medium of exchange?

[henry0reilly]

..Children died, the days grew cold, a piece of bread would by a bag of gold*

When the economy caves in and paper dollars are worthless will people trade in silver and gold or simply barter?




* From I wish we'd all been ready - don't know who to credit.

 

[6birds]

Hell, I barter now. Service, in exchange for work, has never gone away.

 

[redneckmedic]

I believe it will be all three. True precious metal coins, food, services, ammo. Do you know what a few .22lr rounds will be worth with a defend your own society?

 

[Falkin88]

Really it will boil down to both. I think that for the day to day transactions that might need to take place it will mostly be a bartering economy. I think that where the gold will come more in place is keeping your capital in the hopes of the economy eventually stabilizing and recovering. Take a look at Germany after Wolf War I for a good example of what you might expect after an economic collapse. I can give a bit of a personal anecdote here because it was after the economy stabilized again in Germany that my mom’s side of the family came to the United States. Before World War I my mom’s family had been farmers in Germany. After the war they still had their farmland and it had been relatively left alone during the war so they went back to producing food like before. However, what ended up happing with the hyperinflation of the German Mark is that it became worthless. My mother’s family ended up not selling food anymore for the German Mark and instead did bartering trades with individuals. But when it comes down to gold and silver my mother’s family also did transactions in gold and silver. When people needed to get food from them but didn’t have anything that my mother’s family found useful such as a skill or an item they needed they would trade for jewelry or coins. After the economy stabilized they were able to use the assets they had gained during the hyperinflation to move to the United States and buy property in Northern Indiana.

 

[irishfan]

I think that the big deal about precious metals will mean very little if the economy gets so bad that the paper money is worthless. Also, by that point you will see things so far gone that we will be like Jericho after about 6 months of the EMP pulse

 

[Eddie]

I think I agree most with what 6birds and and Redneckmedic posted above. If paper money (and things like checks and such) becomes worthless there will be a medly of bartering for goods and services interspersed with currency in the form of precious metals. Jewelry will be somewhat problematic for folks that can't tell the real stuff from costume jewelry.

Depending on the level of collapse it could be a good time to trade for a lot of precious metals or precious metals may lose their trade vaue for a time if food is in short supply. (You can't eat gold so if there isn't a food surplus in the form of people having more food than they need to stay alive it gets hard to trade gold for food.)

 

[E5RANGER375]

food and clean drinkable water will always be at the top of the list for barter and value. gold is not the most valuable resource in the world. it is food and water because without them you will die and fast. we take it for granted because it is so plentiful and cheap now. but if supply routes are compromised (blizzard, hurricane, storm, flood) and the trucks cant make it to the stores then it will get bad fast, and no one will care how much gold and silver you have. immediately after the disaster and until supply is restored, gold and silver will be just as worthless as paper money and a newspaper. supply and demand.

once food and clean water have become maintainable again (by farming, etc) then metals will have some value, AS LONG AS they can be traded somewhere local for needed supplies. if no one is "on top" and accepting gold as payment for supplies then it will still be worthless.

 

[Keith_Indy]

Precious metals are for preserving wealth, and even then it can be tricky.

For SHTF, I'd rather have practical items and services to trade with.

And as with any economy, supply and demand will determine relative worth.

 

[machete]

When the economy caves in and paper dollars are worthless will people trade in silver and gold or simply barter?

Both It will be a truly free market in currency...

 

[BigMatt]

.22 LR rounds will be worth a lot.

 

[cosermann]

When the economy caves in and paper dollars are worthless will people trade in silver and gold or simply barter?

Worthless in the sense of worth less than it was previously - likely.
Worthless in the sense of worth NOTHING - less likely.

According to FerFal, using Argentina as an example, where their currency was devalued something like 30% over a fairly short period relatively recently:

1. people still used paper money.
2. stores of value like gold and silver were/are easily converted to currency as needed (the exchangers sprung up relatively quickly).
3. barter took off, but quickly fizzled as a main/principle way of doing routine transactions (obviously, some people barter for some things all the time) as people realized the difficulty of matching matching up people (i.e. people who were interested in various trade items).

That's been his experience given moderate currency devaluing.

Crazy devaluing (and/or possible introduction of a new currency), like post-WWII Germany, would be a different deal.

 

[sigsoldier]

I like how you said "when" and not "if." Well those that want to can save up their precious metals. I will give them a funny look if they try giving me silver for food. I think commodities (food, water, ammo, etc) will be much more valuable.

 

[irishfan]

Precious metals are for preserving wealth, and even then it can be tricky.

For SHTF, I'd rather have practical items and services to trade with.

And as with any economy, supply and demand will determine relative worth.

Exactly! A small stash of silve wouldn't be a bad idea but items that you can eat or use would be worth more to me. Just think what a few bottles of whiskey that you picked up cheap could be worth to a boozer if the supply chain stops.

 

[woowoo2]

Chunky soup and beer will drive the new economy.

 

[rooster007]

I will use the one commodity that Indiana will never be short on CORN.

CORN LIQUOR WILL BE MY NEW FORM OF CURRENCY .

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I will use the one commodity that Indiana will never be short on CORN.

While I agree with the thought of corn squeezin's as barter, I think the corn may be a bit harder to come by than you think. If Monsanto and Cargill aren't around, there won't be ANY corn.

 

[irishfan]

While I agree with the thought of corn squeezin's as barter, I think the corn may be a bit harder to come by than you think. If Monsanto and Cargill aren't around, there won't be ANY corn.

What do they have to do with a corn crop by a local farmer if the market collapses? Those of us who live next to a corn field or have an acre or more of land can plant their own.

 

[Falkin88]

The problem with most corn today is that they are either hybrids or they have been genetically engineered to be sterile. The only types of corn that you could save your seeds from and get a good crop out of time and time again are the open pollinated or heirloom varieties. So if your plan is to have corn or really most any type of vegetable around you need to start growing these varieties now and learn to save your seeds from your own crop and make sure you don't get them cross polinated with the hybrids or gentically engineered crops.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

What do they have to do with a corn crop by a local farmer if the market collapses? Those of us who live next to a corn field or have an acre or more of land can plant their own.

So, tell me, what do you expect to plant? ALL the seed your local farmers grow comes from either monsanto or cargill and as stated above by Falkin88, sterile hybrids. This is why the organic farming bill that we had stuffed down our throats by these guys is so horrible. It prevents us from growing food for ourselves legally thus securing their financial gains, our enslavement, etc....They claimed that you and I growing our veggies from heirloom seeds cross pollinates and contaminates their crops.....

 

[Wink and the Gun]

* From I wish we'd all been ready - don't know who to credit.

It was Larry Norman, I think, that did it originally. DC Talk remade it back when they were popular...early-mid 90's. Seems like forever ago.