sometimes you can pick up silver dollars and half dollars at not too much of a premium over bullion. these are practically worn out, of very little value to any self respecting collector. i assume if the us experiences hyperinflation, they will still be legal tender of the liquid variety, after all they were minted by the us govt (for what that is worth).

Hehe...Greyzone!

My response would have been...I will be the local warlord!

;-P

Hello EJ,

I can recommend "The History of Money" by Jack Weatherford, which traces the evolution of money as a concept from barter through commodity money, metals, the invention of coins, banknotes etc. A really interesting read.

Cheers,
xuewen

>You make some valid points. Please consider that after tshtf that we may most likely trend toward a barter economy. "Buying" groceries may be a thing of the past and using a wad of US twenties may be a fair trade for a roll of toilet paper. Solid Gold or Silver, whether bullion or pre 64 dimes and quarters or Aunt Mae's table setting for 12 will still have an intrinsic appear to many.

There is a fatal flaw with hoarding PMs for future currency use after THSHTF or even an the belief of a barter system right after the collapse.

What do you expect to buy with your PM's after the collapse? Most goods are trucked in hundreds or thousands of miles away. Manufacturing plants that crank out Toilet Paper, Toothpaste, etc, are all dependant on a oil-power transportation system to deliver vitual resources (Just in Time) and require that transportation system to deliver them to consumers. What is that you expect that you will find someone selling something that you want or need?

The difference is that in the past most goods that consumers purchased were manufactured locally or used a distribution system to get them to your area. The transportation systems of the past have mostly been dismantled and replaced with vehicles that are 100% dependant on Oil. When THSHTF, its very likely that civilian access to precious Oil and other transportation fuels will be virtually non-existant. This means the distribution system that services you today, would be non-existant in a collapse. Today few people are capable of manufacturing goods and services without advanced equipment that is dependant on reliable electricity or abundant sources of natural gas or oil. Today, Machines make the products we use, and people maintain the machines. The machines are depend on reliably power and ofter premanfactured or process materials that are produced in other factories that are hundreds or even thousands of miles away. For instance virtually all of the fertializers and pesticides used in domestic agraculture are shipped in from overseas near abundant natural gas and other fossil based feedstocks because its no longer economical to produce these products here in North America.

The first few years will be the toughest as virtually everything today is done with machinary. Its going to take a long time for people to learn how to do things the old ways since most of the people knowledgable have passed on. Its going to take even much longer before large distribution systems and manufacturing is restored back to a 19th Century level. Think about the chaos created with the fuel pumps go dry? How many farmers today own draft animals and non-oil powered harvesting equipment? How many farmers purchase seeds with the terminator gene and lack heirloom seeds? How many farmers use natual gas fired grain dryers for long term grain storage? All these factors will make it very unlikely that a barter system will appear overnight to fulfill your needs. Just look what happened to the small area near New Orleans after Katrina. Imagine there were no helicopters and no airlifts, trucks or diesel powered boats bring in supplies. Do you think you would find your PM's very useful?

In my opinion loading up on PM's instead of using time & money to become as much as self sufficient as possible is a poor choice. Remember that the richest man in a desert is a dead man without water. This would apply during a collapse. You'll hoarding a bunch of shiny pieces of metal that look pretty but contribute nothing to your future security and wealthfare in a crisis. Good luck trying to barter for food, energy or any essential resources, when all of your neighbors are struggling to just put enough food on the table to avoid starvation. They certainly are not going to barter for food if they don't have enough for themselves no matter how much PM's you offer them.

I prefer shares in hydroelectric utilities and merchant power providers in several nations.

ATM, I am selling some GLHIF (US version of Great Lakes Hydro, a Canadian company) in order to buy more oil stocks (see Gonu). Hopefully buy back later.

I am keeping the rest of the hydro stocks.

Long term you own a small % of a very real energy producing asset. Political risk in every nation, so spread your bets.

Best Hopes for Renewable Power Investments,

Alan

If TSHTF all bets are off. If there are roving bands of armed gangs shooting people for loaves of bread, gold probably won't be worth much.

However, gold and silver can be used as part of a larger diversification strategy. I like Canadian dollars too.

Basically I see gold and silver (the actual metals - not some mutual fund) as a hedge against inflation, as well as a hedge against rising EROEI. The real value in the gold and silver though is that you can actually own it. How many barrels of oil are you going to store in your garage?

Guys, I'm dead in a die-off. I'm an insulin dependent diabetic and 55. And so are most of you, no matter what your preparations or health status.
I still think the most probable result of the peak is a long, serious depression with the "middle class" squeezed even more than today. So just buy a house close to your favorite fishing hole and pay off your debts. Buy some good hand tools and gardening supplies. Buy books, they are cheap used at thrift stores. Get a bicycle, or a 100mpg moped so you can commute to work. And if you have a little cash left, buy shares in an oil and gas royalty trust. They are inflation protected and provide a good rate of return.

Too much technology. My weapon of choice.