Saving Silver....man

So I came across this post today and it got me thinking. In a severe economic crisis, if you had your scrap silver and gold aggregated, you could potentially be a step ahead. What do you all think? Is it a preparedness angle that you've considered?

IMHO - no.

You will always be able to sell gold or silver at wholesale. You will find few who will take it at current value.

Put a gold coin in your pocket for a year. Every time you are at the register, offer the coin in payment. You make the decision of liquidity in your community.

To liquidate the coin in Boise, you must go to a coin dealer or a specialty shop. I advertised Krugerrands on two Boise forums asking $50 under spot value of gold. Not one bite!

If you remember the two brothers UDA and KUSA HUSSIEN were fleeing ahead of the US Marines. Each brother was infinately wealthy. Each took a brief case stuffed with their B.O.B. of choice. What was in it? Gold, Silver? No, US $100 bills and viagra.

The value of gold, silver, or any other precious metal or gem is ethereal. Their practical value is quite limited, and in a severe economic crisis, they will be practically useless. Lead would be far more valuable, at least for the people I hang with.

Value by proxy is never a good hedge against economic catastrophe. People look for things that will immediately help them get by, and couldn't care less about paper rectangles, small metal disks, or body ornaments.

$100 worth of 22 lr ammo in today's market will be worth ten times or more their value if things get desperate. But of more immediate value will be basics like food, water, mobility, communication, etc.

x3...I have never been able to figure out, nor have I ever read or heard of any viable reason to hoard so called precious metals. At least not any that made any real sense.

Let's for the moment assume that the absolute worst case scenario occurs, a complete and total economic meltdown. What is someone going to do with gold, silver or platinum coins or bullion? What practical purpose does it serve in a "survival" situation?

It's too heavy to transport in any sort of quantity. You'll waste more fuel/calories moving it around.

You can't make it into anything else without some fairly serious smelting and/or molding equipment, you can't eat it or drink it, unless you're killing werewolves it makes lousy bullets so what are you gonna do with it and who in their right mind would give you anything of actual value, ie, a gun, water, food, etc. for it in trade? I know that if I were in a position to be trading in a post apocalyptic world I'd laugh at anyone offering me some heavy, shiny metal in exchange for something actually usable.

And yes I understand that we use metal coins for monetary exchanges now but that's a different topic all together.

I would love to hear a rational and practical reason to hoard metal, I'd really to hear why James Rawles advocates saving nickels but no one's ever been able to explain that either, including Mr. Rawles himself...

Money is only worth what someone thinks it is worth. Technically, a dollar is just a piece of paper with pretty pictures.

I would rather have barter items. What would 50 rounds of .22 be worth to someone with a rifle but no ammo. How about nails? Or a knife? Those items have value regardless of what monetary state you are in.

Keep your silver and gold, I want something I can use.

I will qualify that under a limited economic crisis, one where the electronic form of transaction may have failed, but limited supply lines are still functioning and central government is still intact, some vendors may place greater value on minted stock than regular currency. There could be anticipation of a general revaluation of currency following a limited crisis whereby conversion loss would be far less with precious metals. I am thinking in terms like what happened to Iraqi dinar and how conversion helped some of the wealthier from losing a lot of their inherent value. That is a bit of a fine line, though.

By the Powers! It be, Solar Panels instead of Doubloons, Me hearty!

Interesting, people are already selling their jewelry (or other people's jewelry) for food there, eh?

I guess running a metals exchange makes sense as a sideline, since they have a convenience store open anyhow.

Just as I would expect a box of ammo, a bow saw or an oil lantern to work in some but not all trades, I also would expect silver to be accepted in some but not all exchanges.

If a Federal Reserve Note were of dubious value in a transaction, I'd say a bag of junk silver and a reliable scale could be useful. Seems like a good addition to one's preparations for hard economic times. As far as a means for "preserving wealth," I don't know.

The video noted by the OP -- and the fact that this thread topic is increasingly common in the U.S. -- indicate a weakening faith in the U.S. dollar. Some people seem to be starting to pay closer attention and studying to understand how their person lives are practically affected by bankers, politicians and groups beyond their national borders.

Actually, it appears that the dollar is going to surge, if the stocks and commodities markets are any indication.

For the first time in my life that I recall, both stocks and commodities are falling in value. From what the limited amount I know (or understand for that matter) on economics theory, that would indicate a deflation cycle is coming.

Apparently everyone is sitting on their money. Not surprising, given our unemployment rate is launching, and the financial insitutions are not lending anyone anything. It appears those with the most influence are expecting the markets (all of them) to fall significantly. If that's the case, we are headed for a much deeper depression than the superficial fly-by we had in February and March.

As I understand it, it's intended more as a hedge against inflation. There are scenarios where value stored in dollars or pounds becomes virtually worthless, but value stored in gold or silver holds. The reason being, the government can't print more gold as easily as it can print paper money.

I think to make a difference the amount you'd stockpile would have to be quite large - at least 10s of thousands of dollars, rather than 100 dollars here or there.

Whether hyperinflation counts as a "survival scenario" in the terms of this forum is another matter. At this level of collapse there's the economy is still working, just not very well.

Yep, ergo I suspect cash will remain king for a little while longer, until retail is imploded and supply dries up, then you'll see it swing hard the other way.

The brokers I've spoken with recently used the term "waterfall" with regard to the $$. They are surprised the dollar index is staying above 80.

If another currency replaces the dollar in international trade, stand by for rough times. That's when precious metals such as gold, silver & platinum are a better place to be.

I tend to think that we still have to adjust core lifestyle and expectations downward. I don't think we're going to ever return to 2007

I agree. I think our standard of living has peaked and will probably diminish for the next 50 years. I told my daughters that they better be prepared for less. From hereon in, I expect to take a pay cut with every new assignment until I retire.

Gold or silver is used to preserve value, such as in the case of a currency collapse. There were times in the 1970s for example, when people used "junk siver" to purchase things. If you have a roll of 1960 quarters or Morgan Dollars, or any U.S. coins made before he started to stick copper in the middle, you have somethinglike 90% silver. Silver has uses, but people alo simply like to have silver as something beuatiful and valueable. People can count on the desire for such things. The ancient Athenians rose to power, in part, based on silver mines. King Solomon is known for his mines, as a source for much of his wealth. Wealth is value or aving valueables. Precious metals have represented wealth for millenia, and that is not likely to change.