What do you guys think of silver as a barter item? I have seen alot of different ideas and posts for barter items but it would seem to me that you would want to focus on the basics before you worried too much about barter. Even then most posts I see say things like bullets, alcohol, seeds, food, generators or items like that would be great for barter. However I am not sure about that. It would seem to me that things like bullets and alcohol would be dangerous. Simply because people might be more then willing to harm you for them. Second seeds and food would seem to me to be something you might want to keep rather then trade away. Third alot of the bigger items like generators or water purifiers are hard to stock up on in bulk simply in the off chance you might have to trade them away. Silver coins however would seem to work rather well. First I couldn't envision any senario where there wouldn't be at least a few people willing to take them in trade. Second they are small so you can store and carry both large and small quantities of them. And finally they would retain their value even if the world was just fine.
The S has HTF but you didn't prepare. Your kids are hungry, your wife is sick, feral dogs and more feral humans threaten you every day. You desperately need the necessities of life so you try to trade something you have for them. Instead of food, medicine or ammo someone offers you silver. Would you take it?
LEARN STERLING VS PLATE!!!! Think of plate as "useful for" ( a plate) but Sterling is usually 80%++ silver metal useful for melt as its final use. Overbore
During a government collapse, when the currency of your country is worthless it would be good. But for a SHTF or other very bad things most people wouldn’t want silver and would happily trade you bag of silver coins for a couple of packs of sugar. lol People need Water, food, medicine, fuel, and clothing.
I think it just depends. You never know what will happen, so to say one way or the other is hard to say for sure. I would think that right after a total collapes not likely. People would be looking for food, warm clothes, and ways to make their lives more comfortable. After time and things started stablizing and lots of people died, then maybe. As far as the alchol and ammo I agree with you. I don't store alchol so can't trade what you don't have. Ammo I would be hard pressed to trade that away. As far trading away seeds, we produce more seed each year than we would ever use, on perpose. You just never know what will happen. Once we have a fresh batch in the fall the stuff from the fall before goes to chicken feed. OGM
WE, just ordered another 6 cases of that old favorite: TOILET PAPER! At 96 rolls per case, and we now have 12 cases.... I'd go with the basics for bartering: Food Medicines Toiletries Coffee Sugar Tobacco Blankets just about everything you use on a day to day basis... Except: I'd never barter with ammo, or weapons to someone I did not know well.... Like a son. Bill
awesome ideas guys. I just figure 1oz silver coins would work perfectly. small, easy to both carry and conceal and very cheap.
You have to remember with barter, it's what do you have that I want so I'll part with something I have. In a SHTF scenario silver would be good for????? a paper weight. You can't eat it, protect yourself with it, or clean yourself with it. As mentioned above, when things became more normalized it would be useful. But if I didn't see an end to the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation coming soon, I wouldn't trade for silver unless I had an extreme over abundance of something, which is not a probability since the SHTF. PM's are a good hedge against inflation through tough economic times and thus good to have. As PM's are considered money it really wouldn't be "bartering" in the true sense. Since you'd be paying money for what you wanted or needed instead of some equal value useful item. But you never know, guess we'll have to wait and see if it makes a good barter item, IMHO it wouldn't.
+1 on slugo. Barter will be based on value as perceived by the trading partners. Whether silver, gold or sacks of potatoes is irrelevant; a sack of spuds won't be worth much in Idaho against a case of TP, but surely will command a lot of TP in (say) Florida. I am by no means an expert in economics, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the laws of supply and demand will rule in a barter society that has no item of widely recognized (read as fixed in some fashion) value. Even PM rounds will vary widely across geography, and with some adulteration (say wear if not out and out forging.) Their advantage is in portability (and possibly recognition) not in a fixed worth. I have another suspicion that folks with scales and assay gear might be in good shape if PMs become universally used as a medium of exchange.
I see silver rounds and junk silver as an equalizer in barter. If I'm trading a sack of potatoes for two laying hens, I'm likely going to need more than just the spuds. Coins could provide that barter, that could then be taken to another trader. Then again, depending on where you are, and what's at hand, the spuds could be worth more. Not likely, but its hard to say until the day comes... I'm not swimming in silver, but I have a little bit tucked away.
LOL what situation do you envision when you hear TSHTF? once you get to the point where you need to barter i believe simple things would be common enough to be used as universal currency. Bullets, chocolate, cigarettes, and PM. wouldn't you agree? Every time you see a society colapse those always become currency.
But again, nothing is useful for swapping unless there is a demand for whatever excess you have in storage. It really becomes a perception of cost against need. You and I have TP and bullets enough, methinks, and I (for one) don't plan on trading either of them for anything until I get real hungry. Now, my talent is for sale for food, my freezer went down with the grid. I might have some other stuff squirreled away that you need. Now we sit down to dicker, not at my camp, nor at yours (unless I can con you into it 'cause I wanna know what you have.) Trust is going to become an issue across the board. During recovery, PMs might find some use, and if you can trade off supplies for metal at the bottom, go for it. Just make sure you have enough of what you need to get past the bottom if it even can happen. Until well into the recovery, a standard value (as "money") won't happen other than in some closed societies such as a "Lights Out" enclave.
well 1. would be a katrina SHTF, silver did not work well nor barter, no need as only localized shtf and the s didn't really hit the fan for everyone. 2. US dollar goes to 0.00000001cent value. silver would have value as barter item as well as other barter items 2.5. Great depression, both would have value as above. No more simple things as there are no jobs or companies to make or ship you the simple things. 3. no more electricity as a shtf scenario due to pole shift or electromagnetic storms. will take years to reconfigure the combobulator to get things to normal. at first most won't want silver for trade as they will need things for survival (food, heat etc.) once we get over the hill then silver (money) would come back. Once things stabilized as there would be mass looting and carnage on every major city then people would take stock and have things to trade and may find they want silver for their food or TP. No more simple things as there are no jobs or companies to make or ship you the simple things. 4. NUclear war, no more food trucks to grocery stores, no more anything unless you have it or your friends have it and want to trade it. no hope of recovery to pre war norms for 10-15 years or more. silver has value to the haves and the have nots would want food or TP or bullets. I'm sure there would be some "warlords" that take what a group has , well I would think they would want silver, but they'd just kill you and take it. (I'll trade you my 123 grains of lead for your 10 oz of silver, or anything else you got including women) Also, No more simple things as there are no jobs or companies to make or ship you the simple things. 100's of other situations. But the haves may want silver in any situation as they are now accumulating wealth over surviving. I can't see many folks sitting around the camp fire, hungry and dirty, oogling their silver piece with a smile on their face. Also if you've seen the movie water world, that is a prime example of bartering when cosners boats runs into that other boat. At the Atoll silver may have value, MAY. They used chits I think. What SHTF sit's are you thinking of?
In the area of the former Roman Empire people keep digging up little hoards of gold and silver coins. Back then, folks hid some PMs for when times got bad. The Empire collapsed. Times got bad. They never dug them up. Think about it. A gold coin might be good for a bribe. Silver? After hyperinflation or a dollar crash, sure. IMO, not much good for anything when TSHTF.
