Are junk silver coins really a waste of time? No, in fact it is highly desirable to have some form of portable currency during and after an emergency. Starting with a credit card with plenty of room, then cash, gold or silver and finally, trade goods.
Personally, I am a big fan of pre-1964 silver U.S. coins. Rather, I created this post to dispel a notion many armchair survivalists cling to, but also to remind readers to stock tangibles (food, water, etc) before investing in precious metals.
First up, read all the survival fiction you can find out there on the internet. And that is fiction with a capital F.
Every protagonist has a stash of pre-1964 coins for barter, trade and commerce. And without fail, so does every other character they meet and wish to conduct business with. They all seem to have a mason jar full of Franklin silver halves, Roosevelt dimes and old quarters.
And so, when the inevitable "trading faire" (who comes up with this stuff?) opens, everyone shows up with a pocket of pre-Beatles change jingling and ready to purchase chickens, honey and auto parts.
Horse feathers.
For those just joining the end of the world, pre-1964 US coins have a silver content of 90% silver. To the "fiat currency" crowd, these coins were the last "real" money available to citizens.
Most pre-1964 coins have been pulled from circulation, both by the government and by collectors. I still find a silver coin from time to time, usually about one or two a year. With silver so highly priced, it makes sense to keep those dimes which are now worth over a dollar for metal value.
However, I don't know anyone who has a stash of pre-1964 US coins. Most people I meet don't even know such coins had any value. So why do SHTF authors think that commerce will quickly migrate from barter (or theft) to usage of pre-1964 silver coins so quickly when so few people have any to spend?
Most likely, gold and silver and precious stones will have a certain value for a time after the SHTF, but will fall out of favor as people realize they cannot eat a diamond ring or ward off bad guys with a Kruggerand.
My advice is to stock the following in your post-TEOTWAWKI bank account FIRST with:
- Food.
- Supplies needed to produce clean water, i.e. bleach, filters, storage containers, etc..
- Guns and ammo.
- Manufactured goods like nails, screws, lumber, concrete, safety pins, sewing needles, etc.
- Medicines. Aspirin alone is worth its weight in pre-1964 silver coins.
- Shoes and clothes in general.
- Feminine products and birth control.
- Cleaning supplies particularly disinfectant, bleach, soap, etc.
- Toilet paper (cash money on a roll!).
- Gardening supplies (tools, seeds, potting soil) and animal feed. For that matter, small livestock like chickens, goats and rabbits.
Stock up enough ammo and egg laying chickens and you can become the next Warren Buffet of the post-apocalyptic world. Only after your food and other supplies are stocked should you take dollars and invest them in silver U.S. coins or gold.
Check out the Junk Silver Blog here.
Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food
Posts
14 comments:
make a lot of sense! ammo as currency, probably; food especially!
There is a much higher probability of high inflation and hyperinflation occurring in the next few years than a complete "Road Warrior" style collapse. Unless you want to go to jail or go out in a "blaze of glory" with the ATF, gold and silver coins will be much more helpful than guns and ammo!
Sounds solid, no wonder they got rid of all us 40 acera famers and put us on this ant hill called a city.Beter to track you by!!!
Sounds solid no wonder they got rid of all us 40 acer farmers. and put us on these ant hills call citys.BETTER TO TRACK YOU BY
hmmm in hind sight your kind of an idiot. in 2008 when this was posted gold was almost half the price it is now if you bought $10,000 in gold then and put it in your safe and forgot about it and sold it today you would make $10,000 over your initial investment with 0 work or anything. same goes with silver. where i live they pay $2 for a pre-1964 dime and $5 for a quarter regardless of condition.
ok, is it 1964 and older??? or 1963and down??? i have a bunch a 64s just wonderin!!! like a hundred bux worth... ill jus get ammo whith it!!!
Dated 1964 and earlier. If you have 100 dollars face value in 1964 or earlier dimes, quarters or halves you have some serious cash there, pardner!
I'm with JD, food,water,etc, first. More importantly the ability to creat your needs. Greenhouses even in the city adjusted to space available. Knowing how and what to grow, How to get waterlike from solar stills... Knowlege is probably the greatest asset you have and there is no greater knowlege than that obtained by practice. Start small andbuild from there.BBird
I remember, as kids, we used to collect and barter stamps and coins. Pre-1964 coins take me down the memory lane.
Really, just who are you to be telling anyone what they will need...have you been downrange into the future to see what will happen? Some folks need to get OUT OF THE PREPAREDNESS BUSINESS and into something else.
All anyone needs to do is type gold and hungar and zinbabwe into goggle search to see what has and will happen when the dollar collapses. You cant run down the street with 1600 dollars of potatoes in your pocket. I can with only 1 oz of gold...we all need to study the future and stop gettting into the PREDICTION business. Sorry, but your wrong!
REALLY! Type gold zimbabwe and hungar into goggle and look into the future...then stop trying to be a preparedness expert, because your not!
Dear Unknown,
Umm.. this is a blog, not a business. And I have no disclaimers on here that I'm an expert at anything. No credentials, no diplomas on the wall, no letters behind my name.
This is a blog. It's my opinion. Fortunately, you can share your opinion with me and because I moderate comments, they will be posted as long as they meet the guidelines of the house.
Thanks for reading and sharing your opinion(s).
WELL said JD! Thats why its YOUR BLOG! :)
Ppl who dont like it shouldnt read it. Thanks for taking time and posting JD :)
A wannabepreppr
As usua,l the the truth lies somewhere between the extremes presented by comments seen here and on other blogs of this type. Needs will vary widely depending the degree of crisis, having a trade and or practical skills and the materials and the ability use them will be, at a minimum, as useful as most suggestions posted; for short term survival and certainly for long term.
Post a Comment