Real question:
If the time comes when ammo becomes a form of currency, does it make more sense to stock up on ammo now than on nonperishable foods?
I mean we hear all these ads saying buy gold now, and yet how does one use a gold coin worth $900 or so to pay for groceries?
I do keep a small stash of silver U.S. cartwheels, but at $20 apiece true value, they seem much more fungible.
Comments?
Whiskey
Rum
Sugar
Flour
These are some good tradin’ supplies....(IMO)
As to gold, I've always felt that 1/10th rounds made a lot more sense than 1 oz rounds do, but that's just me. I've also been buying silver 1 oz rounds and bars because I felt, like you, they'd be a lot easier to deal with.
YMMV.
I bought a bunch of silver quarters. I figure they will be quite usable.
Just my opinion but you can’t eat gold or silver.
I’ve been meaning to get some junk silver, especially dimes.
You’ll need wheat. Hard Red Spring Wheat. And you’ll need a GOOD grinder; preferably one that can be either electrically run OR hand-cranked, ‘cuz the power WILL go out, and who knows for how long.
A single bushel of wheat is good for about 70-75 loaves of fresh bread. Figure you’ll be on a subsistence diet, so bread will be a major staple. That’d mean you’d be allocating about 1/3 loaf per person per day, assuming you’ve got veggies, occasional meat, and maybe seasonal fresh fruit available.
Now, we’ve got to suss out just how long this will need to go on. I’ve good reason to vote for 1335 days, but figure a full five years on the outside, just to allow for contingencies (early onset of duress, or delayed recovery of the supply chain afterward).
All told, then, you’d need enough wheat to bake 610 loaves of bread in order to get you through; dividing by 70 and rounding up (to be conservative) that’s 9 bushels of wheat per person; 540 pounds.
Now, I happen to have priced Hard Red Spring Whate just a few weeks ago, and found that it could be had at retail in manageable 50-pound sacks for under $30 each; $28 to be exact.
Figure each person would need 11 50-pound sacks of what to see them through five years of duress, and that comes out to a little over $300.
At that rate, you can stock up on wheat AND keep most all of your precious metals. Just be sure you store your grain in a DRY location that is impervious to vermin and other pests, because they WILL get into it if they can.
AND...lasty but not leastly...get yer butt ta church on Sunday; open Book, insert face. No use goin’ through all of this trouble to be prepared for upheaval, only to fall short at the end ‘cuz ya missed the main point of it.
Oh.
THREE more brief points:
1. DON’T go blabbing about your stockpile.
2. Guns and ammo may be required to defend your supply of wheat, so have plenty on-hand.
3. Failure to observe point 1 will increase the probability you’ll be faced with point 2.
Um, the gold is not for "buying groceries."
Bartering for the food you haven't already stocked up on in the form of other tangibles is how one would obtain groceries in a meltdown.
IOW "I'll trade you 500 rounds of .308 for your cow" presumably with another equally prepped individual, not with the hoards who ignored the stormclouds.
People who wait and then try to exchange gold for basic neccessities will be known as "victims."
The gold is for a brief period as things really spiral in a panic. OR one can exchange gold for land/large purchases AFTER things start returning to normal, but before people start trusting printed scrip again.
Gold's only real function is to store your wealth for when a veneer of civilization exists. It won't make you rich or save your hide when the poo hits the fan but it will help you prosper and rebuild later.
Gold has its place but bullets and food come first!
I agree. I’ve stocked up on silver Eagles. Each one should buy at least a day’s food. If that need doesn’t arise, they still hold their value against inflation.
The way I look at things is that if worst comes to worst then ammo = food. I’d gladly give up currency to make room for food, water and shelter.
Actually, I think I’m going to head down to the river right now and practice for when TSHTF.
Ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce and tenth of an ounce coins. Maple leafs.....
Cost more in coinage fees etc but smaller coins are available.
ammo and food will be the only things that matter for trading
The more I think about it, the more I think that gold and silver will not be good if things collapse so much that dollars don't buy what's needed.
In a collapse, the universal trade goods will be ammo, alcohol, and tobacco. And all three last a long time if stored properly. Good scotch also makes a good present for Christmas/birthdays/etc for recipients who like it.
The purpose of gold is the protection and transfer of wealth from one time and place to another, namely the re-emergence of civilization after our long bout with collectivism is over. Not that I have any, of course. I’m pretty sure it was in my boat when it capsized with my two dozen projectile throwers and the ten thousand projectiles. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
OBTW, marauding hooligans also cleaned me out of my larder, so the half dozen barrels that used to be full of food and the dozen cabinet that also used to be full of food are now bare. Trust me, you don’t have to check them. Just keep moving along.