By now most of you know that I'm putting together a PSK for a relative who will be carrying it during military service. (Hopefully.) And many of you have offered helpful suggestions for said kit. Since a kit to be carried worldwide might not be used simply for wilderness survival, but urban, if say lost, left behind or simply reaching civilization I have included a $100 bill in it for food, phone calls, lodging, transportation etc. I've traveled widely and have found that American dollars are accepted virtually everywhere. Bunny said I should include some of the 1/10th ounce gold coins from a collection I loaned a fellow money on and he defaulted by going to prison for an extended period time. They would fit neatly in there and add little wieght. Gold is more compact than paper money, and can be turned into goods or cash anywhere in the world. But... Bo one has change for a gold coin. And should she offer one for transportation to a city to a base she could run into real trouble by people who might think she has a lot more of that buttery metal that drives men mad. What's your opinion on the matter?

Might be usable,they did it during WWII.Civilian and military found uses for compact portable wealth in many situations.

I wasn't aware the military had done so. I knew the Jewish had invested heavily in diamonds for that purpose. When I was a kid we lived in an apartment complex where the manager had been involved in the liberation of some concentration camps. His job had been to go in and count weapons and other things including valuables. He had a haunted look when he told me about the boxes of gold fillings. The officers had taken the diamonds when they had escaped. Thanks for the information spuds. I responded to your post in the overwhelmed thread.

What's really needed is an IOU that gold will be delivered when the original bearer of the IOU is returned in good health.

Having gold on one's person has been done by militaries but considering that the bearer has no negotiating power if the gold has to be used it's a long shot whether it would help. It just makes it more worthwhile to hunt you down because the reward is delivered to the hunter immediately.

Meantime the poor schmuck is lugging around something that's awfully heavy.

Andy McNabb's book BRAVO TWO ZERO about an SAS patrol which was discovered and hunted down in Iraq describes that the men had gold coins in an inner belt for use in case of emergency.
Didn't help them at all. (not that it proves they'll never be worth anything....)

Yes, gold has often been included in E&E kits. In many parts of the world they are very afraid of counterfeit dollars, and it is common to find counterfeit bills in some areas. Pure gold can be tested easily, or at least people thinks so. Watches, gold jewelry and other valuables can be used for barter. Depending on the individual's duties and areas or travel, I can make some more recommendations for you if you like, everything can be procured open source.

unimogbert is describing a "blood chit"...a guarantee by an outside party that one who helps or gives aid will be rewarded with a stated amount of payment (typically gold)...the grantor typically issues a document written in the local language(s) with a several numbered chits attached... which are dispensed by the injured party.... that chit is only paid upon the successful return of the injured party... in 1972 the US Airman's chit was worth about $50,000 in gold...a 1/10oz gold coin would easily fit in the bottom of a pill fob, and could probably cut if necessary by a multi tool... in Thailand the bar girls typically had their "di di mao" money in the form of "baht bracelet" jewelry with the charms an accepted weight of gold.. the Christians In Action could usually be identified by a gold Rolex with black bezel and heavy ID tag gold bracelet, that allowed you to remove one link at a time.... sounds like a good idea if you are willing and it is used discretely

Buying and selling gold coins where I live in Scotland is pretty darned difficult, (try to barter with a Gold Coin in the USA may well get you arrested and I've heard that many places won't even break a $100 bill) you might be better off with a prepaid VISA card although in some parts of the world such as Cyprus there might be a daily limit you can withdraw. If you are going to have some currency then American Dollars aren't what they used to be as currency for world wide acceptance, especially with the easier counterfeiting compared with UK Sterling.

When operating in countries with endemic drugs production there probably will be folks who will have access to local HSBC/Wells Fargo banking facilities.

It isn't illegal to barter in the USA with services, gold or other things. I myself used to trade computer repair work for chiropractic adjustments (unfortunately my spine was way more messed up than my chiropractor's computer, so I ended up writing a number of checks). I've read one story about a person who was imprisoned supposedly for bartering with gold; without getting into the specifics of that person's case it seems he was convicted for fraud, not for barter.

It is true that some places don't take $100 bills because they are perceived to be commonly counterfeited. I've spent (legitimate, of course) $100 bills in many places, and it's never seemed to be a problem for me.

Many years ago it was illegal to buy or trade gold. That has changed.

Not for me. Too heavy. Besides US dollars are the most universal currency...

Some places will not take anything bigger than a fifty. It is not so much that they are afraid of counterfeits. Counterfeit bills are readily detectable by the pens used these days or just a close look by someone with 5 minutes of training.

The real reason is that some retailers (usually the smaller ones) keep a very minimal amount of change on hand as an anti-crime technique.

Personally, I think you would be better off with US twenties and hundreds as they are almost a universal currency, and/or local currency.

A tenth ounce gold coin is worth less than $150. I don't know what you think that is going to buy you in some foreign country in the middle of nowhere, assuming the tribesman involved even recognizes it as something valuable. I doubt desert tribesmen have much experience with modern US gold bullion coins.

Might surprise you,many countries/citizens are gold bugs for sure.

I've always thought stashing away gold as a bartering tool was silly. What is gold good for? It makes a good electrical conductor, so might be of some use if you were trying to barter with an electronics manufacturer (who probably wouldn't have anything you wanted to barter FOR anyway). But what is the day-to-day use for gold? Is there ANY such use? It's soft, heavy, and not well suited for anything but bling-bling IMHO. Finding somebody to barter with who had what you wanted, and wanted gold in return for it, seems like a real stretch to me. Is there anything that gold can do, that nothing else can, that is of any urgent or survival nature?

As a "universal currency" it might be OK if times are normal. But you'd have to find somebody with a scale to weigh it, a way to determine its purity, and some method to determine the current value per unit weight (which I believe is in the toilet right now). I think the chocolate and cigarettes the troops used to use would be better suited for the bartering task.

I have read instances in history where gold proved useful. These tend to occur during wartimes, when the currency system has collapsed. You need to get on the last boat/train out of town before the hostile army arrives and war breaks out? You just might need to bribe someone, since inflation has made paper money worthless, you need to offer something else. Under such circumstances, you won't have time to weigh it and check purity, etc. It's simple: you just have to convince the person in position to help you that you're giving him everything you've got.

You'd probably know if you're going to be in such a situation. Fortunately, most of us have no use of gold in our PSK.

True Unimogbert, but that would be out of my hands. And I'm getting too old to run a rescue mission in a war zone. I'm not as tough as Chuck Norris. Who, btw, is one of the nicest people you'll evwer meet.

absolutely montanero. Thanks. Hit me up with a private message with any ideas and advice you have.

Great info Les! and great pic! Thanks!

Hi Am-Fear. You know I had thought of that idea of a card for my own international psk. But I had thought of opening a checking account, getting a VISA debit card and every month just add the rent from one rental and let it build up. But cash and negotiables are always nice to have.

Hey Ilbob. Paper money would be too bulky. And since I have no idea where they might deploy her I wouldn't be able to put in local currency. But you pose valid points. Thanks.

That's why the hundred dollar bill, teacher. But I don't want her using it to party with.

$150 can be a small fortune in some countries, Ilbob. I've traded gear and even clothing in some countries I've been too.

yup, spuds

I love gold, haertig. But I have a lot of trade goods stored. OTC meds, toiletries, candies, tobacco (FINALLY my indian blood pays off, got great prices on tobacco out on the res), femini hyne hygiene (Can't tell you how manly I felt buying buying tampons, sanitary napkins and douche by the case) among other things. One thing that will be a trade good is alcohol.

True Bingley. But i still do the international thing from time to time, and I no longer have a home office to supply stacks of local currencyso it's a bit harder. Now I pack extra cash, some rands, extra mags, extra knife and spare cell.

When I was in the NAVY and on deployments over seas I wore a plain gold band ring with my name ingraved in it.I also had a heavy link silver braclet.It was always my thought to use it as barter if need be.I also wore a LARGE silver greenman ring that was a trademark of mine on ship.If it was seen on another person locally it would have meant foul play was afoot....

BOATMAN
John

OMG! They let NAVY people come here? What's next? The weekend warriors and Air Force? LMAO. Just Kidding Boatman. I like your choices in trade wear. For years I wore a silver mercenary bracelet that looked like an elephant hair one. It went out in a few trades but always found it's way back to me. What's a greenman ring? Sounds Irish? Thanks for the input, much appreciated/

My wife's grandparents bartered sewing needles and thread for food, etc. as they trekked across Siberia in the aftermath of the 1918 Russian Revolution. It doesn't have to be valuable - just scarce and desirable. Could be anything - Coors Light, anyone?

I've see that many times. Thanks izzy.

my first overseas assignment was to Japan, and it a being pretty civilized country, carried just enough money "stashed" to get a black market taxi ride home if I missed the ferryboat... on an E3's pay, stashing 3000Yen (around $10)was pretty extravagant..one of the hostesses at the EM's club wrote out phonetically and in katakana some phrases for directions to, and characters for things like hospital, police, train station etc on a 3x5 card... .when I got to the Philippines in 72, after some TDY to Okinawa and first trip to Thailand... one of the must have purchases was an elephant leather money belt...it came in handy a couple of times... a copy (color slide of my birth certificate) and a copy of my orders with a TSCW clearance got me on board a space available flight on a courier plane, and into the US Embassy in Bangkok... I stashed $20US in fives, and about $20 in the local currency as soon as I got in country... over the years, I somehow misplaced the elephant leather belt, but was given a nylon money belt by a friend... you young lady might need something like it if she gets any R&R or duty station to a non combat zone of iffy relations with the US... this one is from Aero Stitch who makes motorcycle stuff... I'm sure there are cheaper copies available

My "stash" belts both in nylon for EDC and leather for work, are very well outfitted with items for urban survival and with cash. They've never been detectected and look like ordinary belts.

Thanks IZZY you described the ring exactly.....


BOATMAN
John

I have used this number from Eagle Creek for years. Very discreet and I have been glad I had it a time or two:

http://www.rei.com/product/819722/eagle-creek-all-terrain-money-belt



The price is quite reasonable - $20. Also, no metallic components

Nice belt. Nybelts have a thrust knife, either as a buckle in leather of hidden in nylon. I'm expecting trick belts to be outlawed as well.

Gold in PSK ... definitely NOT!
Read Chris Ryan's old book (The One That Got Away).
He almost got killed while on the run in a village in Syria when he tried to buy his way out with gold coins. If you show one - they will believe you have many more. A human life can go for a lot less than a gold coin. Carry some cash. Dollars are taken most places.

Pete2

Good point Pete. Thanks.

I had one of those. I found the buckle wasn't strong enough for every-day wear, and broke.

Didnt the Anne Frank family in WWII use gold for their supplies? Im thinking they did,or am I nutz with a bad memory and confusing them with someone else?