Why prep silver?

[Ura-Ki]

As long as the agreed upon value of trade is consistent,and agreed upon by all, yes, metals would be good for trade!

 

[CHLChris]

There was recently a story, I think in South America, of an enterprising chap who had used birdshot and broken it down into its elements. He used the primer, the lead, the charge, etc. and turned it into cartridges in his home-made revolver. Birdshot shells sure provide a large amount of lead for the cost! With a tight enough choke, they stay pretty solid within self-defense distances.

I'm thinking now that I am way too light in birdshot...

 

[nehalemguy]

As long as the agreed upon value of trade is consistent,and agreed upon by all, yes, metals would be good for trade!

I would think that "value" would be set fairly quickly once trading/business resumed.

Someone demanding exorbitant prices for basic commodities would probably get under cut on price by several other sellers, not find a willing buyer......or end up on the loosing end of an ammo trade.

E

 

[gaijinsamurai]

Precious metals have always had value as an intermediate commodity in every social collapse in the history of mankind.

You can't alwsys directly trade with everyone because you might have alcohol but they don't need alcohol. They might have ammo, but you don't need ammo.

By having a commonly accepted commodity, you can trade with each other, knowing that you would still be able to trade your goods later.

E

Agree.
Undoubtedly, ammo will be a valuable bartering commodity, and even now, is often accepted in lieu of money when doing trades, amongst the gun community. If anyone has any doubts about that, just look at our own classifieds section here at NWFA.

However, if you can obtain silver and/or gold, it may not be a bad idea to diversify your "SHTF economic portfolio". When economic uncertainty looms, people want tangible items, and precious metals tend to become stronger in value. Having a couple thousand dollars worth of silver is prudent, if you can afford to do so.

 

[IronMonster]

Storing value in precious metals comes after you have everything else handled and you still have paper money to convert into something.

once you have a few hundred thousand rounds of ammo buying and storing more ammo becomes a real problem. Silver and gold offer a way to store large amounts of value in a small package that is easy to transport.

The likelihood of some event transpiring that would leave gold and silver valueless is close enough to zero that its not worth talking about. If things are that bad its basically a planetary extinction level event and what the stragglers do is pretty meaningless

 

[AMProducts]

there's nothing that great about silver, and it makes far more sense to stockpile some cleaned lead ingots, bullet casting gear, maybe a 'Corbon set of swaging dies for converting .22lr fired cases into 223 bullet jackets, primers and powder. You'll have 4x as much shooting for the same money and a lot less bulk (and less weight if you just buy lead as you need it. 100's of thousands of rds is a crock, even if 90% of it is .22lr.

It makes more sense to stockpile it as finished bullets.

 

[jbett98]

I buy/sell gold and silver to make a tax free profit.

 

[Martini_Up]

Clam shells used to be a medium of exchange. So did furs and glass beads. Silver is no different.

I can eat ammo. Just look at all this steak in my freezer!!

 

[leadischeap]

Bingo!

The average millennial never heard of the gold standard or the silver standard. Many don't know curr U.S. money. I have fun when I buy lunch paying in $2 bills. Some of the cashiers say they don't take them because there is no slot in the drawer for them.

Stay with stuff people are habituated to ( booze, tobacco, meds) or things that can help you stay alive (ammo, medical supplies, fuel. Food).

Silver is pretty, but you can't eat, smoke, shoot or burn it. Just a shiny object like a fishing lure.

 

[IronMonster]

No body listens.

If you have to escape and travel 500 miles on foot how much ammo can you carry? Food? whiskey? Maybe if you were really well equipped a couple grand worth? I could carry a quarter million dollars worth of gold and almost as much food and ammo as you.

Again, gold and silver is how you store value AFTER you have the food, ammo and other things handled. It's a way to move wealth compactly and has been money for 5000 years.

"You can't eat it". Is the dumbest argument ever and one only made by people who don't have enough to need a store of value. You can't eat a building or a rifle either. If all you store is things you can eat you are going to be in a world of hurt in a big hurry

If you made a 500 mile hike with all the food and ammo you could carry and I made the same hike but had 20 oz of gold hidden among my gear who do you think would be better situated when we showed up? Better able to start over?

Maybe not everybody would want to trade goods for gold but you can be damn sure someone will be smart enough to

Gold is money, nothing more. Far better money than dollars if things to to hell.

 

[leadischeap]

Of course the guy with the ammo could just shoot you and take the gold.

If you have to walk 500 miles you got problems that gold coins aren't going to solve. Value is in the eye of the guy offering you lodging for 3 oz of gold a night. Shiny things are the stuff of the past. Remember, castles with thick walls were valuable I. Europe right up until cannons became common.

 

[IronMonster]

Anyone can shoot you for any reason

Every reason why you can come up with not to have a precious metals stash is evidence you simply don't have enough wealth to need gold or silver. That's fine but until you do you will never see its value

 

[IronMonster]

Better yet.

Let's say I already own property in several states, several hundred thousand rounds of ammo, 10 tons or so of food. A hundred or so firearms and still have several hundred thousand dollars I want to protect because I think a catastrophe is coming.

What do you do with the money that gives you the best chance to weather the storm?

 

[Medic!]

Oh you can eat Gold!

It just doesn't offer any real nutritional value.

 

[Joe13]

 

[leadischeap]

Yes! That is the one form of liquidity worth owning.

 

[HuckleberryFun]

I agree with IronMonster that a portable gold/silver stash is worth having "AFTER you have the food, ammo, and other things handled." But I also agree with leadischeap that "if you have to walk 500 miles you got problems gold coins aren't going to solve." Me, I prepare on all fronts as best I can (basics first), train hard, and hope for the best... and for a bit of luck. Luck would be coming across some poor sod who didn't make it still clutching a bag of gold. Thank you very much!

 

[Medic!]

I agree with IronMonster that a portable gold/silver stash is worth having "AFTER you have the food, ammo, and other things handled." But I also agree with leadischeap that "if you have to walk 500 miles you got problems gold coins aren't going to solve." Me, I prepare on all fronts as best I can (basics first), train hard, and hope for the best... and for a bit of luck.

I walk 500 miles on purpose.

Because I can!

 

[IronMonster]

You simply might have to walk, you may have problems that simply can't be solved by anything except a big pile of gold.

Thinking you have all the answers is silly.

 

[Medic!]

Life is a cruel teacher.

It gives you the test first. Then the lesson.