Some camps hold that as fiat currency will fail quickly, trade would continue for a short time in precious metals, particularly commonly minted coins. After a prolonged period of widespread supply deficiencies, those who have consumable supplies will be less inclined to part with them for non-consumables of any sort. Labor and material exchange would become the common trade commodities until some form of regulation took over. A gradual return to some monetary standard would be necessary in the long run to accommodate logistics and accounting.

Tobacco and prescription drugs; there will always be a viable market for these, and at a premium. A connex full of cartons of smokes would be a tremendous fortune in a grid-down scenario, provided one could keep it secured. A case of oxycodone or vicadin would be like owning a silo full of grain.