cash/coin/ silver/gold will be used post SHTF for about a week or two then the looting will start, after that any currency will be useless. better to convert any spare cash you would have to buying food, water, tools and weapons before the collapse occurs.
Currency/money after TSHTF
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I've been buying and collecting gold and silver most of my life. And in all forms; placer gold (fines to nuggets from my mine), gold coins, rounds and bars, pre 64 silver coins, rounds and bars. When buying any precious metal product shop around for the best price. Spot price will always be the same between sellers but the dealer premium can change a lot between sellers. If you live in an area with placer mining consider buying raw gold directly from the miner. Usually you can buy this gold for 80-90% of spot, depending on assay, while nugget gold can bring much more than spot. Do your homework.
Bartering doesn't have to wait just for post SHTF. I've traded a lot of placer gold for stuff I wanted and I've traded 100 ounce silver bars for things too.
Gold, silver and precious stones have always had value throughout history. I think that it's a little foolish to think that it won't have value after SHTF.
Like someone else said; don't put all your investment eggs in one basket. Precious metals and stones are far from my only investments, but they do make a significant portion.
Bartering doesn't have to wait just for post SHTF. I've traded a lot of placer gold for stuff I wanted and I've traded 100 ounce silver bars for things too.
Gold, silver and precious stones have always had value throughout history. I think that it's a little foolish to think that it won't have value after SHTF.
Like someone else said; don't put all your investment eggs in one basket. Precious metals and stones are far from my only investments, but they do make a significant portion.
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Bigpaul, there is a difference between fiat currency and real money, although in this day and age few people know the difference. Yes, fiat currency will have no value post SHTF. Real money, on the other hand has had value for thousands of years and will continue to have value no matter what happens. If there were no real money in existence post SHTF, it would be invented because trade is too awkward without it. That's what always happens.
In colonial America, Spanish milled dollars became the real money of choice because they were available (thanks to piracy in the Caribbean), and they were reliable. They were inconvenient for making change so people cut them up for change. A fourth of a Spanish milled dollar was worth a fourth of a dollar. Try that with any fiat currency!
This is what a "quarter" looked like in Colonial America.
In colonial America, Spanish milled dollars became the real money of choice because they were available (thanks to piracy in the Caribbean), and they were reliable. They were inconvenient for making change so people cut them up for change. A fourth of a Spanish milled dollar was worth a fourth of a dollar. Try that with any fiat currency!
This is what a "quarter" looked like in Colonial America.
if you wanted trade after SHTF you could barter, if indeed it was safe to do so.
even if it was I don't think there will be any surplus, especially food, for many years.
and I don't think many would swap Gold which you cant eat for food which you can.
even if it was I don't think there will be any surplus, especially food, for many years.
and I don't think many would swap Gold which you cant eat for food which you can.
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History says otherwise.
I definitely wouldn't discourage anyone from getting into precious metals. I mean, precious metals are actually what drove me to seek out this forum in the first place, because investing in silver just didn't seem like nearly enough preparation for a bad situation. I will say that I don't think precious metal should be the first, second, or even third priority when starting to prep, though. Some of the money that I've spent on precious metals would have been better spent on stocking up food, ammo, water collection and filtration...things that I will absolutely need in a SHTF situation.
I always tell people to start with the basics. Water, food, shelter and security, in this order. Precious metals dosent even make the list, until after you have these things covered. Prepping is like anything else, start with a little and over time you learn and accumulate more and more. I would not advise anyone that just got started to buy 1oz gold coins at 1300bucks a pop. I do think it’s worth while for someone who has the resources and has most of the other preps taken care of though.
Absolutely agree, Brent. I also think gold prices are a little overvalued at the moment...take a look at the gold/silver ratio. A lot of YouTubers seem to think that that means silver is primed to shoot up to close the gap in the ratio a bit. I think it's more likely that gold will drop down, although admittedly I don't have anything to base that on but gut feeling. But that's getting a bit off the topic of the original post.
If President Trump is re-elected in 2020 and the GOP take control of both houses, then I think you will see gold drop. If on the other hand the Dems win the presidency, gold and guns will go through the roof. JM2C
Agreed about the consumables. Things with extended shelf life like tuna, ground coffee, and socks will be popular at first, but as deterioration continues I think ammo, medicine, bottled water, and alcohol become de facto currency. Gold/silver/cash will always have its place, but like most people, you probably won't have much on hand.
Fiat currency will be dead (aka cash) Precious metals and stones will be the rule outside of bartering.
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It will take some time before the almighty dollar is dead. Just from the mere fact that people are accustomed to using it, and won't want to stop.
When the stock market melted down, every kind of asset in the world EXCEPT the dollar went into the crapper. Gold and all foreign currencies included. Everyone fled to US dollars as the safe haven initially.
The US dollar has no intrinsic value like gold. It really makes no sense why people would think it would be more stable than gold in a global market meltdown, but it was. That kind of thinking won't just go away overnight.
When the stock market melted down, every kind of asset in the world EXCEPT the dollar went into the crapper. Gold and all foreign currencies included. Everyone fled to US dollars as the safe haven initially.
The US dollar has no intrinsic value like gold. It really makes no sense why people would think it would be more stable than gold in a global market meltdown, but it was. That kind of thinking won't just go away overnight.
I agree 100% that gold and/or silver has little intrinsic value post SHTF, and--given a choice between canned food or a stash of silver coins if I was stranded on a desert island--I would, of course, opt for the canned food.
Yet I find it very difficult to disregard history.
There are many stories passed down (from my father's side of the family) about Jewish relatives who escaped concentration camps, got to board boats, and traded for food and medicine with hoarded silver, gold, and precious stones.
There was even a story about a Jew who was turning in his fellow Jews to the S.S. in exchange for continued freedom and favors . . . so hoarded gold and silver was used to finance a hit on him, and to send a lesson to like-minded cowardly bottom feeders . . . as his body was, supposedly, quite mutilated in unpleasant ways.
There are similar stories from my mother's side of the family about gold being used by her Lakota ancestors to buy guns from unscrupulous whites in order to defend their lands.
Even today in the Arab culture (and other middle-eastern societies), jewelry is used to quietly move wealth across international boundaries (and has been used in this way for over a thousand years), and to finance terrorism . . . as jewlery can't be tracked like bank transfers and money wires. Even in the USA, if the IRS comes to your house to seize your assets, it's my understanding that they can't take jewelry that you're actually wearing at the moment . . . even if you look like a walking Christmas tree.
If we take these points into consideration, then I believe that gold and silver may be more important than we give it credit for.
Yet I find it very difficult to disregard history.
There are many stories passed down (from my father's side of the family) about Jewish relatives who escaped concentration camps, got to board boats, and traded for food and medicine with hoarded silver, gold, and precious stones.
There was even a story about a Jew who was turning in his fellow Jews to the S.S. in exchange for continued freedom and favors . . . so hoarded gold and silver was used to finance a hit on him, and to send a lesson to like-minded cowardly bottom feeders . . . as his body was, supposedly, quite mutilated in unpleasant ways.
There are similar stories from my mother's side of the family about gold being used by her Lakota ancestors to buy guns from unscrupulous whites in order to defend their lands.
Even today in the Arab culture (and other middle-eastern societies), jewelry is used to quietly move wealth across international boundaries (and has been used in this way for over a thousand years), and to finance terrorism . . . as jewlery can't be tracked like bank transfers and money wires. Even in the USA, if the IRS comes to your house to seize your assets, it's my understanding that they can't take jewelry that you're actually wearing at the moment . . . even if you look like a walking Christmas tree.
If we take these points into consideration, then I believe that gold and silver may be more important than we give it credit for.
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Yes, they're good for long-term game-over SHTF, if you're lucky enough to last that long. But during the first years of a crisis, procurement of consumables takes the cake.
I could see gun parts also becoming very valuable -- BCGs for rifles, springs/spare parts for Glocks, gunsmith tools.
What is a "BCG" for a rifle?
Bolt Carrier Group --- BCG
Thank you. I was drawing a blank.
Buying anything but physical gold and silver which you can take home in form of a coin or bar: IS GOING OUT ON A LIMB! The rest is only digital and can be "erased", lost, hacked and stolen or just no longer accessable thru the loss of electricity....only invest in TANGIBLES....GP
Precious stones and metals will always have value. Barter works well as long as what you have is deemed of relatively equal value by the person your bartering with. If you need boots, but only have ammo and eggs, and the guy that you find that has boots also has lots of ammo and eggs, your screwed. Boot guy wants apples, so now you find a lady with apples, but she wants liquor, you find a guy with liquor, but he wants tobacco, you find a guy with tobacco who wants ammo, but not terribly, so he wants way more .22 bullets than you think it's worth... the chain goes on. With silver or gold, everyone gets what they want without spending tons of time looking for a match, and they can get what they want today with the promise that the other party can get what they want in the future... hard currancy is just that, it's hard, its tangible, you can actually hold it in a safe. There's no expectation that some government is propping it up with a promise.
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Time to post Mike Maloney's video on the history of money again.
No chocolate and No sex toys anymore???????????
don't wanna prep with you anymore, all work and noooooooooooooo fun!!
chocolate,hell yes!!
about those metals,sure,they have value now,some value maybe in and after shtf,but in earnest,it's only metal,you can't eat it and it's worth something
as long as humans wanna give it some value, personally I'd take a huge block of iron,from which I can make tools, useful ones and could trade those tools
for something I need,you don't make tools from gold or silver,just my 2 cents
about those metals,sure,they have value now,some value maybe in and after shtf,but in earnest,it's only metal,you can't eat it and it's worth something
as long as humans wanna give it some value, personally I'd take a huge block of iron,from which I can make tools, useful ones and could trade those tools
for something I need,you don't make tools from gold or silver,just my 2 cents
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Gold, silver and precious stones have always had great value. And always will.
Google, my friend.
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Google says it's a vaccine. 
And because there is discussion of it being used for COVID-19, that and "Boston Consulting Group" are all that come up in the first page.
And because there is discussion of it being used for COVID-19, that and "Boston Consulting Group" are all that come up in the first page.
I Googled your question: What is a "BCG" for a rifle?Google says it's a vaccine.
And because there is discussion of it being used for COVID-19, that and "Boston Consulting Group" are all that come up in the first page.
I got answers.
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Yep, specificity definitely helps
