Gold and Silver Post Economic Collapse.

Seeking to acquire precious metals for use in trade after an economic collapse is a very interesting topic.  If there is a partial or complete economic collapse, the paper dollar will be worth absolutely nothing as a form of trade because there is nothing to back it.  The same goes for clad coinage.  It doesn't even have salvage metal value.  As far as gold or silver being traded openly for goods, you have to wonder just how fast people would be killed for those very metals when others see that they are using them as a source for trade, either the ones that have the gold or silver to trade, or the shopkeeper that accepts it.

One issue will be how many people would even have the calibrated scales necessary to weigh the gold or silver to determine what the value actually is?  Not many I'll wager.  Consequently, the purchasing power will most likely be determined by mere speculation of the proprietor, which will be unlikely to be acceptable to the person attempting to use it as a form of trade. 

I like the idea of saving copper and brass, and until recently, I believed that solid bars of it would be the best way to accumulate it, similar to gold or silver.  I no longer believe that.  One person made a comment online that what will really be valuable is copper in its manufactured form so that it can be utilized.  Mainly insulated copper electrical wire and various sizes of HVAC flexible copper tubing.  Perhaps also a few lengths of copper pipe and the fittings, and brass and copper valves.  I think the tubing would be the biggest asset because it could be used for water distillation, water heating, water supply and other such things.  PVC piping and fittings would be good to have as well, although they won't be as valuable due to copper's heat tolerance, but they could certainly be an asset for helping to establish a supply of drinking water. While these things would be good to have for trade, I would be inclined to hang onto them for my own use.

Now let's get back to the gold and silver.  Does anyone think that since large quantities of gold and silver would be mainly in the possession of the wealthy, that perhaps it might be rejected as a form of commerce by the general public?  I mean, man is the one that said it was valuable in the first place.  There is no guarantee that this couldn't change.  Using it as a method of trading for goods isn't even feasible to me.  The current value is so high that it wouldn't buy regular things without having difficulty in giving "change" back.  Even now, gold and silver is very expensive to acquire.  It's out of reach for most people, and even if it's not, who would you trust to sell you the .9999 pure ingots?  Just because the number is molded into the bar doesn't make it so.  The center could be lead! 

The monetary unit that I like to accumulate in a reasonable amount for storing is nickels.  The metal value is there, so it may be that nickels could be a quick form of new money that is universally accepted by everyone as a base in a new monetary system.  It's already in coin form, its value is known and accepted, it would be hard to counterfeit after a collapse, and it's not cost effective to counterfeit it now.  It's small enough so that anyone could have a good amount of them stockpiled to use for trade.  Even if there is no economic collapse, you still have the face value of the actual coins, so you don't lose anything.  Nickels are the only coin that is actually worth the value of the metal it is made from. 

For those folks that think the nickel won't go the way of the copper penny or silver coinage, read on:

"H.R.3694 — 112th Congress (2011-2012)  Introduced in House (12/15/2011)

Saving Taxpayer Expenditures by Employing Less Imported Nickel Act or STEEL Nickel Act - Amends federal law governing the production of coins to repeal the statutory alloy composition of the 5-cent coin.

Requires that the 5-cent coin be: (1) produced primarily of steel, and (2) treated to impart a color so that its appearance is similar to 5-cent coins produced before enactment of this Act.

Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury, in minting 5-cent coins, to use only steel produced in the United States unless: (1) the Secretary determines doing so would be inconsistent with the public interest, or (2) steel is not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities.

Prohibits the Secretary, in setting specifications for such coin, from: (1) requiring more than one change to coin-accepting and coin-handling equipment to accommodate coins produced pursuant to this Act; (2) facilitating or allowing the use of a coin with a lesser value produced by another country, or the use of any token or other easily or regularly produced metal device of minimal value, in the place of a circulating coin produced by the Secretary; or (3) requiring changes to coin-accepting or coin-handling equipment to accommodate both coins produced with the new specifications and coins produced on or before a specified date.

Directs the Secretary to submit to certain congressional committees the initial report concerning production costs and technologies required by the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010."

 The government wheels turn very slowly, but they do turn.  The change for the metal composition of nickels is coming.  The more it costs to produce them, the greater the pressure will be to change their metal composition.  Stock up or even hoard them while you can.  Don't you wish you did that for the silver coinage back in 1963?  Nickels will go the same way once the change in metal composition is passed.  Plan ahead.

Thanks for visiting.

 

God Bless America.

Bob Hotaling.