of ruthenium!

Another nerdy attraction-- In mid-20th century classic science fiction, there were a few stories premised on the platinum group metals. In the periodic table, a great deal of the high-tech of the 20th century, at least up to semiconductors, was based on properties of elements 26 thru 30. Iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc. The many applications of electromagnetism. Some stories presupposed that there are equivalent as-yet-undiscovered miraculous technologies based on the same periodic table slots one row up. Ruthenium, rhodium palladium, silver, cadmium. There are no real-world hints that such a thing would ever happen, but it gives the metals a certain nostalgia. When I was a kid reading those stories it sounded kewl to have samples of those metals, and it still seems like a fun idea.

Most industrial supplies of the platinum group metals are ugly powder. Maybe there are better references, but here are two I found for scoring small quantities of the elements in shiny metallic form--

http://www.platinumgroupmetals.org/

http://stores.ebay.c...ment-Collection