I have always thought that purchasing precious metals to use for trade goods was not a good idea. If you can’t eat it, use it for heat, use it to keep surviving it’s no real value to me in a survival situation. How would you make a trade with it? 1 oz is $1000.00 Even if the person believed your 1-oz was in fact 1-oz of gold that would be a lot of trade goods he or she could use to survive just to give up for a coin sized piece of metal that had no value till a social structure (the money market) was restored.

100 pounds of food and a Coleman (or even a Hobo stove and some twigs) stove and a $30.00 tent is worth more then 100 pounds of gold. In almost every survival situation I can think of there is no way to buy things and turn that gold into food or supplies. Gold is only worth something because the market says it is, no market, it’s not worth more then lead. Once the market gets restored or it becomes available to you, gold then is again worth something.


How would you buy food right now with everything up and running fine (or what passes for fine) you can’t take your 1-oz gold coins or bars and buy clothes, fuel or food. My guess you have to send it someplace and have it tested and once the test confirm it’s gold (I’m sure this takes time) then sell it and possibly the buyer will want to test it again himself, then issue you a check or money transfer. I could see it taking weeks or even a few months to sell a few ounces of gold and actually have cash in your hand to buy things.




I can see gold and silver for future hedge on the US economy going south somewhat, As long as there is some kind of structured economy it’s going to allow you to buy things once you go through the time consuming sales process. I also see that some would use it for a retirement nest egg and it would work for this as there is no immediate need for money here. Personally I think there are better things then gold for this.

I don’t see society’s complete failure as a big concern as I think it’s a very remote possibility despite Hollywood’s love for it in the movies. But if there were ever a complete collapse of society, gold becomes a very heavy thing to lug around and will have tied up a very large amount of your capital that could have went other places.