Posted on 05/22/2023 3:10:02 PM PDT by fightin kentuckian
That’s why modern coins of precious metals have a reeded edge. Shaving can be easily detected.
Minted coins usually confer authenticity of silver content.
Although I have actually come across some silver eagles that were counterfeit and were partially ferrous.
A strong rare earth magnet picked them up.
Precious metals are best used as insurance against depreciated and or failed fiat currencies.
And although you can’t eat just silver ,
you can make an excellent antibacterial and antiseptic colloidal silver solution with it.
None of us really knows what's going to work in a SHTF scenario. Though it's looking more likely we will find out.
Barter of different sorts is a guarantee. There was a fellow, can't recall his name - he used to get posted a lot on Zero Hedge - who lived through the Bosnian war and he had some interesting observations about what people did to survive.
Barter. Women were prostituting for toilet paper. Disposable butane lighters were a useful trade.
A key thing to keep in mind is that if/when the USA goes Venezuela, there will be no USA to bring us aid. There will be no one to bring us aid. We are the ones that always brought the aid to others. It will be unprecedented.
Smaller weights of silver/precious metals, regardless of form, would seem to count for the same as long as they can be verified to be .999 pure. Who knows? We will know when it happens.
We've never truly had one, so we have yet to find out.
I have a substantial amount of gold and silver in a depository but that's just to diversify my portfolio. At some point in retirement, I would expect to sell some of that and convert to cash to live on.
Can't imagine a scenario where I would plop down gold or silver on a counter for a loaf of bread in a SHTF situation. I would think I would be as screwed as anybody else. Would I even be able to get to the depository to collect my silver and gold? I would think not. It would be all gone.
Some do, some don't.
So called bullion gold and silver coins are minted by governments - American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, UK Britannias, etc but they have no numismatic value, they are only worth their gold or silver content, despite what the ads in American Rifleman and other "conservative" publications suggest. Then there are "restrikes", also minted by governments - Austrian 4 ducats, Hungarian 100 korunas, Mexican 50 peso, etc but they are not rare and also have no numismatic value.
American gold and silver coins minted before 1933 or 1964 MAY have numismatic value, depending on rarity and condition, but Chinese counterfeits have gotten very good and most "rarities" advertised in "conservative" magazines and on conservative websites are not rare and have a small value over metal content.
On the other hand, a 1793 chain cent, face value $0.01, was sold at auction in 2008 for $126,500.
Buying "collectible" coins is highly speculative and the market is riddled with fraud. Most people who play in that market are suckers. I've been a coin collector since I was ten and it's a great hobby but a foolish investment.
If you are thinking of buying bread with silver, use old US coins in circulated condition - but remember, once that becomes a necessity (if that ever happens), allowing even the baker to know you have silver can and probably will threaten your life and the lives of your loved ones before the sun goes down.
Melt them down and cast them into bullets you can use agaihst vampires.
If the SHTF, I would not be able to eat gold; I will need food and guns.
Yeah, that's two people at a Project Appleseed weekend.
If such a world ever came into being, and you revealed that you possessed 400 ounces of silver, you and your family would be dead before the sun went down.
It isn't just about the original purchase price. Practicality comes into play.
A SHTF aspect for 1 oz bars over larger bars is their easy passing.
A small silver coin/bar/round will have far more bartering power for the usual, small items most prominent in our daily lives.
One chicken? One ounce of silver, please.
(if it's one ounce of gold for the chicken...I'm going fishing!)
JMO, YMMV
The most valuable commodity in Bosnia during the wars there were fourteen year old daughters.
Think about that when you dream about SHTF.
This is the major flaw with those who call themselves "preppers."
Sure, there's nothing wrong with being prepared for a hurricane or ice storm with several weeks worth of canned foods in your cupboards with plenty of candles and firewood.
However, I alway get a kick out of preppers preparing for a true SHTF situation where civilized society literally shuts down.
You do not want to be the guy with a generator and "lights on" in that situation. You will draw desperate lowlife to your home like a porch light draws moths on a hot, humid night.
Slapping a bar of gold on the counter for a loaf of bread in a SHTF situation will similarly ensure that you are followed home and targeted for a raid.
I don't care how much guns and ammunition you have stored up. In a SHTF situation, you will be overrun and quite possibly killed by marauders who will pick your place clean.
If you are a prepper, best keep a very low profile and don't brag about it to anybody. Not even family members.
Yes indeed. But some of the generic rounds and bars do not have that serrated (reeded) edge.
SHTF bookmark.
If SHTF, silver will only be worth spot price per ounce...or whatever you negotiate selling it. I think it is better than gold, because it is much cheaper easier to trade by the ounce.
BTW...buying government minted silver coins from the government is a ripoff...you will spend many times the spot price for plain silver.
For 30 years I’ve been of the opinion that investing in 9mm is one of the keys to future purchasing power, happiness, & security...
Gold was a great buy in the late 1990s and early 2000s when it was around $250 an ounce...
The next best investment item in the late 1990s was joining FreeRepublic...
9mm, gold, FreeRepublic: Screw the communists bastards...
There was a guy who ran a website named SHTF. He was in the Yugoslavian civil war. He said to focus on silver, because: 1) if you have a gold coin and you want to buy a chicken- guess how much that chicken now costs; and 2) If you have a dozen dimes no one really notices, but if you have a gold coin everyone talks about it.
Oh yeah, ebay is a good place to get silver coins. Just figure out what the silver content is then multiply that to the spot price and that is your max bid (remember to factor in the shipping costs). You will loose 9 out of 10 bids, but you won't pay too much.
You are more likely to accidentally spend a round or coin than a bar. I have both. Have not tried to trade with either at this point. I have been buying Canadian mint coins because of the higher face value and the stamped 99.9% silver content. US Mint is good too.
“Melt them down and cast them into bullets you can use agaihst vampires.”
“Tonto didn’t melt this stuff over no campfire.” That’s a quote from an article I read in a gun magazine back in the mid 20th Century. They were trying to make silver bullets like the Lone Ranger used. IIRC they finally used some kind of small laboratory furnace. Then they had trouble getting the bullets out of the molds without pitting of the silver. Maybe you know a better way.
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.