Posted on 12/09/2011 4:32:06 AM PST by Kartographer
No, gold and silver was not like second money, or second value during SHTF, it was not even worth like in normal times, and in most of the cases it was dangerous to have it a lot (actually it was too dangerous to have anything in great amounts and let other people to know that) If you had for example 1000 gold coins, and let s say that one coin worth 150 USD in normal times, you could think that you are rich in shtf.
But in reality it was hard to find someone who give you some food or battery or whatever useful for one coin. Gold coin was not useful for 90 percent of people, what they could use it for? Eat it? Start fire with that?
(Excerpt) Read more at shtfschool.com ...
I remember reading on FR a couple of months ago and I *think* that it was one of your threads, about using the 5 gallon buckets from the store bakery to store food stuffs in.
I’ve got a nice stack of 3 different sizes that I’ve been collecting up.
A few of them have cat food and my hen’s food in them.
One I’m starting with wood slivers.... ever try to keep a fire going with flint and a steel striker and have nothing but twigs to get going from just a spark and some tender? mighty difficult LOL
And the water issue. I have a bit stored up but was wondering how well water would store in those bakery icing buckets ( cleaned of course ) or how long it would last before going icky.....
Check Craigslist you can often find food grade barrels from5 to 55 gallon that are great for storing water. I got mine from a winery who listed them on Craigslist.
I have found this website to be a very useful source of information on the economy, gold, and silver.
http://goldismoney.info/forums/
Agree - a few rolls of Morgans wouldn't detract from other preps - but nice to have 'cause you never know....
What exactly would “food grade” be ?
For some reason, I’m not registering this word in my mind LOL........too early and not enough mt dew in my system yet.
Love Craigslist so will check but want to be 1110% on what food grade truely is. And besides, others may learn something as well.
Thanks~
He doesn’t tell his wife because he’s probably thinking “Loose Lips sink ships” If his wife tells just one person about their stash then everyone knows when SHTF comes. Friends, relatives,strangers, etc.
Plastic containers made to store food in. They are made to lessen the chance that something in the plastic could leech into the food they contain.
In case of an EMP, those LED flashlights might not work. Keep a couple incandescents in your storage. They might not be as efficient or long lasting, but not much can go wrong with a circuit of a battery, switch, a couple wires and a bulb.
“Reminds me of the movie were the guys are in the desert and are trading away thousands in gold for a few sips of water. “
You can’t drink Federal Reserve Notes either.
How could one be positive that a container is truely food grade, say when buying from an individual on Craigslist ? Is there a symbol or “sign” type of stamp or emblem on the bottom of the container perhaps ?
Bingo. Gold is only useful when someone else has something worth trading and is willing to do so.
When the US invasion of Japan was looming (before averted via nukes), citizens began hoarding gold in the theory they could buy anything with it. When the time came to buy what they needed, there was nothing to buy. Insofar as there was anything, however little, to buy there was far too much gold vying for it - rendering gold near valueless.
Violent anarchy with no law and order, no government, no police, no military, is a million to 1 shot, it almost certainly will not happen other than maybe locally for a few days at most.
No. When the SHTF happens, it will be ECONOMIC collapse, and a collapse of the dollar. Lots more unemployment. Hyper inflation. Food and energy shortages. Hunger. No imports of good or oil. Something like the 1930’s but MUCH worse. The economic system coming to a halt, shortages in the stores, and lots and lots of police and military and obtrusive government controls and regulations.
You are going to be seeing more police and more military on the streets, more government controls, more gun control, curfews, police roadblocks and safety stops, bank account restrictions, than you ever imagined in your entire life.
THIS!! is what is really going to happen, and when this happens, paper money, US bank accounts, stock certificates, your home, are not going to be worth anything.
Our future almost certainly is not a jungle, but rather, an economic collapse, a dollar collapse, hyperinflation, and excessive government controls. It is here in this most likely future that gold and silver will be the only assets to hold value.
In Selco’s Bosnian “worst case civil war,” gold coins were too risky to show, under any circumstances. The local warlords would have heard of it, and they'd come for the rest. (The standard way to find hidden valuables is for home invaders to torture your wife/children in front of you. It usually works.)
But a Bosnia outcome is far from certain. We might see more of an Argentina-style collapse, where gold would be usable in black-market transactions under certain conditions. Of course, small stuff like junk silver and common jewelry might be more useful for small transactions than one ounce Krugerrands, for example. Krugerrands would be like paying with thousand-dollar bills. Word would get around, which would be very dangerous.
But nothing beats gold coins as a store of wealth and a bridge to the other side of a societal conflict and currency collapse.
It's also useful as “flight capital.” You don't always get to stay where you are living, despite your best laid plans. Often these scenarios involve fleeing as a refugee with what you can carry on your back. You can't carry pallets of canned beans when you flee in the night with your bugout bag.
And nothing offers a better chance of meeting a cooperative and helpful official at a border crossing or customs checkpoint like a gold coin exchanged in a handshake. Gold coins are the traditional door-opener in many escape situations.
So I think gold and silver do have a place, along with paper cash at home (not just in a bank), plenty of food, weapons, ammo etc.
Hedge in all directions. You won't know which will be your family's lifesaver until the day of need arrives.
Oh: and buy some body armor or a concealable kevlar vest while you can still get them easily. Going shopping/foraging during an economic collapse will be extremely dangerous. You can get one for a couple hundred bucks, and a vest can be as important as your firearms. Why buy your tenth firearm before you even have purchased body armor? Get one now.
Know the code. Look on the bottom of your plastic to find the recycling symbol (a number between 1 and 7 enclosed in a triangle of arrows). The code indicates the type of plastic you are using and can give you important clues about safety. “We generally say 1, 2, 4 and 5 are considered to be the safest,” says Sonya Lunder, senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group. Try to avoid using plastics with 3 or 6, as these leach chemicals that may be harmful. Number 7 is an “other” category that includes BPA-containing plastics called polycarbonates. These plastics, which you should avoid, will have the letters PC printed underneath the 7.
From:
http://www.allmetronews.com/lifestyle/56040-plastic-container-symbols-for-food-grade-plastics.html
Post 33: GMTA.
“Right on about ammo.Think about how long a brick of 22 LR can keep you in small game.”
Everyone and his brother are going to out killing off all the wild game in the first few weeks of any collapse. 50 million people are currently intending to kill those squirrels and deer.
By the time the government quickly imposes emergency restrictions/bans on the possession of guns and ammo the wild game will be as scarce as high paying jobs.
Which has greater barter value to the average person, a one ounce gold coin, or a box of pistol ammunition? The obvious answer is that each is valuable for different reasons, so it is prudent to have both.
Concur. It's even better to have visited a potential *safe haven* in advanced and stashed at least a minimal amount of at least some gold and local currency there pending your arrival. That avoids having to carry your *on arrival* gold with you, placing too many eggs in one obvious basket.
Oh: and buy some body armor or a concealable kevlar vest while you can still get them easily. Going shopping/foraging during an economic collapse will be extremely dangerous. You can get one for a couple hundred bucks, and a vest can be as important as your firearms. Why buy your tenth firearm before you even have purchased body armor? Get one now.
Again, I concur. I'd add in a pair of flashlights as well, at least one high-output *tactical light* and a slightly smaller inexpensive LED pocket light as a long run time backup that can be given or traded to a pickup ally.
I'm relatively happy with an armor crewman's kevlar vest as my day-to-day *working vest* but I'm under no illusions about its ineffectiveness against rifle fire. Accordingly, the *minimal* vest stays in place, and something a bit heavier goes over it, preferably under a field jacket or equivalkent.
“You be surprised how many FReepers have written me with a attitude that their gold will see them through.”
I have some gold bug friends and I tell them that if we could go back to Kosovo, my case of Neo-sporin would be worth more than all of their gold.
Where do you store batteries? Someone said to freeze them. We of course, buy a few new ones every hurricane season but I was wondering how to store them for longer periods of time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.