Gold/Silver Please Explain & Advise For TEOTWAWKI

Discussion in 'Financial Cents' started by ED GEiN, Sep 7, 2018.


  1. ED GEiN

    ED GEiN Monkey+++

    I'm getting a small amount of money from a personal injury settlement for a bicycle accident I had a few years ago and I'm contemplating putting $3,000 or so of that money into Gold in case TEOTWAWKI happens. Only thing is I can't quite understand how in the absence of money no longer being of value as a result of TEOTWAWKI, how exactly Gold will be used as currency.
    Specifically, let's say I hypothetically have several $500 Gold Coins (Pieces?). 1. How exactly will anyone know if its real or not especially if there is no "Gold Office" within hundreds of miles? 2. Let's say that the genuineness of the Gold Coins isn't an issue. How exactly do I make small purchases with it or I don't and am limited to buying say $500 worth of stuff at a time and not say $50-100?
    Finally is having $3,000 in gold on hand enough to make any kind of difference in TEOTWAWKI or am I just better off keeping my money in cash for the present? Thank you for your thoughts.
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2018
    UncleMorgan likes this.
  2. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    Gold has been counterfeited with tungsten (exact same density) to the point where people will be skeptical. I'd pretty much have to dig it out of the ground myself to trust it. I'd consider junk silver for the amount of money you are talking about.

    IMO the usefulness of precious metals for trade will come at two different times:
    1. If/when hyperinflation makes your cash worthless
    2. After the initial die offs finish and some stabilization sets in.
    Personally I'd put the money in other preps or barter goods. A 25 lb bag of salt now might be worth more than a one ounce gold coin later.
     
  3. Seepalaces

    Seepalaces Monkey+++

    Sorry, I'm completely unqualified to give you any kind of answer on this.
     
    sec_monkey and Gator 45/70 like this.
  4. Oddcaliber

    Oddcaliber Monkey+++

    After the dust settles you might be able to use the coins. I'd get more tangible assets like food,clothing,ammo,ect...
     
  5. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Have cash reserves first.

    If all you have to do is "escape from L.A." you want cash.

    Unless you are now convinced the US is headed for financial collapse.

    But judging from your location and other posts you are in LA and worried about nuclear apocalypse. I think you should be more concerned with earthquakes.

    So I don't see why PM would be for you.

    I think you should get out of earthquake prone rapetopia then think about PM.
     
  6. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    TEOTWAWKI, means total economic and societal collapse. Others will want to kill you for what ever you have if you have the appearance of a victim or target. Having precious metals or cash will buy you nothing... Watch the original "War of the Worlds", it is pretty accurate in that respect. Having a firearm may help you protect yourself and what you have. Having stashed foods in quantities sufficient that you can use it as barter may be of benefit and may also get you killed. TEOWAKI will be an ugly time, best prepare accordingly. Use the $3K to relocate...
     
  7. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Teotwawki for sothern California is the 8+ earthquake they're over due for.
     
  8. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Buy a Remington 870, 9mm for fun plus plenty ammo, Beans,Salt, water purifying equipment and a vest.
    Oh, You'll need toilet paper and hand sanitizer. That should pretty much take up the 3K.
     
    TnAndy, oldawg, Seepalaces and 8 others like this.
  9. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    IN my opinion, PMs are only good as long as there is a functioning monetary economy. Given Teotwawki, our greatest assets will be what you need to survive and the knowledge and skill to use those assets.
     
  10. AxesAreBetter

    AxesAreBetter Monkey+++

    I think investing in precious metals is stupid, simply too many factors of trade between you and the "value" of the piece.
     
    sec_monkey likes this.
  11. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    As far as PM's ,,,I'd just buy them hoping to make a little extra cash on them when the price goes up . But that means you may have to sit on it for years . So in those years , could you have invested that money into something else and made some money quicker ?? Quite possibly . So , when the SHTF , you'll need food , and protection , IMO , that will be the most important up front items needed , and the ability to use and aquire both . This is by no means a complete list , but it's going to be important in the begining of the collapse .
     
    UncleMorgan and sec_monkey like this.
  12. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    As stated above.
    PM's are only useful in 3 situations.
    Now .. if you have a network of buyers and sellers you currently deal with (or start dealing with)
    During a financial crisis where your local fiat currency is experiencing hyper inflation (Before teotwawki)
    and
    After society starts to come back to standard commerce/trade practices.

    During shtf/teotwawki? nada. Ok, maybe for identifying who's gonna get robbed at best.

    Just my opinion.
     
  13. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I think it's wise to invest in a monetary economy. It's when the monetary system fails beyond recovery that it become useless
     
  14. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    The major point that @ED GEiN flogs is that he is an apartment dweller and needs all kinds of guidance on how to get out of Dodge. All that metal weight will not be of much use.
     
  15. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    Thanks for the info . I somehow missed the apartment dwelling aspect ..
     
  16. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    Gold/Silver/Platinum are best as a stable investment that resist large devaluations and are relatively easy to cash in and out of. POst SHTF until there is some form of stabilization about the only thing gold will be good for is molding into bullets..... So lead would actually be a far better post shtf investment. Now for people with things of real value to trade it is a different matter. Starving refugee with a bag full of gold coins.......... How much of that gold would you trade for a 20 pound salt cured ham or 20 pounds of beef jerky? How much of that gold would you trade for a full box of .223s 5.56 or insert what ever ammo you need? How about a 25 pound bag of rice? Chlorine tabs for some safe water? A pair of clean underwear or pair of socks? For those set up with an abundance and the means, support and will to keep it secure collecting gold post SHTF would make a lot of sense. But pretty much worthless as a pre shtf investment beyond its inherent market stability. Personally I would advise many other things to invest in that would serve more immediate and functional purposes.
     
  17. Hanzo

    Hanzo Monkey+++

    In TEOTWAWKI, to me, the more valuable trade items would be water filters and purifyers, blades, tools and weapons. And maybe stuff like seeds.
     
  18. Hanzo

    Hanzo Monkey+++

    Good to have even when not TEOTWAWKI.
     
  19. UncleMorgan

    UncleMorgan I like peeling bananas and (occasionally) people.

    Precious metals are a compact-storage form for wealth. If you have all your other survival needs basically covered, having some PMs after TSHTF will allow you to go shopping. But you'll only be able to buy what people are selling, and only at the price they set.

    The time to cover your survival bases is BEFORE the poop plops on the prop, not after.

    Water, Food, Shelter, Medicals, Mobility, Defense, Tools--all that long-term survival stuff. The smart moves that are better made far too early than just a little too late.

    That said, when you go shopping and spend gold, you're bartering. It's exactly the same as when you go shopping (bartering) with dollars.

    "So much of THIS, for so much of THAT." The seller sets the price. You can take it or leave it, or haggle as best you can.

    If you choose gold for bartering, you'll be better off with 1/10 oz coins than 1 oz coins, because you can make smaller purchases, and the seller can make change much more easily. Buying one loaf of bread (equiv. value: $3.00) is not practical with a $1,000.00 bill, even if it is made out of gold.

    Likewise, you can make a small purchase without flashing Big Bucks and painting a target on your back. There are a lot of places where you can get your throat cut right now for much less than an ounce of gold, and these are the Good Ole' Days.

    Someday we may all be sitting around a campfire and reminiscing about electricity and how refrigerators could make ice cubes, even in summer. And how easily you could fill them up with food...

    Junk silver (silver coins) are also good for Post-SHTF shopping, as long as people have enough of what you need to be willing to part with it. You might be able to buy a shoulder of beef if the owner won't be able to use/preserve it before it spoils. Or if he has access to a whole herd of cattle and doesn't have to worry about starving.

    No amount of wealth will buy you either of the only two bottles of water left in a lifeboat that won't be reaching shore any time soon. Whoever has them will keep them. And he'll have to stay awake until he drinks them, because they'll be stolen the instant he can no longer protect them by brute force.

    Silver coins can be counterfeited. So can ingots and art coins (round bullion), etc.

    The same for gold, only a hundred times worse.

    The only silver I've never seen (or heard of) being counterfeited is sterling flatware. Granny's good silver, specifically.

    Meditate on that as a store of wealth. It's useful, beautiful, every piece is hallmarked, and every piece has a catalogue weight on file somewhere, and a registered pattern. Flatware can even have an antique value above the silver content.

    And, best of all, you can spend years selling off Granny's very last silver spoon (fork, knife, or whatever). And always be just a poor destitute person that wouldn't hardly even be worth robbing...

    Besides which, you spent part of that $3,000.00 on something that makes loud noises when people annoy you.

    The easiest insurance policy you'll ever be able to take out on gold is a gun.
     
  20. Bishop

    Bishop Monkey+++

    Better off with bullets and beans
     
    SB21, oldawg, Oddcaliber and 4 others like this.
  1. oil pan 4
  2. oil pan 4
  3. CATO
  4. Minuteman
  5. Brokor
  6. rush81
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7