Interesting read for SHTFPLAN.com

Things you need after SHTF will always be more important than raw metals that MIGHT potentially be a currency once real trade is reestablished. I'm not sure where the idiots that spend a fortune on precious metals when they don't have their preps covered get their ideas. Maybe survivalists are just as susceptible to advertising as the average sheep.

In my opinion, unless you have enough money to have EVERYTHING you'd need after SHTF, don't even think about precious metals. Precious metals only have a place in wealth preservation in absence of a stable currency. If you don't have the money to take care of all your needs, there are more effective methods of wealth preservation with less risk that will never go to waste.

For shits sake, bars of soap could be used as currency post SHTF, and if nothing ever happens you can always use those bars of soap... and be protected by the inflation of soap prices.
 
No doubt I have thought about getting some silver while it is still cheap enough but to take my Roth IRA and dump it all into Gold is not a good plan for me. To your point as well if it does get to a barter point in society everyday items that people take for granted will definatly have lots of value,Plus you can't eat Gold!!
 
I have turned a good profit on ammo by buying it cheap and stacking it deep. I think a good basic reloading kit could provide you with good trade fodder. In my opinion, the biggest trade item is going to be food and things like seeds to grow food. Following that closely will be medical supplies, and things like wood stoves. If you cant eat it, treat with it or heat with it, it will take a back seat in trading during any disaster.
 
No, you can't eat gold. But you can't eat bread that's 10 years past it's sell date. I'll still have my gold, 10 years after that bread has long disappeared.
 
No, you can't eat gold. But you can't eat bread that's 10 years past it's sell date. I'll still have my gold, 10 years after that bread has long disappeared.

Good luck buying a grain mill with that gold after SHTF though, or bags of wheat berries, and a wood oven to cook in. Thats the kind of stuff that needs to be taken care of long before gold purchases should ever be considered.
 
Good luck buying a grain mill with that gold after SHTF though, or bags of wheat berries, and a wood oven to cook in. Thats the kind of stuff that needs to be taken care of long before gold purchases should ever be considered.

But that's what happens in a SHTF scenario, at least historically. Bartering is very inefficient, so precious metals, as we all know, help facilitate trading, be it wheat berries, wood ovens, wood, ammunition, guns, etc.

In other words, if I have a bunch of guns, and I need wheat, then I need to find somebody with a lot of surplus wheat looking for guns. Not very efficient.

I do agree though: Water, food, ammo/guns, supplies, tools take priority.
 
A while back, my wife and I took the plunge and purchased a chuck of "junk silver". There are dimes, quarter, and halves in the bag. While other commodities like soap, beans, toilet paper, and bullets will also be great bartering items, having actual silver coins should be something that will facilitate barter or outright purchases. We didn't consider gold because it wasn't a practical replacement for "money" but it would preserve someone's wealth while the country reorganized. Still, having an extra 500 pounds of food might be more prudent. Fiat paper currency won't be worth the paper it's printed on after a while. Hard silver and other barter items will be important.

And, just to share, the other day I was speaking to a fellow shooter who was good friends with a manager of the local Costco. The manager was asked about the survival food they advertise and the fella told him that Costco can not keep the stuff in stock. It literally sells out the minute it hits the floor. Now if that doesn't tell you something about what's happening around this country, nothing will. Oh.....one other tidbit if info. "Black Friday" was the biggest one day of firearm purchases nationwide since records have been kept with NICs. The second busiest day happened on one of the days after Christmas. There's yet another tell-tale sign as to where the feelings of the citizens of this country are.

Finally, I've begun to keep what we've been doing and will continue to do to ourselves and only discuss prepping with the small group we've shared with over the last couple of years. We are not discussing this further with any friends or neighbors or even relatives any longer. Have any of you had friends who know you shoot tell you "Well, we know where to go when things go south!" ?? Those kinds of statements scare me a bit, now, and we'd prefer that they forget we are prepping on many different levels. After the last 8 day outage, it was interesting to see who came to ask for your help. From now on we're going to be lot closer to our vests and not ask questions of our friends or neighbors about what they are doing to prepare.

Hope we all have a great New Year!
Rome
 
Gold and sliver are a great thing to have, along with all your other prepping supplies. Precious metals and food or supplies, aren't mutually exclusive of each other.

And unless you think any pending collapse will happen, literally, over night, you'd do well to invest in some metals. In 2012, some are predicting silver will jump as high as $150+ dollars an ounce. As of this post, its closer to $30 an ounce. In the coming years, some believe gold will grow exponentially. At worst, you cash it in and buy more food and supplies.

And just because the SHTF in the US, doesn't mean it will in Canada or anywhere else you may want to retreat too (Assuming you have a passport). And precious metals will allow you to obtain host country currency, despite how the USD fails.

If your really concerned about having something to barter over the long term in a SHTF scenario, then your at least counting on some sort of society and structure to stay intact in your local. community. In which case, your better off learning a primitive living skill or some other skill you can barter with. Gardening, passive solar, hunting and prepping, ammo reloading, trapping, first aid, herbal medicines, etc etc. Or something that will allow you to grow your trade power. Chickens continually provide eggs. Some people can make soaps from scratch.

Regardless of what you do, you can't really go wrong with having some precious metals as part of your survival plan. After you have water, food, heat and shelter sufficiently covered.
 
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