Better than money

[wooddoctor]

Doesn't matter, if a currency crashes, it becomes junk, coins or bills. However the scrap metal value of coins will always exist, that's the only diffrence.

Iceman……......G5…… sorry….. What it boils down to is the survival of the fittest. When the (Sierra Hotel Tango Foxtrot), it will be about the survival of the strong and weak. That’s how Mother Nature intended it to be.

[Caribou]

Gold and silver have always had value. They do go up and down but they have never been zero. I have been in stores that you can go into today and pay for your purchases in gold dust. U.S. dimes, quarters, and silver dollars minted in 1964 and before are 90% silver. These are referred to as "junk silver". Their advantage is that they are recognized by everyone, weight and purity is accepted, and coins are hard to forge and generally not worth the effort. Also if you try to order equipment to strike a coin of the same diameter as a U.S. coin you will be turned down. You might even expect a knock at the door. Another advantage to having some old dimes and quarters is that you are not likely to get any change if you are trading gold or silver for goods.

In 1965 they started minting the copper wafer coins with a small amount of silver on the front and back so they would still work in coin op machines. Their melt value is far less. They are easily recognized by the copper stripe around the edge. That old jar of coins that Grandma had since before you can remember might be worth a bunch.

[Treo]

Gold and silver have no intrinsic value, the only value they have is what we agree that they have. I used to have a boss that would tell anyone who would listen to buy gold, he got extremely pissed when I asked him what are you going to do when all gold transactions are outlawed?

As others have said, I’m not about to trade off my ammunition or arm some one else so they can take my stuff. I limit my collection of firearms to common calibers and as much as possible I use pistols made by the same manufacturer that will take common magazines (Ex. CZ2075, 75B and PCR all take the same magazine) and pistol/rifle combinations that take the same ammunition (Ruger PC4/P94 same ammunition same magazine).

Tobacco, in 1889 I saw two GIs pay 32.00$ for a pack of Newports they could have bought at the PX for a buck after two weeks in the field. Tobacco, alcohol, chocolate all things that I can live without but I’d bet the idiots out there that are planning to sell their wives and daughters into slavery would pay through the nose for them.

Since we’re limiting the discussion to barter items I’ll say that I wouldn’t barter away anything that I would actually need down the road. No tools, no ammunition, no guns, no staple foods, no water purification supplies. Just the luxury items that people would literally kill for

[ScottMac]

It might be worth considering books & references, like "The Way Things Work" and manuals for common electrical/electronic/mechanical devices. You might not have the technical or mechanical expertise available in the event of a major catastrophe.

Of course, you have to decide where the weight/usefulness lines are drawn.

The right books (including various survival references) would also make for good barter.