Silver as Method of Exchange?

[birch]

I am by no means a doomsday prepper, but I have recently thought about investing in some cull grade Morgans and Peace Dollars as a potential method of exchange should something "happen".

I realize that an aspirin would be worth more that a coin at first, but I was just wondering about thoughts and opinions you all might have have regarding a long term event like a stock market crash etc.

[Hickory]

Silver would be a better means of monetary exchange then gold for emergencies.
A 150 or 200 coins would be a good insurance policy if things went sour.

[WebMonkey]

Just buy silver 'rounds' at spot + price. A couple each month would fit in even a tight budget.

[birch]

That is what I have been thinking. I just stopped by a jewelry store and the owner is selling common date Morgans for 18 a piece. I bought a fine grade 1899 o for 20 bucks.

I was thinking a couple of those a month wouldn't hurt, but it seems that the precious metals market has dropped with the stock market almost equally.

I think I might even be able to swing the wife around if I called it an "insurance policy".

[birch]

Would you all go with Morgans or Eagles? Maybe something else?

[54bore]

I am curious what would make you think a silver coin might help you in a collapse, SHTF scenario? Serious question, i never think about things like this? I was born and raised hunting and fishing, and have successfully done so my entire life, i would rate my survival skills high (if i cared to survive) i am physically fit (logger/timber faller) i just cant imagine what a coin would do for me if i had to head for the hills and survive? We must be thinking totally different?

[birch]

No--we are on the same page. That is what I a wondering.

[BigMagShooter]

check out apmex, or silvertown, or JMboullion, they are three pretty good websites to check on the current silver prices and what's available.

they even have 'snap' boards. Silver bars you can snap into smaller quantities of silver if you are worried about trading them.

I would recommend silver rounds that EVERYONE is familiar with, such as Walking Liberties, that way the person you are trading with "KNOWS" you have authentic silver.

[RogerDat]

Before I worried about buying silver to stash in the gun safe I would think about putting some plain old cash in there. Power outages from storms or other disasters, network infrastructure failure (how cards get approved or banks branches update balances) can make your debit or charge card useless. So having a bit of cash on hand can mean the difference between buying more gas for the generator or sitting in the dark. Gas station may have gas & generator to pump it but no way to accept cards. Same for a motel or the local stores.

Silver is not an investment as much as it is a hedge against inflation, and only inflation. Coins are typical, and probably best form for the small investor who might want them as money in a currency collapse however you are paying around 10% premium over the silver value. That means your purchase has to appreciate by 10% before you break even. Figure maybe 3 years or more at normal inflation rates, less if inflation is high, or fear of inflation is high. Fear can drive price up as demand outstrips supply but price can also come down hard if too much gets dumped.

Not saying it is a bad idea to have some silver in dimes, quarters, and half dollar coins, maybe even dollar coins but only if you can hold it for a long time, and have enough other assets for liquid cash so you can choose when to sell it. Precious metals can cream you if you have to sell to raise cash at the wrong time.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Silver as a medium of exchange? That is exactly what we had until a president came along with the initials of LBJ. Our coins except for pennies and nickels were sterling silver. When he stopped the backing of our dollars with silver and stopped minting silver coins, inflation kicked into high gear. The last year we minted silver coins was 1964.

[birch]

It does seem that precious metals have always held some intrinsic value. But I do know that I wouldn't dream of selling a chicken for a coin if the dollar were not worth much...maybe some would.

[mold maker]

Known/recognized mints offer 1oz silver bars/coins for as little as .49/oz premium. When your paper money is useless and your credit card is worth squat, just how are city folks supposed to use their hunter skills? Having silver will always give you an edge.
Old silver coinage isn't pure silver and it's not even all the same % silver. It will only trade at face value, because there will be no collector market.
I'd rather have a brick of 22 LR as a trade investment, although I do have several lbs of 999 silver that gets bought/sold as the market dictates.

[Thumbcocker]

Canning jars, flats, primers, seeds, lead.

[454 shooter]

I have thought about silver to trade or as an investment, hey, even some shiny metal around just to look at. I heard Dave Ramsey comment that silver and gold are lousy investments and if the banks and economy were to collapse then food, water , guns and ammunition would be worth far more than silver.

[birch]

In that case--i am truly a rich man!

On the shiney part--i only have a few Morgan's, but I could see myself get carried away if I let myself do some more research on them. They are kind of like the gun addiction. A gun doesnt mean that much to me unless it has some history.

All I need is another addiction

[MUSTANG]

Investors in the Stock Market are always warned to be diversified. It is wise of one is preparing to survive tumultuous times to also be diversified. As an example; think of the Vietnamese who left as we (The US) evacuated Southern Vietnam as it collapsed. Those who planned well probably started off with food and transportation to get to designated US Evac points. They abandoned the transportation once they were in the area, and ate the food as they hid/waited to get out of dodge. Probably had firearms and ammo with them to protect themselves and families, as they got onto US transports or made it to a "Boat People Boat"; they probably had the remainder of the Food, Ammo, and firearms confiscated/seized. Most wound up with a bag or bags of clothes and possessions, which they usually got to keep and were visually inspected and drug dog sniffed multiple times from their first being off the Vietnam Coast until they were taken the the USMC Base at Camp Pendleton. Those who had family in the States, US Bank accounts, or other means of support were allowed to leave Camp Pendleton after initial processing.

Here is where the interesting part of the story comes into play. The Marine Corps had to bring in Armored Truck, after Armored Truck, after Armored Truck to deal with the amounts of Gold Leaf, Silver, and Diamonds and other Valuable stones that many of these "Poor" refugees had hidden away in their luggage and other places smugglers are prone to use. More than one South Vietnamese Refugee drove off Camp Pendleton in a brand new Mercedes the local car dealers were allowed to bring aboard to sell to the "Poor Refugees".

The moral to my story is: Those who prepare are going to make out better than those looking for a free assistance program if dire consequences arise in a society.

[GhostHawk]

Year and a half ago I was sitting on a pretty nice windfall. Call it early inheritance.

Now some did get invested on us, like for a really good bed. Some on firearms, ammo, componants. Some on top camping gear, water filters, hammocks with rain fly's and bug screens.

But I also put a big chunk into silver. I bought all mine from Provident, as they had the best prices combined with low shipping costs. Lower premium over spot across the board.

I am sitting now with a nice hoard of Silver, some Walking Liberty silver dollars. A lot more Provident prospectors, buffalo, Molon Aabe, whatever was at a good price that caught my fancy.

I ran all mine through paypal, when I was buying I would buy one or two 470-495 dollar orders per day.

I bought at 14.25 to 14.75. Yes I could have sold when it hit twenty, but I think it will go much higher yet.

That paper stuff they call money is not really money. It is not based on anything other than public opinion. And it does not hold its value as money does. The cost of near everything has gone up, often doubled or quadrupled in the last 20 years. Yet we see almost no increase in wages.

20 years ago I bought a new AO Smith 50 gallon Nat Gas water heater for just over 200$. This month the same thing exactly cost me 550$. That is real inflation. Not the paper trail that our government with its manipulated concocted figures show inflation at. They pick and choose what they put in the basket and they are running out of things to choose.

For me it falls back to solid conservative values. Don't ever put all your eggs in one basket. Spread things around.

Get out of debt, FIRST!

If you don't have land, we'll you'll need some now won't you?

Then when all other needs are met, yeah, silver is IMO a good choice. Just not the first choice.

I have a little gold too, but when an ounce of gold sells for 1200$ per it is a bit hard to budget.
And how do you knock 50$ off for groceries without someone getting cheated?

Silver is easier.

Don't buy paper, if it is not where you can put your hand on it. Where you can protect it. Move it, it is not yours. Not really.

Nice thing about silver is it takes a hella hot fire to melt it. And even then it is not destroyed, just changed shape. Most of mine is hidden in an old Crock. Flood ain't going to bother it, freezing don't faze it.

The main thing is to get out of debt, get out from under first. What good does your silver do if you have to sell it all to keep your house?

How do you keep anything if they can kick you out of your house?

Last, of all the daily needs food is in many respects the easiest.
The hardest is water.

3 minutes without air, 3 hours in some climates without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food. And yet people all over have months worth of food stored and would not drink the perfectly good clean water in a toilet tank in a SHTF scenario.

Having ways to purify water, multiple ways, multiple sources. Thats a good investment IMO.

[rancher1913]

54bore, not to belittle hunting and woodsman's skills but even the best mountain men needed to head to town every once in a while for supplies like salt, coffee, undergarments, etc. they could trade beaver skins but nowadays silver works better.

we keep pm's just to pay our property taxes with if it gets bad, the government has to have theirs and they will take pm's.

around here we are like you in that we can do for ourselves but if we get kicked off the land we are screwed.

[Danderdude]

If you're dead set on silver, https://comparesilverprices.com/

What you cannot forget is precious metals are simply a store of wealth. They are not an investment, will not make you rich, and when you're done fondling them and the excitement wears off, they just sit there lookin' purty. It also has the primary drawback of barter: you have to find someone who values that silver more than they value the cash or item in trade. Most of the people talking about precious metals have a vested interest in getting cash from you, directly or indirectly. Every sucker they can rope into buying junk coins or "investing" in PM's increases the demand slightly and they are positioned to profit.

I no longer own any PMs besides a roll of silver solder and a single tooth filling. I got very lucky with my silver, but only a fool would use my anecdotal story to justify or rationalize purchasing any.. I found a used aluminum boat for sale on craigslist, went out to see it, chatted up the owner, found out he was REALLY into silver and he had a slightly autistic hobby of going through $100 boxes of nickels looking for the 35% silver 1942-1945 war nickels because pretty much every silver dime and quarter has been found. I was able to trade silver for the boat and got a hell of a deal on it, but I'm also a pretty good negotiator. I do not recommend you buy silver in hopes of finding an autistic silver fiend willing to part with the exact thing you want in close proximity to you.

Further, if you look at modern wartime narratives from eastern Europe or the middle east, gold are silver don't become magical talismans of trade value in a catastrophe either. If you're looking to get rich quick when SHTF, go buy insulin powder from sigma aldrich. http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/...g=en&region=US
If you're dipping your toes into prepping, silver should be last on the list. Antibiotics should be first and can be found on ebay or from "aquarium suppliers". Build a stock of amoxicillin, cephalexin, azithromycin and doxycycline, then torrent or buy a medical diagnostic manual. Toss your old expired first aid kit and build a proper trauma kit. I built some with the $5 plastic ammo cans from Walmart or Horrible Freight with a battle bandage, SAM splint, SAM finger splints, gauze, triangular bandages, eye wash, forceps, tweezers, sealed sterile scalpel, steristrips, benzoin tincture swabs so the steristrips and bandaids actually stick, gloves, hand sanitizer, self-adherent bandages, trauma pads, really good bandaids, one time use little packets of iodine pads, alcohol pads, ammonia inhalants, burn cream, triple antibiotic, common pills, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. You can fit a lot in those boxes with smart planning. I made kits for myself and 3 brothers and through the magic of buying in bulk have plenty of everything left in the home cabinet.

After medical emergency preparedness, water and then food are next on the list. Many of the deaths in Ukraine a few years ago were dysentery related. In Bosnia 1992 you could buy a woman for the night or buy your way into crossing a street without getting a bullet to the back of the head for half a can of spam, 4 fingers of vodka or a bic lighter. Money and silver were worthless in both situations.

[birch]

Noted